We are passionate about helping people everywhere have better meetings. So we’re sharing one of our pro-level tips to do so: do the work in the meeting, not after. By that, we mean each meeting is used to intentionally do work together at the scheduled time, not just talk about what needs to be done. This makes for much more productive syncs; you get WAY more done and meetings aren’t dull. They turn into working sessions, not slogs. There are concrete things to talk about. Everyone’s excited and engaged, which means more gets done.

Now, unanimous attendee participation is key to doing the work in the meeting. How do you capture and maintain the attention of everyone in attendance? Let’s take a look.

How to Maintain Steady Group Participation

To enable great participation, we make our meetings optional at Voltage Control. We think it’s up to the individual to choose if it’s right for them to attend a given meeting because you want each participant to bring their best self and be enthusiastic about contributing. When you give employees the choice to attend, you allow them to take ownership of how to spend their time. In essence, making meetings optional eliminates excuses. Now, there is no excuse for anyone to sit idly by in a meeting they don’t want to attend. Or, say, work on other material that they find more exciting or urgent.

If they value doing other work over being an active part of a meeting, they have the freedom to do so. The people who choose to be in the meeting, then, are much more likely to be engaged, creative, and responsive, because they decided to be there. This elevates productivity in the room and leads to more productive meetings.

In most cases, start the meeting with a no-device rule. By closing the laptops and putting away the devices, you will be amazed by what can be achieved when everyone is paying attention to the activities at hand. If you are meeting virtually, request that attendees use an app like Krisp to silence background noise and notifications that may come through on their laptops during the meeting. Focus everyone’s attention to the meeting at hand to get the most out of it.

Embrace the Child’s Mind for Optimum Performance

Being active, present, and curious creates a fruitful foundation for discovery and productivity.

Embrace the child’s mind. We all still have an inner child, we just need to access it. Luckily, there is a shortcut to do so: focus on verbs rather than nouns in our thinking and while we work. As professionals, we usually focus on nouns more than we do verbs. In other words, we tend to assign tasks and work expectations with rigid words and concepts (adult brain) that limit our creativity and productivity (child brain). It can be difficult to keep our adult-minds from taking over more than they should, but with a seemingly simple change of language, we open ourselves up to more possibilities and overall success.

Kids are masters at living in the verb. Just watch a few of them doing arts and crafts or playing on a playground. They are verbing more than they are nouning. They care less about being an official “artist,” and they don’t seem to even care about the final product of their creations. They are just “making art” or “building something.” There is an emphasis on the joy of the process, rather than obtaining a specific title or end result.

If each person in the room brings their child’s mind when we do creative work, we are all able to explore ideas freely, without obsessing on how “perfect” the results might be. We are ready to go on a journey to find the right idea instead of trying to get the idea just right.

When play is incorporated in work culture, a safe space is opened to fail fearlessly and to make room for marvel instead of judgment.

You can integrate improv exercises or deploy Liberating Structures to prevent participants from becoming too serious. This means a higher ceiling for creativity, therefore more ideas and more possibilities for solutions. Incorporating play will also help your team stay in the moment and process the work as it comes. When we get curious about, well, everything, we have more opportunities for discovery.

Lead with the concept that the sky’s the limit and anything goes in the brainstorming stage of innovation. That’s where the magic happens. Participants who feel safe to think big won’t waste brainpower feeling timid or overthinking their ideas. They will then practice better active listening skills and more fully process the work being done in the room.

You will get the best results when you work to keep everyone engaged at your meetings. Capture and maintain attendee’s attention to experience truly magical meetings.

Want to learn more about how to have Magical Meetings?

Check out Douglas Ferguson and John Fitch’s upcoming book: The Non-Obvious Guide to Magical Meetings (No Matter Who is in the Room).

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Many of us have adopted the mantra “work hard, play hard,” as a method to construct our work and social lives around; “the harder I work, the harder I get to play.” While this can be an effective way to find balance in our lives and motivate us to get our work done so we can then enjoy ourselves, it lends itself to only allowing fun when we aren’t at work.

What if you could collaborate with your inner child to bring a playful mindset to work?

We argue that not only can you, but you should.

Not only do these examples serve as reminders to not take ourselves too seriously, but they also wake us up to the realization that we have lost touch with the genius found within our inner child. Why is this important?

To make the most of our creativity, we need to unlock our sense of playfulness again.

We all still have the inner child, we just need to access it. Luckily, there is a shortcut to do so: focus on verbs rather than nouns in our thinking and while we work.

Work in Verbs

As professionals, we usually focus on nouns more than we do verbs. In other words, we tend to assign tasks and work expectations with rigid words and concepts (adult brain) that limit our creativity and productivity (child brain). It can be difficult to keep our adult-minds from taking over more than they should. But with a seemingly simple change of language, we open ourselves up to more possibilities and overall success.

Let’s consider a few noun-centered ways of being vs. verb-centered ways of being:

• “We need to focus on [insert industry jargon and acronym].” vs. “Let’s imagine what is possible.”
• “We need the best product ASAP.” vs. “Let’s prototype together.”
• “This is what the user wants.” vs. “I am going to listen to the user’s needs.”
• “That will never work” vs. “I’m curious. Time to gather feedback!”
• “What about our competitors?” vs. “Let’s create magic for the customer.”
• “Our company needs better design.” vs. “Let’s all take 5-minutes to sketch a concept.”

Kids are masters at living in the verb. Just watch a few of them doing arts and crafts or playing on a playground. They are verbing more than they are nouning. They care less about being an official “artist,” and they don’t seem to even care about the final product of their creations. They are just “making art” or “building something.” There is an emphasis on the joy of the process, rather than obtaining a specific title or end result.

Kids at Work

I observed the child’s mind at play while briefly babysitting a friend’s child, James, while he went out to run errands. James simply sat for an hour doodling — emphasis on the verb, “doodling.” He did not care about a noun like “the final sketch,” or “the design,” which we as professionals seem to focus on too much. There he was, “doodling.” I could have hung his doodles on the wall or burned them in the fireplace — it would have all been the same to him.

For James, art and creation is a form of play. When we are playing, it is something we do for its own sake, rather than the purpose of praise, results, or politics. Kids are like monks in this way. They can focus solely on the activity at hand and become a more open channel for ideas and creativity. This beginner’s mind is unlocked. They are in the verb rather than obsessing on the noun on constraining themselves.

Play Increases Success

Just like children learn best when they’re playing, so do adults. According to a study by the journal Procedia–Social and Behavioral Sciences, “Fun and enjoyment could prove to be as beneficial and important as it is currently considered in children’s learning.” When we enjoy the task we are doing, we are then in a more relaxed mood and more receptive to the information we are learning or retaining. This directly translates to more achievement in the workplace.

Studies show that when you have fun at your job, you are more successful. Happier employees are 12–20% more productive in the workplace, according to a research by University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy. Having fun also improves communication and collaboration, according to Dimensional Research.

So how do we incorporate more of the child’s mind at work?

Quieting the Adult Mind

When leading meetings or facilitating workshops, I have found that the adult mind’s over-emphasis on nouns is what causes us to spin into arguments that prevent us from designing new solutions or innovating.

There is a time and a place for locking in our adult mind, but so much of our work deserves boundless creativity. We break down the walls when we embody a verb instead of holding tight to a noun.

If each person in the room brings their child’s mind when we do creative work, we are all able to explore ideas freely, without obsessing on how “perfect” the results might be. We are ready to go on a journey to find the right idea instead of trying to get the idea just right.

I start my innovation or design meetings with those images of kid’s homework because the point is to detach ourselves from the results. We can all take it a step further and have fun with the verbs we all love so much. Designing, making, collaborating, dreaming, laughing, caring, and playing like we are kids again.

Don’t we want these verbs in more of our meetings?

Want to learn more about incorporating the child’s mind in meetings?

Voltage Control facilitates design thinking workshops, innovation sessions, and Design Sprints. Please reach out at info@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

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Sunni will be speaking at our upcoming event — Control the Room: The 2nd Annual Austin Facilitator Summit! Taking place at Austin’s Capital Factory on February 6th, learn more and get your tickets here.

The amount of impressive stats on the author, public speaker, and expert meeting facilitator Sunni Brown is a bit staggering. So, I’ll start by sharing two to whet your appetite. Her TED Talk on doodling and how it improves our creative thinking has drawn more than 1.4 million views. Second, she was once named one of the “10 Most Creative People on Twitter” by Fast Company.

Like myself, Sunni is Austin-based, so I was particularly excited to connect with her for this conversation. I’m also happy to announce that she’s one of the keynote speakers for the upcoming 2020 Austin facilitator summit — Control the Room — which is happening in February. (Check out the link if you want to attend and hear her speak!) A couple of weeks ago, Sunni and I had an energizing conversation. Read on to learn more about this fascinating, multi-talented powerhouse.

Sunni is the founder of SB Ink, a creative consultancy that’s unique for its use of a variety of effective, yet sometimes unconventional cognitive and facilitative techniques (think: Infodoodling, Applied Improvisation, and mindfulness). Sunni is also the best-selling author of Gamestorming and The Doodle Revolution, and her forthcoming book, subtitled Deep Self Design, “uses visual thinking to teach a do-it-yourself, evidence-based method of dissolving powerful personal obstacles.”

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, WIRED, CNN, Oprah.com, and Entrepreneur, as well as being featured twice on CBS Sunday Morning and the TODAY Show.

