Spectrum Line

A tool to gauge and understand participants’ viewpoints on a topic

A symbolic line is drawn across a room representing a spectrum of ideas. Participants move to the point on the line which best represents their stance, discuss the reasons for their position, then reconsider their standpoint on hearing other views.


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About
What is a spectrum line?

A spectrum line is a tool that can be used in workshops to give a quick physical representation of where participants stand on a topic. It can help participants get clear on their own thinking, see where the similarities and differences are with other people’s thinking, and reconsider their viewpoint.

The facilitator introduces a topic and demonstrates which parts of the room correspond to different points of the spectrum - for example, one end of a symbolic line represents ‘strongly agree’, and the other end represents ‘strongly disagree’. They then ask participants to consider where they stand, and then physically move to the point in the room that best represents their viewpoint. This is followed by a discussion, during which participants may choose to move again if their mind has been swayed by what they have heard.

Spectrum lines can be used to get a sense of where people in the group stand on a topic and to understand the diversity of viewpoints. This can help participants to better understand different perspectives, as well as helping them to identify and connect with other like-minded individuals. They can also help people to get a clearer understanding of their own point of view on the topic, and the reasons for their stance, and provide people with a simple and effective tool to reconsider their opinions and change them if appropriate.
They can also be useful for considering complex and nuanced issues, and for creating discussion around ethics or philosophical debate. This can be achieved by using leading statements with an ‘agree - disagree’ spectrum, for example ‘violence is never justified’, or ‘the only thing you can change is your own behaviour’.
Spectrum lines can also be used within collaborative decision making processes where there is a choice between two alternatives, to help the entire group get a felt sense of the majority preference as well as any strong feelings on either side of the issue.

Categories
  • Appreciative / Community building
  • Awareness Raising
  • Collective Intelligence
  • Decision making
  • Group communication
  • Harvesting
  • Reflection
  • Social skills
  • Team Building / Trust Building
  • Understanding complexity
Innovation Phases
    Train the Trainer seminars including Spectrum Line can be found here:
    Target Group
    Who are spectrum lines for?

    Spectrum lines are part of a facilitator’s general toolkit, and are useful in a variety of workshop and group learning scenarios

    Is participant experience relevant?
    It's okay if participants haven't seen the inside of a classroom in years.
    Physical trust needed
    Mental trust needed
    REQUIREMENTS
    Experience level of the facilitator
    self explanatory, no experience needed
    How stationary?
    Moving necessary, at least in parts
    Spectrum Line is part of following Pathway/Method
    In a variation: A promise is a promise
    STEP BY STEP GUIDE
    Pre-exercises

    Easy entry

    If the group is new to Spectrum Line, low in energy or if the topic is very controversial, it might be helpful to get the group moving by introducing first a few topics that are easy to answer and don't need a discussion, such as "I am an early-bird / I am a night-owl" or "I have a lot of experience with this topic / I am new to this topic”. You can also use this to help the group get to know each other better and feel more comfortable before they discuss more difficult topics.

    1

    Introduction

    Decide on the topic and formulate a question, specifying what will be represented by each end of the spectrum. Examples include ‘agree - disagree’, ‘like - dislike’, ‘easy - difficult’, ‘violent - non-violent’, etc.
    Explain these clearly to participants, and indicate where in the room you are drawing the line and where the ends of the line are. You may choose to use physical markers to indicate this (for example, pieces of paper on the floor at each end of the line) or you may use a rope or length of string to mark out the line.

    2

    Movement

    Ask participants to consider where they stand in relation to the topic, and then to physically move to the point on the line that corresponds to their viewpoint.
    Inform them that they can move at any point in the exercise if they change their mind.

    3

    Discussion

    Ask participants to express why they chose their particular position. Make sure to get a cross section of viewpoints from different parts of the room, including the two extremes and the middle. Sometimes participants in the middle hold some aspects of both sides of the issue simultaneously.
    Remind the participants that they are encouraged to move at this point if it feels right to do so. If you notice participants moving it can be good to ask them to explain to the group why they’ve moved.

    4

    Repeat

    If relevant, repeat the exercise with a new question.

    ONLINE & VARIATIONS
    Do spectrum lines work online?

    You can use a variation of spectrum lines online, although you don’t get quite the same effect as seeing people physically moving around a room.
    To facilitate a spectrum line online you can use a digital whiteboard tool - Miro or jamboard for example. Make sure all participants are able to access the whiteboard, then draw a line across the screen, and ask all participants to write their name on a sticky note and position it on the line.

    If the event is blended and some participants are online and some are in the same physical space you can either do two separate versions of the exercise (one for visual and one for physical participants) or do the whole thing online and ensure all face-to-face participants have access to the online whiteboard.

    Online
    online facilitation possible
    Blended
    blended facilitation possible
    Screen needed?
    Computer required
    Quality of Internet Connection
    stable and fast (video conferencing and collaboration tools like miro)
    Quadrants

    A variation of spectrum lines involves introducing a second axis to form a quadrant, and asking participants to position themselves with both axes in mind. An example would be labelling the x axis ‘easy - difficult’ and the y axis ‘effective - non-effective’ (participants could then consider several alternative proposals, one after another, to get a comparative sense of which might be the best course of action for their group).

    U-shape spectrum lines

    If you are short on space consider using a U-shape rather than a line.

    Spectrum Lines for Ice breaking / Team Building

    You can also use spectrum lines to help a group get to know each other. They can be especially useful when forming a new team, or supporting an existing team in learning to work better together.

    In this case, consider exploring personal questions relating to individual preferences or working styles. Useful examples include “I can work best alone / with others”; “I can work best if I have a clear structure / a lot of freedom”; “external pressure and deadlines motivate me / kill my motivation”, “In this phase of the project I feel most vibrant - Dreaming-Planning-Doing-Celebrating-Reflecting” etc. This kind of knowledge and insight into each other’s preferences can be very interesting and insightful for a team.
    These types of questions can also be used to stimulate one-to-one or small group conversations. To instigate these, encourage participants to exchange their experience with the group standing next to them (or exactly opposite) for a couple of minutes before you collect impressions in the plenum or move to the next question.

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    IMPACT
    Hidden curriculum

    - This method implicitly conveys a sense that we don’t have fixed ideas/opinions. Changing one’s position is not only allowed, it is highly recommended
    - if you move your body it is easier to move your mind







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