There’s a school of thought that says: if you can’t draw it, you don’t understand it.
This was a concept that was introduced to me about 7 or 8 years ago during a strategic planning session in which the facilitator asked us to draw an intractable problem we were looking to solve. We couldn’t use words, only images (even if only stick figures).
I found it was a very powerful exercise, especially when we had to work in small groups in order to define our problem in terms everyone could agree to… and then illustrate the problem without using any words.
I’ve since added this as an activity that I draw upon from time to time in order to determine whether my participants are truly getting the concept. As a facilitator, I appreciate this activity because:
a) It often stretches participants beyond their comfort zone. When you take away the ability to use written language, people get somewhat uncomfortable. Quickly.
b) It really does give me a snapshot as to whether or not the participants are getting a concept and/or whether we’re all on the same page.
The creativity that groups will come up with often amazes me. If it’s something you want to try out in an upcoming session, I’ve made a lesson plan available for you here. This is specifically geared towards change management, but feel free to adjust to suit your own needs.
If you happen to use it in an upcoming session, drop me a line. I’d love to hear how it goes!
