Using visual objects to orchestrate talk when facilitating brainstorming

Transcription

1 Center of Interaction Research and Communication Design Using visual objects to orchestrate talk when facilitating brainstorming Mie Femø Nielsen Professor, PhD

2 Teaching (Fac of Humanities) Process facilitation and interaction, innovation processes Institutional interaction International Business Communication Methods in communication studies Strategic communication Innovation workshop Research (Interaction studies) Facilitation and orchestration of activities and participant contributions in face-to-face and virtual synhcronic social interaction (video meetings, business meetings, telemedicine, innovation workshops) Virtual office and virtual teamwork ICT mediated interaction in public telemedicine and offshore projects (tasks, relations, trust and competence acquisition) Focus: facilitating specific kinds of talk Visual objects relevant here: whiteboards, speed markers, colored cards and elephant gum used by workshop facilitators to elicit and organize certain kinds of social actions from participants. Social actions (proposing, suggesting, elaborating, accounting, explaining) are produced by participants in order to accomplish institutional and social goals We ll zoom in on one exercise in an innovation workshop A workshop facilitator: a consultant, working to organize/lead verbal events (seminars, workshops, meetings etc.) in order to help the participants achieve a goal defined in advance (e.g. by the participants or management). Used a lot in innovation projects and change management projects. Data An innovation consortium gathered around a development project about user-driven, personal comfort in the work place in order to further develop a prototype within office furniture. 1-4 employees representing each company at the workshops: Company 1: Work within the building industry and has produced the prototype Company 2: Design company Company 3: Work within special area of the building industry Company 4: Produces products for special area of the building industry Company 5: Design and production of special area of the building industry Company 6: Design company focusing on industrial design Company 7: Consultancy firm University 1 (technical university) Special interest organization 1 (Not participating: the research team from University of Copenhagen, MFN and 3 students + an illustrator, hired to document the process in drawings) 3 workshops of 2 days each. Data from day 2 of workshop 1, April The first workshop day (no recordings): participant presentations, presentations from different invited speakers, and three site visits. The second day of the workshop (considered the day they should work ) 9AM - 3PM: Video recordings from the big room used for plenary sessions (4 cameras) Video recordings from 3 group rooms (2 cameras in each group room) 3 groups, supervised by 3 facilitators (Martha, Bent and Jørgen). Jørgen is heading the 3 facilitators. Participants in Jørgen s group are Poul Erik, Tim, Kai and Lars (which is the group in focus in this paper).

3 Analysis vs. disclosure The order and complexity of the trivialities Example Artifacts facilitating a group process Facilitator gives the group instructions The participants write ideas on cards Cards on the whiteboard are selected for talk Card authors explain cards From thoughts to cards/postits From cards to talk From talk to other cognitive processes (develop, sort, Spe decide, select) furthered by other talk e Colo dmarke ured rs Elep ha card Whi nt gum From individual to group processes tebo ar Communicating individual thoughts to the group WFlipovers ds all p a (making visible, on record) Post per its Communicating group process results within group Communicating group process results to other groups Camera G Camera H Developing Sorting Selecting for further development s

4 From thoughts to cards Stimulating cognitive processes (creating a silent space) Eliciting key words (crystalizing ideas) Going from off record to on record: individual selection of ideas to share with the group Documenting cognitive processes (jotting down key words) Making ideas visible to others Making silent interaction between ideas possible Making comparison of speed possible Making idea development speed competition possible Documenting speed and output (number of cards pr. person) Sorting, categorizing, organizing ideas Facilitator (and other participants) may sort participant ideas by physically moving objects to another physical space arrange them in another pattern showing relations between ideas by physically placing cards next to certain other cards showing some line of thought to be prominent in the group of participants by showing how many cards are in one group of cards making visible to the group of participants how their ideas can be categorized into groups and subgroups of cards Making ideas visible to the group Communicating group process results within group Validating individual contributions Transforming cognitive processes to on record ideas Turning individual cognitive output into group process product Making visible to the group how many ideas they together have developed, indicating level of productivity and creativity Making it possible for the group to gather around a mutual focus point Documenting group process results Communicating group process results to other groups Communicating cognitive processes in one group to other groups of participants Making it easier for groups of participants to share and develop ideas together Comparing and competing with other groups ( they have our idea, we were the only group with that focus, we all worked along the same lines ) Stimulating competition between groups ( we have more ideas, we are the fastest group, we had that idea first )

