Dr.

Edward De Bono
Edward De Bono is a world-known expert in
creative thinking. The 6 Thinking Hats is one such
technique.
The main idea is to have the group only wear
one hat at a time when considering a problem. The
wearing of the hat is metaphorical. At any one time,
everyone will wear the same colour, in other words,
look at the problem at hand from only one
perspective, the perspective indicated by the hat
colour.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Introduction

Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats techniques help

you to a balanced assessment of your ideas,
problems and challenges.
By asking you to wear six different thinking hats
that represent the six different aspects of how you
can possibly think.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats

You can use Six Thinking Hats for anything you deal
with in life.
Use it in your business, use it at school or use it at
home.
And as a side affect you'll find the overall quality of
your creative thinking improve tremendously.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
So, why wear six different thinking hats?

Traditional arguing involves two or more parties

opposing each other.
Whatever one party offers as an input to the
discussion, the opponents will come forth with
critique.
There are several reasons for this: discovering the
truth, investigating certain subjects, defending
viewpoints, just winning an argument or coming to
a synthesis of the various standpoints.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
So, why wear six different thinking hats?

Even if we agree mostly with our discussion

partners, we are still inclined to focus on the details
we disagree on. "Yes, BUT..." This habit doesn't do
justice to the input as a whole.
We will overlook valuable points of consideration
and lose a lot of time bickering over rights and
wrongs. Arguing isn't constructive nor creative. It
may result in some improvements but it won't lead
to innovation. Arguing is simply not going to build
you new roads...
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
So, why wear six different thinking hats?

De Bono's Six Thinking Hats offer us a simple yet

powerful alternative to discussion. With this
method we investigate together the facts, the
feelings, the pro's and cons, and the creative
solutions we can come up with. De Bono calls this
parallel thinking. The result of this is a sincere
dialogue in which personal gains are set aside in
favor of working together to reach clarity.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
So, why wear six different thinking hats?

Use the Six Thinking Hats to assess existing

problems, innovative ideas, work processes, study
topics, possible decisions, solve disputes and much,
much more.
The method is simple, but extraordinarily effective.
This has lead to the situation that many prominent
organizations have implemented this technique in
their daily businesses today.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
So, why wear six different thinking hats?

Learning the methods and techniques of De Bono's

Six Thinking Hats is easy.
Yet it will strongly affect your thinking.
It is concrete, tangible, simple to use and changes
all thinking behaviors instantly.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Six Colored Hats - Six Types of Thinking

The colors of the hats are: white, red, black, yellow,

green and blue. These colors were chosen for a reason.
They're associated with certain situations which will help
you remember the objective of each separate hat.

Six hats with six different colors, all representing a

different aspect of your thinking. When you wear a
specific hat, the rule is you stick to the kind of thinking it
represents. When you want to switch to a different style
of thinking, you need to switch hats as well.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Blue Hat

Managing of the thinking itself.

Defining the topic, giving the summaries, making
decisions and drawing conclusions.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Managing the Thinking Process

A cool blue sky allowing you the overview over

the thinking processes which take place.
Here's the manager's blue hat.
You take a little distance from your thinking and
watch the process unfold.
Guide it and control it.
And draw the conclusions in the end.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Managing the Thinking Process

Sets the agenda.

Sets the timing.
Decides on the next step.
Keeps everyone on the focus.
Handles requests.
Keeps the discipline when using the hats.
Handles the summary and conclusions.
Asks for decisions.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
White Hat

Focus your thoughts on information - the facts and

figures.
What info is available?
How do we get it?
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Information Available & Needed

Imagine white paper and computer print-outs.

Most of the time paper is white.
The white hat, just like most paper, refers to
information and facts.
So when you wear it, stick to the fact and figures.
Only objective information is what you want right
now.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Information Available & Needed

What information is available?

What information would we like to have?
What information do we need?
What information is missing?
Include both sided of disputed information.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Red Hat

Unlimited use of feelings, intuition and emotions

which don't have to be justified.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Intuition and Feelings

Imagine the red glow of a soaring fire.

You're sitting close. Feel the warmth coming from the
flames.
The red hat refers to your feelings and emotions.
Those can be based on complex experiences and aren't
always easily analyzed.
Usually they're left out of the discussion since they're
neither based on facts nor logic.
Yet feelings which are heard stop nagging in the back of
your head.
Thus sharing them helps to clear your thinking.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Intuition and Feelings

Take no more than 20 to 30 seconds

This is to signal intuition, feelings and emotions.
Remind yourself that no explanation is needed!
Give feelings and intuition validity.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Black Hat

Warning! Difficulties, dangers and problems.

