Six Thinking Hats Technique: A Complete Practical Guide

Summary: During brainstorming and discussions, some thoughts bubble up while others are buried. De Bono's Six Thinking Hats technique provides a systematic solution to sharing and improving ideas by eliminating idea-destructive elements during brainstorming meetings.

Our thinking can be unstructured and reinforced, leading individuals and groups to think irrationally and be biased toward specific ideas, which affects the outcome of the design thinking process. The six thinking hats technique introduced a structured approach to discussing topics rather than a chaotic one. While the six thinking hats method does not follow the ordinary way of thinking, it can be used during a specific critical thinking session to achieve targets such as solving problems, discussing arguments, conducting in-depth analysis for planning, and running the creative thinking process. In this article, we will explore the Six Thinking Hats technique, its advantages, and how to apply it. You can download the Six Thinking Hats PowerPoint template to use as a meeting agenda.

What Is the Six Thinking Hats Technique?

In his book Lateral Thinking for Management, De Bono introduced a directional sequence for the brainstorming process. The Six Hats thinking method is based on a metaphorical six hats representing different thinking types. The team uses these hats to address situations in a sequenced, rather than chaotic, manner. Six Hats thinking can be used during critical thinking sessions to achieve specific targets, such as solving problems, discussing arguments, planning in depth, and analysing the creative thinking process. It is very similar to other techniques, such as the Paul-Elder Framework and the SCAMPER technique.

The method has been introduced to help companies improve return on investment (ROI). When adopting the method with business students, their business models were more coherent and comprehensive than in the ordianry meeting discussions. It can also be successfully applied to school students through the thinking-in-education approach. Over the last four years, I've adopted the Six Thinking Hats while teaching the design process to my master 's-level students to organise their thoughts while designing their brand business. I will use this example later when we cover the tool's practical application. If used during the Double Diamond design thinking process, it can improve outcomes in the exploration and development stages.

De Bono Six Thinking Hats

Solving problems using the De Bono Six Thinking Hats technique requires considering different perspectives. Each perspective is represented with a hat colour. At the end of the discussion session, stakeholders should better understand the problem through alternative approaches, enabling them to develop creative, innovative solutions. During each critical thinking discussion meeting, the facilitator determines which hat should be worn in a specific part of the discussion as follows:

White hat

This hat represents the facts and information about the problem of the argument. During this part, the stockholders only share information about the issue and take notes. No further development in the thinking process should be done. Questions in this part can be "what is the available information?" and "what are the facts we have?"

Yellow hat

In contrast to the black hat, the yellow hat is supposed to reflect the sun or an optimistic attitude. The stakeholders view the problem or suggestion from an optimistic perspective. It helps to spotlight the advantages and benefits of the recommendations. During this, the questions are: "What are the advantages of applying the solution?" and "Why do you think it is workable?"

Black hat

Wearing the black hat drives attendees to think about the problem or suggestion cautiously and defensively. This part aims to identify the proposal's disadvantages and explain why the idea may not work, using logical reasons.

Focusing on the warnings, risks, or cautions helps stakeholders isolate the reasoning and think of solutions in the yellow one. During this discussion, the question that can be asked is "What are the risks?" and "Why is the suggestion not working?"

Red hat

The emotions that present the stakeholders' feelings about the problem and their gut reactions. Using this hat helps understand different emotional responses, such as love, hate, like, and dislike. The red hat does not aim to understand the reason behind these feelings. We can ask questions like "What do you feel about the suggestion?" and "What is your gut reaction?"

Green hat

This hat represents the creative thinking part of the discussion. During the critical thinking discussion, this hat helps stakeholders develop creative solutions to problems or consider suggestions from a creative perspective. Innovative tools can drive creativity during the conversations, such as Lego Serious Play and brainstorming techniques.

Blue hat

This hat is the process control plan where the meeting leaders manage difficulties during the discussions. It ensures that the Six Thinking Hats guidelines are applied. This hat can be used to drive the thinking process to better routes. For example, the facilitators can direct the discussion to the green hat route if there are no ideas.

I believe the hat sequence and which set of hats to use during the commenting or evaluation session are not fixed; they are determined by the project type, the team, and the session's aim. Figure 2 below shows the six thinking hat scenarios and how the hat order changes depending on the main aim of the discussion. 

This ability to flexibly reorder the thinking sequence provides an extended opportunity to utilise the six thinking hats technique across different scenarios.

