FEWER MEETINGS … MORE CONVERSATION (part 2)

(In our last blog, we shared The World Café – this is a continuation of that introduction.)

At the heart of a great café, you will find a powerful question. When people focus on questions they care about, they begin thinking together rather than spinning off in random directions.  When inspired by powerful questions, conversations come alive with excitement and everyone learns while contributing to a highly productive exchange. So what makes a question powerful? Here are a few guidelines to consider:

Is simple and clear …focused on what matters most
Is open ended…leading to deeper exploration
Is thought provoking…to ignite fresh thinking
Generates energy…imagination, engagement, and creative action
Surfaces or challenges assumptions…stretch us to think differently
Focuses inquiry and discovery… It does not imply immediate action steps or problem solving!
Touches a deeper meaning.  It is relevant to the real life work of the people who will be exploring it.
Evokes More Questions. You’ll know it’s good when it sparks more what-if possibilities

The key is framing up questions to open up dialogue. We are so used to thinking in terms of problem-solution.  This is an opportunity to pose catalytic questions that springboard the group to new ways of thinking…that if explored fully could provide breakthrough possibilities.

Here are a few examples to give you a feel and flavor for questions that stimulate juicy conversation. Of course, there are lots more…and they can be tailored to your challenge at hand. Thinking of a project you have in the hopper, take a moment to see if any of these questions pop for you…or what new ones come to mind.

-What questions do we have that, if answered, would take us to the next level?
-What is the absolute best thing we could do for our consumer/customer?
-What holes can we address in our product/service offering?
-What is the biggest frustration we have yet to crack and where does that lead us?
-What higher order benefit does ____ springboard to?
-What market trends should we be exploiting along the way?
-What would be a category changer…a totally game changing idea?
-What are we doing right that we want to continue? Magnify?
-What would we do if we were _______________?
-What off the wall ideas might get us fired?
-What assumptions can we smash to yield the most powerful result?-
-What promise(s) is most important to our consumer and how will they know we delivered?
-What do we need to “let go of” to move forward and what new ideas does that inspire?

Gotta Love its Versatility too!
Small teams and big teams, seasoned experts and newbies, internal employees as well as external partners,  consumers and customers, all levels…all functions…Cafés are a simple, yet powerful tool for any team, any size, anywhere. We have facilitated sessions entirely built around Cafés as well as used them in a more targeted way to inspire a round of idea creation.  For added sparks, you may wish to use Cafés in conjunction with provocative stimulus…but that’s a whole other blog topic! See our articles on stimulus creation to explore more!  With Cafés…the options are endless and the opportunities expansive.

We encourage you to give it a try!

“Our questions have the power to break us out of the shell of our understanding into new worlds.  A vital question focuses the creative power of our minds.”
Verna Alee, The Knowledge Evolution

Advertisement