What can go wrong?
And does this comply with our knowledge and
experience?
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Caution, Difficulties, and Problems

Have you ever experienced the feeling your future

seemed to look pitch black?
Only troubles, mistakes, problems and all sorts of
dangers awaiting...
You were wearing a black hat.
Very useful at times.
Now wear this hat to alert you to where you
could go wrong.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Caution, Difficulties, and Problems

What could be the possible problems?

What could some of the difficulties be?
What are points for caution?
Right now we are using the black hat, so you must
make a real effort to come up with the negatives.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Yellow Hat

Focus the thinking on benefits, values and

attainability.
What are the positives?
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Benefits and Feasibility

Remember a bright and sunny day. Walking

outside in a gentle breeze, how easy it gets to feel
optimistic about life.
Your yellow hat represents the positive and
logical aspects of your thinking.
So it's not about your hopes!
Your statements have to be backed up by reason
as well.
Looking for benefits, added value and observing
how realistic your expectations will be.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Benefits and Feasibility

What are the benefits?

What are the positives?
What are the values?
Are there savings?
Is there a competitive advantage?
Is there potential value?
Is there a concept in this idea that looks
attractive?
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Green Hat

Conscious creative effort.

Generating ideas and looking for alternatives.
Solving problems.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Alternatives and Creative Ideas

Leaves growing on the trees and bushes, the first

flowers unfold in the young and lush meadows and
all is vibrant with the creative energy of life.
Your green hat represents your conscious creative
efforts.
New ideas arise, innovative solutions pop up.
No logic required this time.
Just let your imagination run wild.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Alternatives and Creative Ideas

We need further alternatives.

We need to make a creative effort.
Are there other ways to do this?
What else could we do here?
How else might we carry through this concept?
What are the possibilities?
What will overcome our difficulties?
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Preparing a Session

First of all you need a concept.

An idea, a problem to solve, a product to create, a
service to promote, etc..
What is your thinking going to focus on?
What are we thinking about?
What are we working towards?
What results do we expect of this thinking session?
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Preparing a Session

Thinking in itself is the most effective is we have

clarity about what we want to think about.

In general your thinking can be focused in two

ways:
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Preparing a Session

determine a general subject in which a specific

area is made the focus of our thinking - to generate
new ideas.

determine a specific subject that has a clearly

described focus for our thinking - to solve a
problem, improve a process, accomplish a task,
overcome a difficulty, add a new feature.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Practical examples:

"I would like to think in general about how people

at home brush their teeth".

"I need some better designs for a toothbrush".

"I need stronger material for the brush of a

toothbrush".
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Some typical thinking pitfalls

When describing your concept, be specific about

where you want your thinking to go.
If you want to think about designing an umbrella,
a broad description for you focus - like "Preventing
people from getting wet" - will not suffice.
You could end up with the conclusion that all bus
stops need shelters.
Add to your concept description.
Use several descriptions.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Some typical thinking pitfalls

Resist the temptation of looking for deeper

meanings though.
The general purpose of using the Six Thinking
Hats is to come to constructive and creative
thinking.
Utilize your thinking for practical solutions.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Example:

"People don't want a drill, they want holes".

Not completely true: people want the holes for a
reason, they serve a purpose.
Thinking along these lines can easily distract you
from the original objective: designing a better drill.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Some typical thinking pitfalls

To help the focus stick to our subject, it's useful to

summarize the results of each separate hat session.
This will also help the group to feel we're actually
accomplishing something.
Which in turn helps to keep all participants
motivated and actively involved.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Incidental

A particular hat is used in itself to emphasize a

certain way of thinking or switch to a different style.
Before and after using the hat the conversation is
a traditional argument or discussion.
Utilizing the hat this way can for example serve as
a time-out which helps to clear the thinking.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Systematical

Decide on a topic you want to think about.

Determine a sequence for using the hats: your
thinking agenda.
Then use the different hats in turn.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?
Systematical
The systematical approach is particularly useful
when:
The thinkers have different opinions and dig in
their heels leading to a dispute.

The discussion is becoming incoherent and

leading nowhere.

