Adam Chan was a participant in the session I facilitated at the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) conference in April. He purchased a couple of VisualsSpeak ImageSets to bring back to Singapore.
Adam works for an interesting company, Focus Adventure ‘Where every moment is a challenge’. They use outdoor adventure of all kinds along with experiential techniques for leadership, team building, and innovation. You can see a video on their homepage. Made me want to sign up!
Facilitating his first session
When I met Adam, I could tell he had a lot of interesting ideas. So I asked him to keep in touch as he started using the tool. I just knew he would find creative ways to use it that all of us in the VisualsSpeak community will find useful. Here is his first report:
The internal learning session was conducted on 2 May 08. My peers are absolutely amazed by its (VisualsSpeak ImageSet) ability and potential to create openness at a level they have not experienced before. Apologies, I don’t consider myself as en expert in this so I stayed pretty close to the way you have conducted in the IAF session but a slightly compressed one as I have only 1.5 hour. In summary, this is how it was done;
- Started with a brief introduction on what VisualsSpeaks is.
- Each learner receives handouts on pattern recognition.
- Each learner receives a base (about 40cm by 30cm) to work with.
- Divided into two small group of 6, given only 5 minutes, each learner to select any number of photos that will represent “yourself”.
Some interesting observations captured were,
- Some did not use the base, they simply lay the photos on the floor. Participants replied, “ creativity has no boundaries” when asked why the base wasn’t used
- Some selected photos were overturned but were found beside the frame formed by the participant. The participant was asked why those photos were selected but not revealed. We didn’t get a concrete reply but it was interesting enough to just ask the question. We all agreed that the act carries meaning that is implicit and not groundless.
- Listeners should try to look at the frame with the same perspective as the creator, i.e. nobody should stand opposite of the creator.
- One participant formed a frame that has no humans in any photos but only nature. It could very well mean he prefers the nature to a crowd, introversion, reserved, etc.
- A few felt that the least instructions from facilitators, more room can be given to creativity and also allowing more implicit information to surface
- As a facilitator, the expectation cup should be emptied to avoid any unwarranted influences.
Overall, the experience was great.
Results!
I’m especially excited by Adam’s results for a couple of reasons:
- while we tested the VisualsSpeak ImageSet with people from around the world, most of the images were created in the US
- it worked in a setting that is very different from where it was created
- Adam got excellent results after just three hours of training
Our dream is to create add-on sets of images to broaden the applicability of the tool. We want other photographers who represent very different viewpoints to add to the collection. This will make it more usable globally, with more inclusive images. But, the core set has to be solid, and having facilitators bring it into other countries is a way to test that at a new level. So thanks Adam, we look forward to hearing how we can make the image selection even better for your area of the world.
Affirming Adam’s observations
These are great observations, aligned with much of what we have observed over the years.
- Some did not use the base
Offering a background for people to assemble their images serves a couple of purposes. One, there is a segment of participants that really enjoy working with a defined space. They don’t know what to do without a defined area, so the background is important to them. Second, how someone responds to the idea of a background gives you a lot more information about how they think.
With a group of experiential facilitators and people who work for a super creative company like Focus Adventure, I would expect some to reject the background. There is no end to what people come up with, and the best part about it- it’s all OK. It just provides more to talk about and makes our differences quite vivid and clear.
- photos were overturned
I totally agree that there is meaning to the overturned photos. Not all the time, but it can be very significant. I have seen people have deep insights when asked about images that are hidden in some way. I have also seen a lot of emotion, with crying and even deep sobbing. It can be very powerful in a coaching situation when you are one-on-one. It can be very uncomfortable for some people if that happens in a larger group. Especially in a work setting.
I proceed carefully. With a group, sometimes I will point out to them as a whole that they may want to reflect on things around the edges of their images. Often people who feel safe will share insights, while others will stay quiet and I just respect that.
- same perspective
This is interesting to me. Yes, looking at the image from the same side as where the creator is describing it helps you understand their perspective. So, if that matches your session objective, it could be helpful. I have also observed people who are on the opposite side see something, and when they mention it, it offers an insight to the person who constructed the image.
If you are looking for creative insights, innovation, and breakthrough, I would intentionally look at things from different sides. So this is a good example of how the process might flex depending on your desired outcomes.
- no humans in any photos but only nature
I also suspect I am working with someone who is more reflective when I see images with no people. I listen carefully to their stories for clues that confirm it or not.
- least instructions from facilitators
I’m totally on board with this one. I’m always saying no rules, just a time limit. Participants do amazing things, and I never tire of listening and seeing what they come up with.
- expectation cup should be emptied
I love this. So insightful. I think this is the hardest thing for most people to get used to using VisualsSpeak. The more you, as the facilitator, can lessen your expectations of what the outcomes should be about the better the process will be. If you allow it to happen, magic can occur in the room.
Thanks Adam and the team at Focus Adventure for sharing with all of us!