Zen and the Art of Facilitation

One of the things I love about Sunni’s approach to facilitation is how she pulls in a multitude of practices. Her toolkit of skills extends what we expect from facilitators and design thinkers and moves into entirely new realms. For example, she’s a student of Zen Buddhism. And while being a Zen practitioner might not seem like a necessary skill for a creative consultant, she’s found it incredibly useful in her work and that it makes her an even better facilitator.

“Zen practice is about creating open and safe conversations for all human beings,” Sunni shared. “I didn’t go into Zen thinking, ‘This will make me a better facilitator.’ But it inherently does because of the qualities that emerge when you practice for a long time.” The complexities of working with groups of professionals or executives in creative sessions can undoubtedly benefit from the skills that Zen teaches — things like patience and non-reactivity.

“Zen practice is about creating open and safe conversations for all human beings.”

Sunni doesn’t think these skills are a prerequisite for someone in facilitation. But, as one goes deeper into their career, it definitely helps: “Ultimately, when you get into group work, if you don’t move into human behavior and psychological development, you’re going to miss a lot. You’re not going to know how to work with a lot of things. That’s probably true for most facilitators who do work with groups for a long time. You have to start asking the human question.”

These skills have helped Sunni take her facilitation methods to the next level: “With facilitation, you can have a lot of chops, and you can be skillful at creating experiences that drive toward goals. The technical aspects of facilitation — you can master those pretty quickly. Those are not mysterious. What becomes mysterious is getting people to trust you, getting them to trust each other, allowing them to express their authentic voices. Getting them to take risks. That’s the whole other level of practice.”

“What becomes mysterious is getting people to trust you, getting them to trust each other, allowing them to express their authentic voices. Getting them to take risks. That’s the whole other level of practice.”

Empathy with Boundaries

This idea of Zen naturally led to a discussion about how Sunni deals with difficult participants or stakeholders when she’s facilitating. Sunni was quick to point out that while Zen and her other mindfulness practices help her to be calm, non-reactive, and empathetic with participants, it doesn’t mean she’s ok with any behavior. “I’m actually not accepting of a whole host of certain behavior. Anything that shuts down other people — I’m not accepting of it. It doesn’t mean that I don’t support the person. It doesn’t mean I’m not compassionate for what they’re doing. It means that if they’re bringing behavior that is compromising other people’s experience, I don’t tolerate that.”

She explained a bit more about why these boundaries are essential: “When you’re holding space and creating a container for a group to do something, how you do that is critical. I have to simultaneously convey that they can trust me, that I know what I’m doing, and that I’m not going to be a pushover or tolerate bad behavior while at the same time not shaming them.”

She compares it to the concept of servant leadership: “You are of service, but you’re not a doormat. I’m clear when I’m up there as a facilitator that I am here to hold space, but not for bullshit. I establish group norms: ‘This is what I’m looking for.’ It’s not a condemnation; it’s an invitation.”

One way that Sunni invites people into acting with different norms is by calling attention to potentially counterproductive habits at the beginning of a session: “Here’s an example from some scientists I’ve worked with: I’ll say to them, ‘I know that some of your behavioral norms involve being really intellectual. And I love that about you, and it’s very useful as a tool. But, here’s the downside of it, and here’s the upside of it.’ You call it and name it and talk to them about it. I assume the best of them, assume they’re not doing anything wrong. They’re just defaulting to something.”

In Defense of Ice Breakers

We shifted to another “hot” topic (pun intended) in meeting design — “ice breakers.” Sunni has a thoughtful approach on icebreakers and feels that they can be fruitful if they’re deeply linked to your meeting’s purpose and not just something fun or silly: “The term icebreaker is problematic because it’s so old. I call them primers or fire starters, and they have a purpose. There’s nothing worse than, ‘Hello, my name is…’ That’s superficial and meaningless. If it’s boring to you, it’s definitely boring to them.”

Sunni’s antidote to the dull, predictable meeting icebreakers is something more meaningful: “If I design something that’s ‘an icebreaker,’ it’s going to be directly related to [the meeting participants’] experience. It’s not going to be something they’ve done before. It’ll involve some kind of storytelling.” Another pro-tip to glean from how Sunni uses icebreakers is that she often asks the group’s leaders to do the exercise or activity first. She’s not afraid to have a high-powered banker play Hangman to get a meeting going, or she’ll do it herself to get everyone primed up. When execs or leaders show a willingness to be vulnerable, it encourages the rest of the group to loosen up as well.