There is little time available while a subject does

deserve a thorough investigation.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Different sequences for different focus points

First of all: there's no such thing a THE right

sequence for using the Six Thinking Hats.
Sequences differ according to subject and
participating thinkers.
Also remember that in reality every hat can be
used as many times as is desirable.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Different sequences for different focus points

Let the facilitator of a meeting - the one wearing

the blue hat - propose a sequence or if time allows,
decide on this as a group.
But even with a set sequence: if applicable - be
flexible!
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

How much time do you spend per hat?

You can do an incredible amount of thinking in a

relatively short period of time.
Especially when it is known their is little time and
you have a clear idea of what you're wanting to
achieve with your thinking.
Your thoughts will be sharper and the time limit
prevents your thoughts from abbreviations.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

How much time do you spend per hat?

With very practical topics 90 seconds per hat can

produce an impressive amount of output.
Also it appears to be wise to limit the time even
more for people who are used to endless
discussions.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

How much time do you spend per hat?

Of course the timing also depends on the number

of people participating.
But in general 3 to 4 minutes per hat suffices - as
a group!
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Rules of thumb for timing:

Allow limitless time for white hat when much

information needs to be digested. But keep the
thinking focused on subject!
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Rules of thumb for timing:

Don't limit black hat thinking as long as new

viewpoints are brought forward.
Breaking off prematurely will always result in
strong resistance.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Rules of thumb for timing:

For the same reasons also don't limit yellow hat

thinking.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Rules of thumb for timing:

Be flexible with green hat thinking: switch to a

different hat once the flow of ideas has stopped.
You can always come back to the green hat later
on.
Only when using specific creative thinking
methods allow for enough time to utilize them.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Rules of thumb for timing:

Restrict red hat thinking to 30 seconds to prevent

people from wanting to explain or justify their
feelings.
Only allow more time when intuition and feelings
form a major part of our subject.
(For instance when acceptability of a new idea is
an issue.)
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Applying the Six Different Hats
How do I use these Six Thinking Hats then?

Rules of thumb for timing:

Always limit the thinking session for each hat at

forehand.
If it turns out to be appropriate, allow for extra
time.
The timing is the task of the facilitator wearing
the blue hat.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
When do I apply this thinking method?

Meetings - more than 2 people

Both the incidental as the systematical application

of the hats is useful during meetings.
Important is that all participants are always
wearing the same hat!
The facilitator usually has the blue hat on and
structures the dialogue.
But everyone can make blue hat
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
When do I apply this thinking method?

Conversations - two people

The most common way to use the hats during a

conversation between two people, is incidental.
Use the hats to guide the thinking and to ask for a
different point of viewing the topic.
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
When do I apply this thinking method?

Individual

Though the hats were originally 'designed' for

interpersonal use, they can be used in individual
situations as well.
They structure your thoughts and prevent people
from forgetting certain ways of thinking.
It does take discipline!
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Key Points to Remember
Always think in the style of the hat you're wearing. Any other ideas and
thoughts that surface are to be ignored.

The hats represent a style of thinking. They do NOT describe people, thinking
habits or thoughts.

Instead of arguing use parallel thinking to display different views next to

each other and compare later.

Follow the ritual of the hats and the colors. Take the method as a serious
game. And stick to its rules.

The hats are meant to simplify the thinking and make it more efficient. So
don't complicate things!
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

First ideas:

blue - definition of subject

white - ready knowledge

green - generating ideas

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Evaluation:

yellow - benefits and valuable elements

black - dangers and difficulties

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Improvement:

black - inventory of weak points

green - improving those points

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Explanation:

white - factual situation

green - possible causes

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Direct action:

red - gut feelings

black - dangers and difficulties

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Choice:

green - possible alternatives

yellow - positives of alternative

black - negatives of alternatives

red - gut feelings

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Emotions:

red feelings

white - actual situation

green - different viewpoints

blue - conclusion
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Chances:

yellow benefits

white - ready knowledge

green - creative action

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Short Sequences

Decision:

green alternatives

blue - compare alternatives with needs

red - choose alternative

 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Longer Sequences

Problem Solving:

blue - definition of problem

white - available info
green - possible solutions
yellow - reality check solutions
black - weak points solutions
white - connect to info
blue - draw conclusion
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Longer Sequences

Creative Effort:

blue - purpose of creativity

white - topic info
green - generating ideas
yellow - idea benefits
black - idea down sides
green - solving down sides
red - gut feelings
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Longer Sequences

Investigation:

blue - definition of investigation

white - available info
green - hypothesizing
white - investigate more info
blue - summarize
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Longer Sequences

Decision Making:

blue - topic of decision

green - offer alternatives
white - factual situation
yellow - suitability alternatives
black - un-suitability alternatives
red - making the decision
black - assessing decision
 Edward De Bono's
Six Thinking Hats
Longer Sequences

Communication:

blue - necessity
white - topic description
green - alternative views
red - choice of approach
black - assessing choice
SOALAN ???
Question??

Prepared by Tsen Kui Loi Feb 2010

 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

White Hat: state the facts

- students are talking when Teacher is
talking
- there is noise so that others are
distracted or can't hear
- students don't know what to do after
Teacher has given directions
- many students get silly or off task
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

Red Hat: states the emotions

- Teacher feels offended
- Students are frustrated because they
can't hear directions
- Those talking enjoy joking around and
being heard
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

Black Hat: negative aspects

- time is wasted
- learning is compromised
- those who legitimately have the floor feel
that listeners don't care about what they
are saying
- chaos in the classroom
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

Yellow Hat: positives of the situation are

examined
- everyone gets to say what is on their
mind
- it can be fun
- you don't have to wait until you speak
and therefore don't forget what you what
to say
- not just the "smart" kids get to speak
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

Green Hat: creative ideas that come with seeing

the problem in a new light
- Teacher will be more aware of the amount of
time that she "talks"
- Teacher will try to include interaction from
many different students, not just the "smart"
kids
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

- students will work on resisting the need to say

everything that comes into their mind. They will
ask
themselves if this is "on topic" and" if this needs
to be shared at this time. There needed to be
further
discussion on "how" students would work on
this problem.
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

- students will think about whether their

comment will interfere with other people's
learning
- we will keep these charts up so that we can
refer back to the learning of this moment and
reassess how we are doing.
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

Blue Hat: Sum up what is learned

- Teacher learned that she needs to limit the
amount of time she uses "Talking" as a form of
teaching
- Teacher needs to involve all students in
discussion. She needs to look for the one who
rarely offers comments or is quietly waiting to
be picked to answer.
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

- Teacher needs to realize that some students

need "think time" before they are ready to
contribute to a discussion. Allowing time for
these students to think is important part of class
discussion so they do not tune out.
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

- students now realize that when they talk when

others are talking it makes the person talking
feel like a fool or unappreciated.
- students realize that just to "get the laugh" of
the moment, they are jeopardizing other
people's learning
 Six Thinking Hats
Students Talking When Teacher is Teaching:

- students learned that speaking whenever you

want show a lack of self-discipline and that not
everything that goes through our minds is worth
sharing.
- teacher/student needs to revisit this topic and
check how we are doing
SOALAN ???
Question??

Prepared by Tsen Kui Loi Feb 2010

Using the Six Hats to Respond to Literature

White Hat: Information and facts about the book

Title
Author and Illustrator
Awards that the book may have won (CBC
Picture Book, Bilby Award)
Plot- what happened, story map, Top Level
Structure,
Characters- names, what they look like
Setting
Using the Six Hats to Respond to Literature

White Hat: Information and facts about the book

Title
Author and Illustrator
Awards that the book may have won (CBC
Picture Book, Bilby Award)
Plot- what happened, story map, Top Level
Structure,
Characters- names, what they look like
Setting
Using the Six Hats to Respond to Literature

Red Hat: Discussing feelings, likes and dislikes

Title
Author and Illustrator
Awards that the book may have won (CBC
Picture Book, Bilby Award)
Plot- what happened, story map, Top Level
Structure,
Characters- names, what they look like
Setting
Using the Six Hats to Respond to Literature

Yellow Hat: Benefits, good points and advantages

What was the advantage of solving the
problem that way?
What are the advantages of?
What are all the good points about...the
character, the setting, the ending etc?
Using the Six Hats to Respond to Literature

Black Hat: Disadvantages, dangers and problems

What was the advantage of solving the
problem that way?
What are the advantages of?
What are all the good points about...the
character, the setting, the ending etc?
Using the Six Hats to Respond to Literature

Green Hat: New ideas, creating, adapting, innovating

Lets write a new ending
Write an acrostic about the main character
Draw new illustrations for the story
Think of a different way to solve the problem
Write an innovation on the story
SOALAN ???
Question??

Prepared by Tsen Kui Loi Feb 2010