Does this sound familiar? Your resources group is running late and the agent is in a hurry. You tell yourself you can skip the icebreaker and the introduction because, after all, it's "just" an internal session and everybody in the room has seen you facilitate before. Twenty minutes into your session you're asking yourself why there are only seven ideas on the list and your participants are bogged down in a discussion rather than adding new ideas to the list.
At Creative Resources we have learned the hard way to never skip the icebreaker. If we don't remind everyone how and why to make a list of options before we make a choice, it costs us time and creativity.
Especially for Creative Facilitators who facilitate with the same participants all the time, there's a great temptation to skip the introduction and roll right into making a list of ideas.
A facilitated introduction helps participants reconnect to the behavior of suspending judgment and avoiding discussion by participating in making a list and then making a choice. Believe me, setting the stage to limit discussion and judgment will give you more time for ideas than the introduction itself will take.
Cover these headlines in your introduction the next time you start a session:
-
Welcome & Make a List Icebreaker.
- Why we make a list.
- How we make a list:
- Suspend judgment.
- Take detours.
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Cast of characters.
- Facilitator.
- Resource group.
- Agent.
- Client.
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Review of the process:
- Before this session.
- During this session.
- Agree on the length of this session.
- Following this session.
- Ensure confidentiality.
- Client introduction.
Creative Resources is standing by with "Make a List" icebreakers for your Introduction!