[Ailist] An experience of AI - looking for ideas

[Sue James]

Hi Simon

First of all, warm greetings from a 'coldish' Melbourne, Australia ... :-)
Whereabouts in Australia will you be in October, by the way?

In relation to your question, here's a quick description of an activity 
that I've used a number of times with great success in 'short intro to 
AI' sessions.
(I will also add that my thanks and appreciation go to Gervase Bushe, 
who first introduced me to this one.)

1) Divide the room approx down the middle, and ask people on each side 
to pair up.
2) One side of the room is asked to brainstorm a list related to a 
question relevant to the group .. perhaps in your group "Please 
brainstorm a list of the qualities of an excellent manager"
3) On the other side of the room, people are asked to think about the 
best manager they've ever known, and share that story with their partners.
4) If possible, also have one or two people volunteer to act as 
observers. As others begin, ask these volunteers to watch both groups 
and see if they observe any differences between interactions on either 
side of the room  ... eg body language, volume, voices, facial 
expressions etc
5) Allow the conversations and brainstorming to run for between 10-20 
mins, depending on how much time you need during your 45 min session for 
other things .... also allowing time for the next step, a discussion on 
the experience.
6) In the debrief afterwards, observers share what they have noticed and 
participants are asked how they found the experience - engagement, 
emotions etc. Additional questions relate to who experienced a new (or 
fresh) insight, learned something new about the other person, learned 
something new or perhaps surprising about what is important for an 
effective manager, etc.

I've found this activity,  together with the ensuing discussion,  is a 
great way for people to experience a 'taste' of what AI is all 
about....  as well as (albeit briefly) to experience some of the key 
benefits of using AI.  For example, greater energy and engagement, 
gaining fresh insights or ideas, learning new or surprising things about 
one another or the topic under discussion, etc.

I hope this is of some help to you. I also hope my explanation was clear 
- it's being typed very hastily at the end of a very long day. :-)

Warmly
Sue

-------------------

Sue James
Facilitator & Consultant
Ph: +613 9758 2528
BJ Seminars International
inspiring and connecting people
www.bjseminars.com.au 



Simon Goland wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I will be delivering a 2-day workshop on Appreciative Inquiry in October, to
> a group of consultants and managers, in Australia. About 10 days beforehand,
> I will have an opportunity to talk about AI in a special interest group. The
> purpose is to introduce AI briefly, and create enough of an
> interest/juice/curiousity in the audience, as well as invite more people for
> the 2-day course. During that special interest group evening, I will have
> about 45 minutes or so, and I don't really want to talk and "present" much
> in this time; experiencing AI is what I am after.
>
> I would like to create/deliver some kind of an experiential, engaging
> activity, so that people can "get" the power of what AI can be. And am
> looking for ideas - and would appreciate any suggestion or thought.
>
> Thanks,
> Simon
>
>
> ----
> Simon Goland  |  Simon Says Consulting
> Facilitating Personal & Organizational Learning
>
> www.SimonGoland.com
> 604.737.1591
>
>
>
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