Harvest hundreds of ideas from a crowd in minutes, one per slip, then sort them into what matters.
The Crawford Slip method is the simplest way to collect ideas from a large group. Everyone gets a small stack of paper slips and one clear question. In a few silent minutes, each person writes as many answers as they can, one idea per slip. Then you collect them all.
The real work happens afterward. Because each slip holds a single idea, you can sort the slips like cards: into piles of similar ideas, then into themes. The size of each pile shows how widely an idea is shared, and the odd slip out may hold the most original thought in the room.
It's fast, anonymous and scales almost without limit. A hundred people can hand you a thousand ideas before the coffee break, and nobody has to speak in front of a crowd.
Use it when you need input from more people than any discussion could include, such as an all-staff day, a lecture hall or a town meeting, or when people may hold back if their names are attached.
A crowd's ideas narrow from people to slips, piles, themes and action. Counts are from the food bank example below.
Choose a part of the diagram or a tab to explore each stage.
What exactly do you want this crowd to tell you?
How many separate ideas can each person write in five minutes?
Which slips belong together?
What are the big messages, and what's the surprising small one?
What will you do with what you heard, and how will people know?
The Crawford Slip trades conversation for scale, and the trade has some surprising benefits.
In a meeting, only one person can speak at a time. On slips, a hundred people can contribute at the same moment. That's why a few silent minutes can produce more ideas than an hour of open discussion.
Unsigned slips let people say what they really think, including criticism of how things are run. Newcomers and junior staff contribute as freely as the boss, and nobody is judged on how well they speak in public.
Long answers tangle several points together and are hard to group. Single ideas on single slips can be sorted, counted and regrouped as patterns emerge, like a deck of cards.
When 60 slips say the same thing, that's a clear signal. When one slip says something nobody else did, that's worth a look too. Sorting reveals both the common ground and the outliers.
Decide exactly what you want to learn. “What one thing makes your shift harder than it needs to be?” beats “Any feedback?”. Test the question on a colleague first.
Cut paper into small slips, or use index cards or sticky notes. Plan on 10–25 per person. Have boxes or envelopes ready to collect them.
Tell the group the question, the rule (one idea per slip, written so a stranger could understand it) and the time limit. Promise to share what you learn, and say when.
Let people write in silence; most crowds slow down within ten minutes. Collect the slips in boxes. Asking a second question? Use a different color of slip for each round so batches never mix.
With a small team, deal the slips into piles of similar ideas. Split big piles, merge tiny ones, and give each a name and a count. Then group the piles into a handful of themes.
Write a short summary: themes, counts, a few quotes and what you'll do. Send it to everyone who took part. Being seen to act is what makes people take part next time.
Paper slips or index cards (10–25 per person), pens, boxes to collect them, a big table for sorting and a few helpers. Online: a form with one answer box per idea. With AI, use the prompt below.
Setting: a community food bank's annual volunteer evening. Question: “What one change would make a family's first visit to our pantry easier?” Format: 130 volunteers, 15 slips each, 8 minutes.
The biggest pile. First-time families can't find the entrance or don't know where to line up. One slip: “Put a sign at the bus stop.”
Long waits outside in the cold. Ideas: numbered tickets, a text message when it's your turn, chairs under an awning.
Let families choose their own items from the shelves, like a small shop, instead of handing out a pre-packed box.
Signs and forms in Spanish and Vietnamese, and volunteers wearing badges that show the languages they speak.
A tiny pile: “Kids are bored and anxious in line.” It led to a box of books and crayons by the door, the cheapest fix of all.
370 more slips in 40 smaller piles, typed up and sent to every volunteer along with the plan.
Within a month: signs from the bus stop to the door, a text-when-it's-your-turn system and the kids' box. Client choice became the big project for next year, and every volunteer got the summary.
The Crawford Slip is quick to run and slow to finish: someone has to read and sort every slip. That's where AI earns its place. Type or photograph the slips, or collect them with an online form, and AI can propose piles, counts and themes in minutes. Your job is to check its sorting and decide what to do.
Before the event, ask AI how different people might misread your question.
How might 5 different people misread this question? Suggest a clearer version: [question]
Paste the typed slips and ask for piles with counts, in the slips' own words.
Sort these 900 ideas into piles of near-identical ideas. Give each pile a name, a count and 2 quotes.
Ask for the rare ideas that a sort by size would bury.
Which ideas appear only once or twice but are unusual or important? List 10 and say why.
Turn the themes into a short, honest reply to everyone who took part.
Draft a one-page thank-you summary: top themes with counts, 3 quotes, what we'll do and what we won't.
Describe your crowd and topic, pick a mode, then copy the prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot. Coach mode helps you sharpen the question, run the harvest and sort the slips together. With no crowd to hand, the AI can simulate one.
The “Open in” links put the prompt in the web address. If your challenge includes anything sensitive, copy and paste instead.
After the session, click one to copy it, then paste it into the same chat.