THINKING HATS

THINKING

• There are different ways of thinking

• There is everyday thinking and deliberate thinking

• You can get better at thinking if you practice using skills for thinking

Edward de Bono

WHITE HAT THINKING

• About information

• What have I got? What do I need?

• Logical fact-finding research approach

• White because neutral – evidence

• Cold approach to thinking

RED HAT

• Emotional thinking

• How do I feel? What would I guess?

• Intuitive gut feeling

• Emotional response

• Instinctive

YELLOW HAT

• Benefits

• Optimistic view

• Why will it work? What are advantages?

• Logical optimists

BLACK HAT

• Judging

• Does this fit the evidence?

• Why won’t it work?

• Very important, not bad

GREEN HAT

• Creative

• Any bright ideas

• How can this be changed

• Generation of ideas

BLUE HAT

• Control

• Which hat to use?

• What are thoughts so far?

• What is action plan? What is the process?

• Framework that gives shape – start and end

• End we want to get to

• We have all got the capacity to think in different ways

• Most of us have preferred ways of thinking