Power of Outcomes & Vulnerability

We also talked about any major learnings that Sunni has gleaned from her less-than-ideal adventures in facilitation. She shared the importance of receiving clearly-defined goals from your client or stakeholder when you’re planning and leading an event. Because when the facilitator doesn’t know the ultimate goals, it’s close-to-impossible to design a successful event. Sunni learned this the hard way when she had to facilitate a major event and didn’t get solid insight into the goals from her client. Because of this, she went into the big day feeling less-than-confident in her agenda and activities.

Beyond the importance of defined goals, Sunni learned something else essential that she took away from this experience: the power of vulnerability. Leading up to the event, she felt she needed to name the situation she was in: “I thought: I can’t lie. I can’t stand in front of this crowd and pretend like I’m proud of this agenda. I called one of my mentors, and she said, ‘I think you need to claim that at the beginning.’ And so I did. And I didn’t blame anybody. I said: ‘This is an inaugural event, and the nature of these are messy.’ I just put all that out there, and seriously, the anxiety left the building. I was off the hook for it being a flawlessly-executed experience, which was not possible.”

It was a big learning moment: “It was okay as a facilitator to name that the process I designed might not deliver on any of their expectations.”

Visual and Kinesthetic Thinking

Since Sunni is an expert on visual thinking, we talked about the power of graphic facilitation, which she does as well: “It has so many benefits, but one of them is that you start to externalize what people are saying. You have that on display in front of people, and you can begin parsing the definitions— visually articulating what they’re saying and asking, ‘Is this what you mean? Does it look like this in your mind? What’s your mental model?’ That helps to accelerate and clarify. It looks cool, and it is cool, but it’s deeply functional as well.”

Beyond the visual or drawing-based, Sunni finds movement can also help with creativity and decision-making. “A lot of times, when people are about to make a decision, I will have them go outside and go on long walkabouts, so they can synthesize before they come back and decide.”

“I’m not interested in meeting humans on a cerebral only level. You don’t get your best work at that level.”

Additionally, she shared how physical exercises have been helpful when working with the above-mentioned scientists who are used to working with their intellectual selves: “We had them do something called bodystorming. Suddenly, they’ll discover, ‘Oh, you were a martial artist. You never said that before.’ They’ll realize that one of their colleagues has some physical prowess, and they had no idea because they never even get to know that aspect of them. So, it humanizes everyone, and you start to see people as three-dimensional. I’m not interested in meeting humans on a cerebral only level. You don’t get your best work at that level.”

Sunni’s multidisciplinary approach to facilitation is truly inspiring. I can’t wait to read her new book when it’s published and am thrilled that she’ll be speaking at “Control the Room.” I hope you can join us if you live in Austin!

Want to hear more from Sunni? Please join us for the Control the Room 2020, which will be held Feb. 5–7, 2020. You can find out more and buy tickets here.

FAQ Section

What are the key elements of facilitation that Voltage Control focuses on?
Voltage Control’s facilitation programs emphasize the core elements of facilitation, including building trust, fostering collaboration, and guiding productive meetings. Our programs equip participants with facilitation skills that help create a safe environment for open discussions and decision-making processes.

How do your programs support professional facilitators in improving their skills?
Our training programs are designed for both new and experienced facilitators, offering a wide range of approaches that enhance the skill of facilitation. These programs include online facilitation techniques, experiential workshops, and advanced training sessions to improve facilitation practice and prepare facilitators for more challenging environments.

What types of facilitation topics are covered in the academy?
We offer a comprehensive resource for facilitators that covers various facilitation topics, including community meetings, closing activities, and writing workshops. Our programs also focus on developing critical leadership skills, managing resistant clients, and fostering a culture of collaboration in both everyday meetings and larger organizational contexts.

Who would benefit from Voltage Control’s facilitation certification programs?
Our certification programs are ideal for product innovators, executives, consultants, educators, and Agile Coaches seeking to refine their facilitation skills. Experienced facilitators and those newer to the field will find valuable insights into the facilitation process through our wide range of training materials and workshops.

What makes Voltage Control an acclaimed facilitator training academy?
Voltage Control’s programs are led by visionary facilitators who bring years of experience. Our acclaimed facilitator Sunni Brown, known for her work in experiential workshop design, provides participants with an unforgettable learning experience. We offer a range of training that supports the development of facilitation educators and a community of facilitators committed to excellent facilitation practices.

How does Voltage Control help facilitators work with resistant clients?
Our facilitation training teaches a range of approaches to deal with resistant clients effectively. We provide a road map for handling challenging situations while maintaining a productive and safe environment for all participants. The techniques learned through our programs help facilitators navigate tough conversations with confidence.

What can I expect from the online facilitation training programs?
Voltage Control’s online facilitation programs are designed to be flexible and interactive, offering participants a variety of tools to enhance their facilitation skills remotely. Our programs include advanced training sessions, training materials, and real-time online workshops, making it an excellent fit for facilitators looking to improve their practice without attending in-person sessions.

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