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2.6
Building on the Ideas of Others
Submitted by Don Waisanen & Shannon Wheatley Hartman
Improvisational comedy has developed a rule of thinking which is called “Yes, and ….” The idea is that you accept what is said and then you add to it. The “yes” confirms the other speaker while the “and” builds on the idea. This process can create an environment of collaboration rather than competition.
Learning Goals
Develop the practice of listening and affirming what is heard rather than negating others.
Practice generous listening by identifying ideas or arguments that can be built upon.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Organize participants into pairs.
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: Practice Negating Others (Yes, but…) (5 min)
Share the “yes, but…” prompt shown below with participants. Remind them to not overthink it and explain that this will be a very quick exchange of ideas.
Prompt:
Pretend that you are planning a vacation together. One person makes a suggestion and the other person responds with, “yes, but…” Continue with this process for 2 minutes.
Step Two: Practice Confirming Others (Yes, and…) (5 min)
Introduce the new prompt and invite the same pairs to practice. Prompt:
Try again to plan a vacation together, but this time practice saying “yes, and…” No matter what your partner says, figure out how to confirm it and build upon it. Continue this process for 2 minutes.
Step Three: Compare the Two Experiences (5 min)
As a full group, debrief the two experiences:
Are you excited for your vacation? How did planning this trip feel different from the previous effort?
How can we bring this energy and sense of fun into our more serious conversations?
Step Four: Practice Generative Discussion (20 min)
Anticipate that participants will think it is easy to build on ideas of others when nothing is at stake (i.e. it’s a hypothetical vacation). Explain how looking for small pieces of truth in more difficult discussions is key for creating a generative discussion environment.
Create a policy statement that is relevant for your group or choose one below:
Policy A: We need stronger regulations against disinformation.
Policy B: We need stronger policies to guarantee affordable housing for all residents in our community.
Policy C: We need to support all policies that prioritize environmental sustainability and acknowledge the urgency of climate change.
Policy D: We need a public policy that addresses political polarization in our communities.
In small groups (4-6 ppl), ask participants to discuss the topic while practicing the “yes, and…” technique.
Step Five: Debrief as a Full Group (5 min)
Does “yes, and…” mean that you have to agree? How can you use “yes, and…” to create space for constructive dissent or disagreement?
Share and discuss the “Yes, and…” slide.
How did “yes, and…” affect your listening skills? How did it impact the content, direction, and power dynamics within the discussion?
TIME
40
min
MODULE
Creative Collaboration
This activity can be completed by any discussion group.
This activity can be used to support facilitation skills. See Sample Facilitation Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
This activity might be considered high energy or more playful than other activities.
This activity is focused on developing or supporting listening skills. See Sample Listening Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
Tell us what you think. Rate and review this activity:
Have any helpful suggestions or modifications for this activity?
Share them in the comments below!
0 Comments
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 7:01:33 PM
Another all time favorite. I really recommend this activity when you are trying to think about the complexity of a social topic and who/what is impacted by it. It pairs well with the Divergent Thinking/Surround the Topic activity. This activity also includes a really helpful worksheet for capturing types of stakeholders.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:59:07 PM
I really like this activity. It is a fun way to figure out what matters most to us as a group. For example, if you need to figure out the theme for a discussion series or a topic for a group project, try out this activity. It helps participants to reflect on their own civic passion but also negotiate together the civic passions of the group. It could be paired with the value activities in Module One.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:54:13 PM
I the process in this activity ("surround the topic") a lot. It is particularly useful as facilitation preparation. It also helps with generative thinking.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:52:01 PM
This is an all time favorite. Use it as a warm-up activity or whenever you have a group that feels stuck and can't think of new ways of engaging a topic or problem.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:49:22 PM
Similar to the previous activity (1.7 Taking Inventory of CD Skills), this activity includes a google survey that participants can complete at the beginning of a program or class. Instructors or facilitators can use this information to then tailor future activities to best fits the discussion needs of their group.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:46:46 PM
Use this as pre-class or pre-workshop preparation! These self-evaluations will help teachers or facilitators to better understand the starting point of each participant and an aggregate view of the group. The survey results are shared only with the instructor/facilitator. This is a really helpful resource (and you can modify the survey to fit your needs).
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:43:42 PM
This activity and the previous (1.5 Understanding Values) are great for difficult conversations. I would use this as the prep work before diving into potentially tricky conversations. It helps participants to look for the values that inform opinions (and not just dismiss ideas that they don't like).
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:41:01 PM
This is also known as "Identity Pie." It's a great warm up and way for participants to get to know one another. I would use this early in a group setting to help build connection.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:39:24 PM
I think we all know that creating guidelines is important. I introduce activity 1.1 What is Collaborative Learning? first and then use the positive and negative attributes that they generate to help form our group guidelines.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 6:36:43 PM
I always recommend that folks start off with this activity and pair it with 1.3 Creating Guidelines. It is a great way to set the tone and emphasize the importance of collaborative discussion.