Technique

In brainstorming contexts people are not always listening to other people as they already think about their next ideas or what they don’t linke about a specific idea. What we want is an open mindset free of judgements. Our goal is to foster listening.

The “Yes, and…” technique involves accepting what another person has said (the Yes part) and then building on it with additional information (the and part). This is especially useful in ideation situations where you want to build on top of other ideas or when you observe that people reject their ideas – but – without considering the perspective of others.

• Acceptance (“Yes”): Acknowledge and accept the contribution of the other person, regardless of whether you agree with it. This shows respect and openness to their ideas.
• Addition (“And”): Add to the initial idea or statement to move the conversation forward. This builds on the original contribution and opens up new possibilities.

Example

Each person builds on the ideas of other people:

Facilitation

10 % rule

Tell the participants that at least 10 % of the idea (or argument) of the other person is right.

Instead of immediately focusing what is wrong, we focus on what is right about an idea.

And…

Add what additional idea comes to your mind when you think about the things you liked.