Liberating Structures
Talking with Pixies
Identify beliefs and assumptions that may limit your progress. This playful structure uses a dialogue between two pixies—one encouraging, one protective—to uncover hidden risks and potential, revealing surprising new action options.
Talking with Pixies
What is made possible - What it unlocks
This structure helps you articulate thoughts and concerns in a fresh way, often unlocking access to deeper, unconscious ideas or feelings. The pixies act as proxies for unnamed fears or unseen opportunities, bringing hidden risks and potentials to light. The playfulness and lightness remove pressure, making it easier to talk openly about difficult topics.
When to use it
- When you’re stuck between wanting to pursue a goal and feeling held back by doubts or fears
- To illuminate decision-making processes by exposing hidden assumptions
- When you want to break through mental blockages that keep you from moving forward
- To spark wild fun and creative thinking in a team or group setting
- When exploring personal, professional, or group goals that feel important but difficult to reach
- To uncover what might happen if you pursue a goal—or if you don’t
- When you need a safe, playful way to explore risky or sensitive topics
🛠️ The five design elements of Talking with Pixies
Each Liberating Structure consists of five simple design elements to make participation possible for everyone. By shaping these elements with care, you move beyond rigid control or chaos and create space for people to contribute, listen, and co-create.
- 1. The Invitation
- 2. Setup & Materials
- 3. Participation Flow
- 4. Group Configuration
- 5. Sequence & Timing
How you frame the purpose or question that sets the focus and energy of the group.
Think of a valuable goal that feels hard to reach for you. It could be professional, personal, or group-related.
Imagine two pixies—imaginary beings—having a conversation about your goal. One is a path-clearing Innovator Pixie that encourages ideas and cheers you on. The other is a Protector Pixie that wants to keep you safe. Be open to playing along with this imaginative exercise.
The arrangement of space and which tools or resources are needed to support interaction.
- Space for participants to form groups of three, standing or sitting on chairs
- No special materials needed—just imagination and openness to play
- Works well in person or online
Who gets a voice and how everyone is actively included in the process.
- Each participant takes turns being the “hero” and the two pixies
- It is perfectly okay to pass
How people are arranged (alone, small groups, or all together) and how this shifts during the activity.
- Groups of 3 participants
The step-by-step flow of the activity and the time given to each step to keep energy and focus.
- Invite participants to think of a valuable but hard-to-reach goal (professional, personal, or group-related). Explain they’ll become the hero in a conversation with two imaginary pixies: one that clears the path and encourages (Innovator), one that protects and cautions (Protector). Invite them to play along openly. (2 minutes)
- Form groups of three. Each person can play all three roles in three different rounds.
- Round 1 begins: The Hero shares their goal and concerns. What do you want to achieve? What concerns do you have? What might happen if you pursue this goal, or if you don’t? What would others say? (2-4 minutes)
- The pixie dialogue (Pixies whisper in ears of Hero at the same time:
- The path-clearing Innovator Pixie (sitting/standing on one side) says things like: “Imagine what’s possible if you reach this goal! Your worries are unfounded—you don’t need them anymore! This is exciting and attractive, you’ll grow so much and make so much possible!”
- The Protective Pixie (on the other side) shares concerns: “Think about what could happen along the way! You need to be careful and not step on anyone’s toes! Watch out for yourself! Better stay in your comfort zone! Risks are risky!”
The pixies respond intuitively, playfully, and with loving provocation. Answers don’t need to be logical or realistic—they can be exaggerated and extreme to open new perspectives. (3-4 min)
- The Hero reflects and shares insights. What new perspectives or surprising insights emerged? How has your view of the topic changed? What risks or potentials became visible? (2 min)
- Rotate roles and repeat steps 3-5 until everyone has been the Hero once. (7-10 minutes per Hero)
- Optional: debrief on the different roles you had and what you learned
Total time: 25-35 minutes
Online version
Adapted for virtual use, with the same impact
All the steps are the same as described above.
- Prepare breakout rooms for the groups of three.
- Let the Pixies turn their camera’s of while whispering to the Hero.
