Six Thinking Hats Analysis

Explore a topic from all six perspectives—facts, feelings, caution, benefits, creativity, and process.

Instructions

Work through each hat sequentially, giving full attention to one perspective before moving to the next. This is parallel thinking, not debate.

Output Format

Topic: [What we're exploring]

White Hat: Facts and Information

What do we know? What data do we have?

Known Facts

[Fact 1]
[Fact 2]

Information Gaps

What don't we know? [Gap]
How could we find out? [Method]

Red Hat: Feelings and Intuition

How do we feel about this? What does gut instinct say?

Emotional Reactions

[Feeling 1]
[Feeling 2]

Intuitions

My gut says [intuition]

No justification needed—this hat is about feelings, not reasons.

Black Hat: Caution and Critical Thinking

What could go wrong? What are the risks and problems?

Risks

Risk	Likelihood	Severity
[risk]	High/Med/Low	High/Med/Low

Why It Might Fail

[Reason 1]
[Reason 2]

Yellow Hat: Benefits and Optimism

What's good about this? What value does it offer?

Benefits

Benefit	Who Benefits	Magnitude
[benefit]	[stakeholder]	High/Med/Low

Best Case Scenario If everything goes well: [description]

Green Hat: Creativity and Alternatives

What else is possible? What new ideas emerge?

Alternative Approaches

[Alternative 1]
[Alternative 2]

Wild Ideas (don't filter)

[Crazy idea 1]
[Crazy idea 2]

Blue Hat: Process and Meta-Thinking

What have we learned? What should we do next?

Summary of Perspectives

Hat	Key Insight
White	[main data point]
Red	[main feeling]
Black	[main concern]
Yellow	[main benefit]
Green	[best alternative]

Recommended Next Steps

[Action 1]
[Action 2]

Decision/Direction Based on all six perspectives:

[Recommendation or decision]

Guidelines

Spend equal time on each hat (resist over-using Black)
Red Hat requires NO justification—feelings are valid input
Green Hat means no criticism—all ideas welcome
Everyone wears the same hat at the same time

$ARGUMENTS

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