Submitted by: Nancy Manning Manager, Instructional Design, Dunkin’ Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down Objective
Ensure that everyone is “heard” by using this silent method for taking a consensus.
To streamline decision-making so that everyone gets a say, and to provide a visual way to determine consensus.
How it Works
This exercise is useful following a discussion of a decision that needs to be made. After the problem and potential solution(s) are laid out, pros and cons have been discussed, and people have had an opportunity to weigh in on the decision, this is a good way to visually achieve consensus, or recognize that more discussion may be necessary. Simply ask all participants to weigh in on a decision using one of the following gestures:
Thumbs Up means “I agree.”
Thumb Sideways means “I don’t care for the decision, but I can live with it.”
Thumbs Down means “I disagree.”
Results
This process levels the playing field between those who tend to be more loud and outgoing—who feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their opinion, and those who are quiet, and may not speak up right away if they have a concern or another idea. It also decreases the overall volume of discussion. Thumbs up/thumbs down allows everyone to be “heard” and quickly shows alignment of opinions or lack thereof. The visual nature makes consensus quick and easy to quantify. It also can indicate that more discussion may be needed if the decision is widely split. This works well in person as well as in virtual video meetings, such as those held on Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
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