Sometimes you just need to decide. When you’ve got several ideas in play, it’s important to discuss how well each responds to the problem. But once everyone understands the possibilities, dot voting is a quick way to gauge which ideas have the most support.
This is a team sport. Your ideas are already posted on the wall for everyone to see, right? Grab some dot stickers. Give yourselves 10 minutes.
- Read each idea aloud and ask if anyone needs clarification.
- Give everyone three dot stickers. Just three! It’s important that everyone have fewer votes than there are ideas.
- Everyone dot votes for the ideas they prefer. Stick all your dots on one idea, or spread your votes around.
When you’ve finished, clusters of dots will highlight the ideas that have the most support.
If you’ve got a couple of ideas leading the pack, that’s great. They’ve both got lots of champions. Flip a coin or ask a participant chosen at random to break the tie. Dot voting is especially handy when you have an embarrassment of riches: too many useful ideas to choose from. Instead of
being paralyzed by choice, dot vote to spotlight the ideas with champions and broad support.