Total time: 15-25 minutes
Solo version
Adapted for individual use and personal development
Hier is een ingekorte, maar nog steeds duidelijke versie van je tekst:
Step 1 – Set the Scene: Write your goal clearly at the top of the page. Make it specific and concrete. Imagine you’re the Hero of this story, with two pixies on your shoulders, ready to whisper in your ears. (2 min)
Step 2 – The Hero Speaks: Write as the Hero. Describe what the goal is, why it matters, your concerns, possible outcomes if you pursue it or not, and what others might say. Be honest about your hesitations and hopes. (4–5 min)
Step 3 – The Innovator Pixie Speaks: Write as the Innovator Pixie—the encouraging, possibility‑driven voice. Exaggerate enthusiasm and optimism. What does this pixie want you to know? (4–5 min)
Step 4 – The Protective Pixie Speaks: Write as the Protective Pixie—the cautious, caring voice. Exaggerate caution and fear. What does this pixie want you to know? (4–5 min)
Step 5 – The Hero Listens & Reflects: Return to writing as the Hero. Reflect on both pixies. What new perspectives emerged? How has your view of the goal changed? What risks and potentials became visible? What is exaggerated, and what is true? (5 min)
Step 6 – Integration & Action: What do you now understand that you didn’t before? What wisdom does each pixie carry? Write 1–3 concrete next steps that honor both encouragement and caution. (3–5 min)
Total time: 20-30 minutes
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All Liberating Structures in 1 e-book
All Liberating Structures (44!) including explanations, visual step-by-step guide, and worksheets in a handy workbook for € 11,-
- Simple methods for big changes
- Have interactions that truly matter
- Build a culture of innovation step by step
- Involve and activate everyone in the group
Proven over decades
🧠 Why it works
Liberating Structures are not magic tricks—they work because they tap into how people naturally think, connect, and collaborate. Each structure is carefully designed to unlock participation, spark creativity, and build trust, using principles grounded in social science and human interaction.
Attribution: Liberating Structure developed by Keith McCandless
Note: As a Liberating Structure in Development, Talking with Pixies hasn’t been tested in all possible scenarios and doesn’t always deliver predictable results yet. This simply means it’s still being refined through practice and feedback from facilitators worldwide.
Cognitive Defusion
By externalizing thoughts into pixie characters, participants create distance from their own limiting beliefs, making it easier to examine and challenge them without feeling personally attacked.
Dual Process Theory
The playful format bypasses the analytical, critical mind (System 2) and engages the intuitive, emotional mind (System 1), allowing suppressed concerns and aspirations to surface naturally.
Psychological Safety
The imaginative, game-like structure creates a safe container where participants can explore risky or vulnerable topics without the usual social pressure or judgment.
Perspective Multiplication
Hearing both encouraging and cautionary voices simultaneously reveals the full spectrum of possibilities and concerns, illuminating blind spots and helping participants make more informed decisions.
Riffs and Variations
Start with creative constraints to learn this structure and then... go liberate yourself and try some variations.
- Solo variation: Work alone by imagining both pixies in your mind. Share your goal with them, let each speak, then reflect on new insights.
- Pixie Interviews: The Hero shares their goal. Pixies then interview them with questions about supporting or sabotaging actions, why it matters, others’ perspectives, and past examples.
- Pixies Talking to Each Other: Pixies discuss the Hero’s situation with each other while the Hero listens (both on the same side of the Hero). This creates dynamic, playful dialogue and feels less intense. Try switching modes between rounds.
- Written Dialogue variation: Participants write the pixie conversation in a journal or on paper. The Hero writes their goal, then alternates what each pixie says. Works well for introverts or solo processing, and creates a record to revisit.
- Team Goal Variation: Apply this to team goals: one member is the Hero while two others play pixies discussing the shared aspiration. Rotate roles so multiple members are the Hero, uncovering different perspectives on the same goal.
Tips
Lessons learned from other facilitators.
- Encourage pixies to be playfully exaggerated
- Remind pixies to be “lovingly provocative”—push boundaries with care
- Create psychological safety by emphasizing the playful, imaginative nature of the exercise
- If participants feel stuck, encourage them to lean into absurdity and humor
- The Protector Pixie shouldn’t just be negative—they genuinely care about keeping the Hero safe
- The Innovator Pixie shouldn’t ignore real risks—they see the potential beyond the fear
- Give participants permission to surprise themselves with what emerges
Traps
Don't make the same mistakes.
- Being too realistic or logical—the magic happens in exaggeration and playfulness
- Not listening to the flow and energie of the Hero. When it is engough, it is enough.
- Skipping the reflection step—a big part of the learning happens when the Hero articulates their insights
- Treating this too seriously—the lightness is what allows deeper truths to surface
- Judging what comes up—all perspectives are valid and useful information
Try it with…
The real power of Liberating Structures emerges when you combine them into "strings." Link different structures together to build on insights and create more powerful results. Here are some nice combinations:
- Troika Consulting – Use Talking with Pixies to explore a challenge before moving into practical advice in Troika
- What I Need From You (WINFY) – After pixie dialogue, use WINFY to make specific requests (to the Pixies) based on insights
- 15% Solutions – Follow up pixie insights by identifying small first steps you can take right now
- Helping Heuristics – Examine which type of help you truly need after hearing from both pixies
- Ecocycle Planning – Use to explore goals in different phases of the ecocycle
- Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD) – Identify patterns in what holds groups back from pursuing shared goals
Field stories
To get to know Liberating Structures without having used them yourself, it helps to see familiar situations from real-life practice. Chances are that you or your team have faced one of these challenges before. Discover how to approach these kinds of situations in a fresh and engaging way.
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Talking with Pixies
Identify beliefs and assumptions that may limit your progress.
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