Method guide · Progress through phases
1-2-4-All
Give everyone time to think before the conversation expands.
- People
- 4–100
- Base procedure time
- 12 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Explore through dialogue; Generate ideas; Organise and narrow ideas.
English guide
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How this method works
A participation structure that starts with individual thinking and gradually expands the conversation. Use it when a few people dominate a meeting, discussion begins before anyone has thought, or people meeting for the first time are hesitant to speak. Participants bring their ideas first individually, then in pairs, then in fours, and finally to the whole group. At each stage, people may speak, write, or pass; do not force anyone to speak. Each group’s chosen insight is collected at the front, leaving a record of the issues in the room. Do not use this structure on its own to reach a final agreement or when statements must be attributed precisely to individual speakers.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
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- Think alone0–1 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Think. Participation: 1 person.
Individual record
- Talk in pairs1–3 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Talk. Participation: 2 people (one group of 3 if needed).
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Explore in fours3–7 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Explore. Participation: 3–5 people.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Share with everyone7–12 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Share. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- Present one question, for example: ‘What have we not yet discussed about this issue?’
- For 1 minute, think quietly alone and write just one item on a sticky note.
- For 2 minutes, share by speaking or showing written notes in pairs. Allow people to pass and receive each other’s ideas.
- For 4 minutes, join pairs into groups of four. Choose one insight from the similarities and differences.
- For 5 minutes, share one insight from each group with everyone. Put the notes at the front as the group’s record.
If something changes
If
Three minutes into whole-group sharing, fewer than half of the groups have finished presenting.
Then
Limit each group to one sentence and put the remaining notes together on the wall at the front.
If
One minute after pair work begins, nobody is participating by speaking or writing.
Then
Rephrase the question around a concrete situation and explain that passing is also an option.
Preparation
Materials
- Sticky notes or note paper (3 per person, approximately 75 × 75 mm)
- A black or blue pen for each person
Room and setup
- Movable chairs so pairs and groups of 3–5 can form quickly
- A wall or board at the front for the notes shared with everyone
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 4 people, move from pairs directly to whole-group sharing. With 4 or more, form pairs and join two pairs at a time. If three pairs remain, reorganise those six people into two groups of three. If one pair is left over, join it to one of those groups of three to make five. Above 20 people, limit whole-group sharing to one sentence per group. At around 100 people, finish the discussion within groups of four and invite only 2–3 volunteering groups to share with everyone.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Speaking is optional. Do not treat the collected insights as a final consensus or an attributed record of individual statements.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Liberating Structures: 1-2-4-All (Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless)
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/1-1-2-4-all/
Adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0
Current-page licence notice
This explanation is an adaptation for Taiwa no Fumen based on the official Liberating Structures page linked below. The manuscript's recorded references are listed separately from the web page checked on 17 October 2026.
Changes: the Japanese explanation and facilitation plan have been edited for Taiwa no Fumen. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the official page.
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Credits on the checked source page
- Developed by: Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: 1-2-4-All.
Source lineage
- Original repertoire (2013): Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
- 2026 Fieldbook: Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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