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| Criterion |  Facilitation Consensus Workshop |  Facilitation Fishbowl Discussion |  Facilitation Nominal Group Technique |  Facilitation World Café |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time. | When a controversial topic needs depth and discipline at the same time, Fishbowl Discussion makes the structure of the conversation transparent. The format keeps the core small enough for real dialogue and open enough for controlled turnover. | When loud voices could dominate a round, Nominal Group Technique protects individual thinking time from group effects. It collects ideas separately first and only then enables shared weighting. | When a group needs to connect many viewpoints in a short time, World Café creates a calm alternation between closeness and rotation. It sets thinking in motion without forcing the conversation into full-plenary rigidity. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | 60-120 min | 60-180 min |
Participantsdifferent | 5-30 | 8-80 | 5-12 | 12-100+ |
Formatsame | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Consensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority Areas | Discussion Insights, Observed Tensions, Follow-up Questions | Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, Group Priority | Table Notes, Emergent Themes, Shared Questions |
Tags1 shared | FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment | FacilitationDialogueLarge group | FacilitationPrioritizationVotingInclusion | FacilitationDialogueLarge groupSensemaking |