Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
A structured variation of small-group discussion designed to reach consensus by giving equal weight to all participants' input. It minimizes the influence of dominant personalities and encourages independent thinking before group interaction.
When a few voices dominate or quieter people don't contribute
Your group discussions aren't balanced, you need better ways to include everyone, or conversations go in circles.
Effective when dealing with complex or controversial problems, when there is a power imbalance in the room, or when a group needs to prioritize a long list of potential solutions quickly.
Silent Generation of Ideas in Writing
Round-robin Recording of Ideas
Serial Discussion for Clarification
Preliminary Vote on Item Importance
Discussion of the Preliminary Vote
Final Vote
Ensures every voice is heard and the group's collective intelligence is unlocked.
Facilitators can integrate NGT into the 'diverge' and 'converge' stages of a workshop. Start with a clear prompt, allow for silent reflection to prevent 'groupthink,' and use the voting phase to transition from brainstorming to actionable decision-making.
- 1Use structured turn-taking to balance voices
- 2Start with individual reflection before group discussion
- 3Create safe spaces for minority opinions
- 4Summarize and synthesize regularly
- Consensus building
- Problem identification
- Strategic planning
- Needs assessment
- Silent reflection before verbalization
- Equal participation and contribution
- Separation of idea generation from idea evaluation
- Mathematical aggregation of individual judgments
- Requires a highly disciplined facilitator to maintain the structure
- Can feel overly formal or rigid for groups seeking a casual creative flow
- Requires preparation of specific prompts and voting materials