5 Facilitator instructions: group exercise A M: we must put ideas up on the wall actually (1:10-11) J: now we pose the tough question when we go back in the groups if I were king each and everyone in the group what will I then develop regarding personal comfort (1:20-25) J: when one sits in a group and come up with an idea then every one must eh be allowed to bring his/her own idea eh write it down on a piece of paper those cards there write your idea down and hang it up on the wall when we come in there (2.0) and it should just run/go on eh without anybody commenting those ideas you are just going to write then down and hang them up and then you see each others ideas as they appear up and say oh you have that idea you have that idea and then we will just have an open brainstorm in which anything at all that will come to our minds with respect to personal comfort (1:44-65) J: you have twenty minutes then I will come out and give a new instruction in the group (1:91-93) J: as many as you can write down (1:111) J: one per note on the wall (1:119) J: and we define an idea as something one can make money on (1:128) J: yes we put them on the board here up eh (.) then I take them when they are written then we can each one of us look at them (2:3-5) Ex 1: Noise 9 (2.5)((everybody looks at whiteboard)) 10 J den her oppe this up here 11 (0.3) ((J moves left arm up, points at a card)) 12 undgå støj avoid noise ((J moves finger, points at card higher up)) 13 når jeg har behov when I need ((pulls left finger/arm back, looks at card)) 14 (0.8) 15 for hvile for rest ((J rubs his back with right hand)) 16 (0.4) 17 eller for at fokusere or to focus 18 (1.0) ((J moves back to the wall, faces group, scans faces)) 19 T ja yeah 20 (0.5) 21 J var det dig der skrev den= was it you that wrote it? ((J looks at T)) 22 T =den skrev jeg (for jeg) =it wrote I (for I) 23 (1.3) 24 J? [(?den seddel ja?)] [(?that note yeah?)] ((J looks back at whiteboard)) ProTalk Research Lab :: Department of Scandinavian Studies and Lingusitics 1) Jørgen points at a card 3) He withdraws his arm 2) He moves to point to another card higher up 4) He reads aloud The 1.3 sec. pause in l. 24: Jørgen looks at Tim, at the whiteboard and back at Tim 5) He turns to face the group Poul Erik also turns to look at Tim

6 Ex 2: Files 40 T det kunne være dejligt (.) hvis man it could be nice (.) if one ((J shifts his gaze from T to the board)) 41 J hmm ((J gazes at whiteboard)) 42 (0.3) 43 Ja // yeah ((J nods while gazing at the board)) 44 (0.3) 45 T slip for det // rid of that 46 (2.8) ((J moves closer to whiteboard)) 47 J ska vi ta den der, should we take this, ((left arm forward, points at a card)) 48 (0.8) ((moves finger)) 49 J her har jeg skrevet here I have written ((moves finger to another card)) 50 NÅ jo, // OH yes, 51 *e:h, (h) ((moves away from whiteboard)) 52 (.) 53 jeg ved ikke om de:t en øh, I don t know if it is a eh, ((moves towards wall, gazing at the board)) 54 problem alle steder, problem everywhere, ((faces the group)) 55 men altså, // but really/pt, 56 ((left hand raised and lowered again)) 56 (0.4) 57 syns jeg bruger meget tid på å find filer, think I spend a lot of time finding files 1) Jørgen turns to the whiteboard 3) He withdraws slightly 5) He withdraws from the whiteboard 2) He points at a card 4) He points to another card 6) He turns to face the group Ex 3: Multi Plug 84 L >vi ved å vend den< godt >we re about to turn it around< well ((J shifts gaze to whiteboard)) 85 (1.6) ((J moves closer to the whiteboard, left hand forward)) 86 J ja yeah 87 (0.8) 88? *mh 89 (0.5) ((J points at a card)) 90 J så den der then this here 91 centertilbagemeldinger fra kroppen, center feedback from the body, 92 (.) 93 for eksempel *blodtryk >sved hjer<terytme, for instance *blood pressrure >sweat heart< rhythm 94 (2.2) ((moves away from whiteboard, faces group, gazes at N)) 95 L jah, yeah, 96 (0.4) ((J shifts gaze from N to the whiteboard)) 97 jamen e:h e yeahbut e:h e 98 jeg tænkt på hvis nu man ø*hm I thought of if one now has e*hm Explanation slots (Antaki 1994:78f) A speaker can call for an explanation, or can signal that he or she is about to give one (Antaki: 68). Self-initated explanation slots Other-initiated explanation slots 1 A: Will you come? 2 B: No. 3 (a slot fitted for an explanation of l. 2) Explanations orientate to problematic information, position or status in people s interaction with each other (Antaki: 76), a very local unexpected omission or commission (Antaki: 88). The explanations that fill explanation slots deal with the kind of offense which comes up within the borders of the local interaction: to explain, justify or warrant a puzzle which has arisen then and there, and which needs to be sorted out before proceedings can be resumed (Antaki: 75). These offenses are, according to Antaki, dispreferred conversational moves (Antaki: 75). My data: collaboratively created puzzles to be sorted out. A piece of information is deliberatively produced in an insufficient manner, and therefore made problematic, needing explanation.

7 Artifact noticing/telling my side authorship, explanation, account Individual cognitive processes! words on a colored card hanging on a whiteboard! possible for others to treat otherwise hidden thoughts as something to make a noticing of! have them claim responsibility for. Reading the card aloud ( fishing, telling my side ; Pomerantz 1980)! a prompt to the author to tell his/her side. Noticings can be phrased in a number of ways (Bergmann 1992), and they can perform other social actions than inform about observations (e.g. accusations) (Schegloff 1988). A noticing may open a slot to be filled with an account (Schegloff 1988; Antaki:76). Facilitator = animator (//author) of the card (Goffman 1981). Complex individual cognitive processes! few words on a colored card: compressing and under-specifying due to constraint in time and space (A speaker may detail or underspecify a noticing (Bergmann 1992)! unfold, expand, explain it, account for. Explanation! discussion! group process development Artifact noticing/telling my side authorship, explanation, account Individual cognitive processes! words on a colored card hanging on a whiteboard! possible for others to treat otherwise hidden thoughts as something to make a noticing of! have them claim responsibility for. Reading the card aloud ( fishing, telling my side ; Pomerantz 1980)! a prompt to the author to tell his/her side. Noticings can be phrased in a number of ways (Bergmann 1992), and they can perform other social actions than inform about observations (e.g. accusations) (Schegloff 1988). A noticing may open a slot to be filled with an account (Schegloff 1988; Antaki:76). Facilitator = animator (//author) of the card (Goffman 1981). Complex individual cognitive processes! few words on a colored card: compressing and under-specifying due to constraint in time and space (A speaker may detail or underspecify a noticing (Bergmann 1992)! unfold, expand, explain it, account for. Explanation! discussion! group process development From cards to talk Shift/progression: Facilitator orients to whiteboard when prior sequence/activity is recognizably winding down Topic and timing: Facilitator uses the cards to select what to talk about and when Speaker selection: Potential recognition of card/hand writing: can use cards to select next speaker Informing/warning: Reading card aloud: showing what topic to orient to next + warning card author to be ready to speak Elicit talk: Gaze, pauses, author identification and continuers are used to elicit talk from the card authors Elicit social actions: explanations, accounts, Facilitating brainstorming Managing topic and timing Drawing a participant out Eliciting topical talk Securing progression Managing speaker transition Managing shift in local participant identity Speaker selection Next speaker warning Help participants produce ideas in a specific field and make them visible to the group. Achieve and communicate group process results. Eliciting specific social actions: Explanations and accounts Separating participant actions in phases Socializing participants to participation framework

8 References Antaki, Charles (1994). Explanation Slots. Chapter 5 in: Explaining and Arguing. The Social Organization of Accounts. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi: Sage. Bergmann, Jürg. (1992). "Veiled Morality: Notes on Discretion in Psychiatry." in Talk at Work, edited by P. Drew and J. Heritage. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp Goffman, Erving (1981). Footing. In: Forms of talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp Heritage, John (1984). A change-of-state token and aspects of its sequential placement. In: Atkinson, J. Maxwell & Heritage, John (eds.). Structures of Social Action. Studies in Conversation Analysis, Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Heritage, John (1988). Explanations as accounts: A conversation analytic perspective. In C. Antaki (Ed). Understanding everyday explanation a casebook of methods. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE, pp Pomerantz, Anita (1980): Telling My Side: Limited Access as a Fishing Device. Sociological Inquiry, 50, pp Schegloff, Emanuel A. (1988). Goffman and the Analysis of Conversation. In Erving Goffman: Exploring the Interaction Order, edited by Paul Drew and Anthony Wootton. Cambridge, UK: Polity, pp