Advantages of the Six Thinking Hats Technique

Parallel thinking over debate: In traditional meetings, debate and argument hinder rational thinking and cause ideas to be missed as the discussion shifts from one point to another. The hats get everyone thinking in the same direction at the same time.

Distance people from ideas: As the hats are role-play, they distance people from an opinion position, and the sessions provide a safe space to share ideas without risking judgment or confrontation.

Makes all types of thinking legitimate: In many professional and social cultures, some types of thinking are not encouraged. For example, in some business cultures, emotional responses (red hat) or optimistic speculation (yellow hat) are not encouraged, leading to missing opportunities. The six thinking hats give every mode of thinking its own protected time and space.

Saves time: One key problem with brainstorming techniques (such as reversed brainstorming) is that they can be a waste of time when people start talking without a clear direction. With this organised structure, teams often cover more ground in 60 structured minutes than in three hours of open debate.

Reduces dominance by strong personalities: When everyone must respond through the same hat at the same time, louder or more senior voices can't monopolise the session. 

Improves decision quality: Because the technique forces the group to systematically cover optimism, risk, data, creativity, and process, decisions are less likely to have blind spots. 

Works across cultures and disciplines: The coloured-hat metaphor is intuitive and language-neutral, making it suitable for multicultural teams and diverse professional backgrounds.

Adaptable in scale and format: The technique works equally well as a full-team exercise, a solo thinking tool. So, it is a perfect tool for designers to brainstorm and evaluate ideas.

Example of Applying the Six Thinking Hats Technique

The Six Thinking Hats technique has many applications for exploring and evaluating ideas. So, let us explore a practical example of using the six thinking hats technique to design a social media excess usage app for young Adults to break the habit formed by the so-called UX dark patterns. So, the session time will be around 64 minutes, and the participants will be the product team, UX researchers, and an optional young-adult users sample.

Tips to Run a Successful Six Thinking Hats Session

As with any brainstorming technique, running a successful Six Thinking Hats session requires careful preparation, disciplined facilitation, and a commitment to "parallel thinking," in which all participants focus on the same perspective simultaneously; otherwise, the meeting will not achieve the intended outcome (check 8D Problem Solving, TRIZ technique).

Preparation and Setup

• Participants should understand the Six Thinking Hats technique and how the session will run through a clear orientation. 
• Clearly state whether the goal is to solve a specific problem, make a decision, or generate new ideas, as this determines the most effective hat sequence as highlighted above.
• Participants must be informed of the time blocks of each hat to maintain momentum. 

Effective Facilitation

• The facilitator (Blue Hat) must ensure the participants stay "on-hat". For example, if someone makes a critical remark during the Green (creative) or Yellow (positive) phase, they should be gently redirected to save that thought for the Black Hat phase.
• Manage Participation: Ensure each meeting member has a voice and that no single voice dominates the conversation under each hat.
• Use Visual Indicators: Use visual cues such as coloured cards, presentation slides, or physical hats to remind everyone which thinking mode is currently active.
• Stay neutral: The facilitator should remain neutral and avoid contributing their own opinions while managing the process, and only share their perspective when they explicitly announce they are wearing a different hat.

Capture and Action Record Contributions

• Use the final Blue Hat session to synthesise the findings, summarise conclusions, and define clear next steps or action items. 

How to Run Six Thinking Hats Online?

Online brainstorming can be an effective solution to overcome the time, location, and logistical constraints of conducting the Six Thinking Hats technique in person. Thankfully, there are several online Six Thinking Hats templates you can utilise during your online meeting:

• Creately Six Thinking Hats template
• Miro Six Thinking Hats Template
• Figma Six Thinking Hats Critique Template
• Mural Brainwriting template

The Six Thinking Hats method provides a parallel thinking model to get the most out of critical thinking discussions. By organising their thinking using the metaphor of the six hats, stakeholders can ensure the topic is covered from multiple perspectives. This organised thinking approach occurs quickly during the discussion to reach the best possible output of the design thinking process. While the six thinking hats technique is discussed separately from the design thinking process, both work closely toward building creative solutions and innovative approaches.

Bibliography

• De Bono, E. (2017). Six Thinking Hats: The multi-million bestselling guide to running better meetings and making faster decisions. Penguin UK.
• Kivunja, C. (2015). Using de Bono’s six thinking hats model to teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for success in the 21st-century economy. Creative Education, 6(03), 380.
• Göçmen, Ö., & Coşkun, H. (2019). The effects of the six thinking hats and speed on creativity in brainstorming. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 31, 284-295.

Note: This article was first published in January 2015 and updated in May 2022.