Hopes and Fears
A simple opening exercise where participants write their hopes (what they want to achieve or experience) and fears (what they worry about) for the session or project ahead. Displayed publicly, the collection creates a shared contract between participants and facilitators, and sets a psychologically safe tone by normalising anxiety.
Comment l'animer
- 1
Set up two columns on a board: 'Hopes' and 'Fears' (or 'Concerns').
- 2
Give participants two colours of sticky notes — one per column.
- 3
Ask everyone to silently write 1–3 hopes and 1–3 fears (3–5 minutes).
- 4
Participants place their notes on the board.
- 5
Briefly read out the themes without attributing them to individuals.
- 6
Acknowledge the fears explicitly: 'We hear these concerns. Here's how we plan to address them...'
- 7
Return to the hopes at the end of the session to check whether they were met.
Conseils
Explicitly closing the loop at the end of the session — 'Did we address your hopes? Did your fears come true?' — is what makes this a powerful full-session frame, not just an opener.
Address fears concretely, not vaguely.
Variantes
Run anonymously by collecting notes before anyone enters the room. For longer programmes, revisit hopes and fears at each module. Replace 'fears' with 'concerns' for groups that find 'fear' too charged.
Contextes d'utilisation
Questions fréquemment posées
Quand utiliser Hopes and Fears ?â–ľ
Utilisez Hopes and Fears lorsque vous souhaitez: Workshop openings; Project kick-offs; Change management sessions; Sensitive or high-stakes meetings.
Combien de temps dure Hopes and Fears ?â–ľ
Hopes and Fears dure généralement 15–25 minutes.
Pour combien de participants Hopes and Fears convient-il ?â–ľ
Hopes and Fears fonctionne mieux pour des groupes de 3–30 participants.
De quels matériaux ai-je besoin pour Hopes and Fears ?▾
Pour animer Hopes and Fears, vous aurez besoin de : sticky notes (2 colours), markers, flip chart or wall.
Quel est le niveau de difficulté de Hopes and Fears ?▾
Hopes and Fears est classé débutant — facile à animer même sans expérience préalable.
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Essayer gratuitementMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices.