[Ailist] short introduction to AI material/ suggestions

Wed Sep 26 18:46:45 MDT 2007

Dear Lisa

You wrote:

"I have a short window of time with a local ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) during which time I want to lead them through a little AI experience.  45 minutes.  The participants will be trainers, developers, HR people, etc. (maybe even some OD folks :-)).  So could you please make some suggestions how to best use this time for it to be memorable and for them to leave with a desire to know more about AI.because of the experience?"

There were several responses on this list to a similar question about 10 
days ago - the subject line for those posts read "An experience of AI - 
looking for ideas"
In that discussion you'll find various suggestions made for addressing 
this same issue of providing an "AI experience" within a short 45 minute 
timeframe.

While it could be tempting to try fitting in experience of all phases of 
the 4-D cycle, from my own experience I'd suggest the key focus in such 
a short presentation is experience of the "Discovery" phase - at least 
10 minutes if possible. Allow time for discussion on that experience as 
well as time for brief explanations of the other stages, with Q&A time 
for those. The reason I suggest maximising the time for those discovery 
conversations as much as you can, is that this allows more effective 
engagement and therefore discovery to happen. Personally, I believe that 
only 5 minutes in paired conversations is not sufficient to help people 
appreciate the depth and power this process can have.

Also, your email leads me to assume you don't have access to those 
previous messages any longer on your computer, so I've copied the 
content below.

Collette Herrick suggested:
"Perhaps on of the most powerful experiential and engaging activities 
would be to get them in a brief inquiry together by simply turning to 
the person next to them. When I have done this in 45-60 minute 
presentations, the energy always shifts and the audience seems  to get  
the generative aspects of Ai.". One woman told me after such a  
presentation, that she became best friends with her interview partner 
who she did not know before  their "speed inquiry."   [Cover} 1-3 simple 
and affirmative questions on a topic that is relevant to the event. So 
at a leadership presentation, the questions would be on a "high point in 
leadership" what they value about themselves as leaders or  a "future 
question."  They might have 5-10 minutes each to be interviewed and the 
whole room can go from having to listen to "yet another powerpoint 
presentation"  to buzzing with energy and connection.

Francoise Coupal said:
"I would also suggest starting off your presentation with an AI question 
before starting to talk about AI.  People can turn to the person sitting 
next to them and take turns answering the question.  It will help ground 
the presentation and make it more real for people."

 From Ron Smith:
45 minutes is a bit tight (can you get 1 hour?)., you could do "Paper 
Plate" (you didn't say how many participants, room size etc so depending 
on these factors), start with a few power point slides (5 minutes tops) 
on AI that explain AI philosophy/focusing on the positve etc, then 
conduct 10 minute interviews (20 min total) in pairs re: 1. personal 
strengths they bring to the team/org and 2. Three wishes (or one wish 
and why) for the org/team (the classic magic wand question). Have them 
record the results on the two sides of the paper plates and then do the 
activity(contact me offline if you don't know paper plate) for 15 
minutes (they won't finish). Debrief for 5 minutes or while milling 
around afterwards. Good luck.

 From Judith Light:
I begin with pairs (someone you don't know well) asking about a 
powerful, inspiring ( or one that was fun) music experience. Allowed 
about 10 minutes each.  They then introduced the partner to the group by 
telling the story. It was great to hear the range of experiences from 
the time as a youngster being part of a performance that was so great 
the youngster decided on music as a vocation to a woman who remembered a 
music festival with her family hearing lots of kinds of music.  For her 
the memory was of fun with her family. Then I used about 10 slides and 
talked about how we might use it with the merger.  Not only did this 
intro AI but started a new Board year with new insights into one another.

And finally, I myself suggested the following (courtesy of Gervase Bushe 
originally)
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.

Hope the above is of some help. :-)

Warmly
Sue
------------

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

Lisa Gravel wrote:
> Hi Esteemed AI Colleagues
>
>  
>
> I have a short window of time with a local ASTD (American Society for
> Training and Development) during which time I want to lead them through a
> little AI experience.  45 minutes.  The participants will be trainers,
> developers, HR people, etc. (maybe even some OD folks :-)).  So could you
> please make some suggestions how to best use this time for it to be
> memorable and for them to leave with a desire to know more about AI.because
> of the experience?
>
>  
>
> Your time and energy are appreciated.  Take great care!  PS.In Anchorage
> Alaska it is a beautiful fall day. 
>
>  
>
> Lisa Gravel, MSOD
>
> Better World Consulting Group, Inc.
>
> "Partnering to Make the World Better--One Organization, One Team, One
> Individual at a Time."
>
>  <http://www.betterworldconsulting.com> www.betterworldconsulting.com
>
>  <mailto:lisa at betterworldconsulting.com> lisa at betterworldconsulting.com
>
> 907.770.7658  or 907.230.7146
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
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