Facilitator Toolkit : Plenary Tools

Spark/Icebreakers

Presentations/Panel Discussions

Pecha Kucha

Debates

Issues Identification

Creating an Action Plan

Plenary sessions bring all attendees together into a single space for group discussion or instructions.  These sessions should happen periodically throughout the day, including meeting opening and agenda setting, mid-day reporting, and final presentations and meeting close.  

You can think of plenary sessions as learning-focused complements to breakout sessions. These times are vital for synthesizing breakout output, finding interconnections between the parallel processes that have taken place in breakout groups, and reaching agreements. Aim to weave plenary sessions into the agenda at opportune times.  

The following are ideas, activities, and tools for use during plenary sessions that go a bit beyond using the time to report back from breakout groups.

Spark activities are useful in helping participants loosen up, become mentally and physically active, and enter the mindset of building on one another's ideas. Use spark activities at the beginning of the charrette to break the ice or after a break, when people are a bit sluggish to start moving.

In addition, a game oriented environment leads to laughter and humor which helps people take a step back from their egos to think in a diffuse way.  

Example spark activities:

• “I’m skiing.  No, you’re…”: With everyone standing in a circle, someone steps forward and declares an activity while acting out a different activity.  Example: State, “I’m skiing” while acting out rowing a boat.  Quickly, someone else steps forward stating the correct action while acting out something else.  Example: State, “No, you’re rowing a boat” while acting out cutting down a tree.

• “I’m a tree!”: Stand in a circle.  Someone jumps to the center and becomes a tree “I’m a tree!” Someone else jumps in, “I’m a squirrel!” (ooh, nice job showing those teeth!) A third enters with “I’m a nut!” The tree chooses one person to remove with them, leaving one (maybe the nut?) in the ring. Build a new scene around the nut. Improvise until the group gets back to a tree, naturally. Now you’re all warmed up!

• “Soundball”: Stand in a circle, one person pretends they are holding a ball. They should throw it at someone making a noise as they do. The receiving person must ‘catch’ the ball while imitating the noise the previous person made. And repeat...“Yes, and....”: Stand in a circle, pick a scenario (like “If I had a magic carpet....”) and each person has to build on the idea before theirs by starting their sentence with “yes, and..."

• “Equidistant”: Depending on the size of the group, 10-20 people should work, stand in a circle and have each person secretly choose two people with whom they will remain equidistant apart.  When one person starts to move a chain reaction moving participants starts.  Eventually, motion will come to a stop as each participant achieves their goal.  

While a charrette’s success stems from participant collaboration, there are times when presentations or panel discussions are warranted.  Use presentations sparingly, though, as they tend to stifle the creative process.  

The presentation, whether by RMI staff or an outside source, should establish a point of view and provide a framework for participants to understand the scope of the work that will follow.  Consider blocking time after the presentation/panel discussion for group conversation.  This brings the focus and energy back to the collaborative nature of the charrette.  Also, by allowing participants an opportunity to discover content through interaction with the presenter, they will likely retain more content.

Different from your everyday presentation, Pecha Kucha allows participants to convey information in a concise, engaging fashion to quickly share ideas with minimum distraction. The rule of Pecha Kucha is 20 x 20: presenters are allowed 20 slides and can spend 20 seconds per slide (slides are advanced automatically, don’t give speakers the control). If you plan to include Pecha Kucha talks, make sure you notify selected attendees well in advance so they show up prepared.

You can throw Pecha Kucha into the agenda in a number of places.  Kicking off a meeting with Pecha Kucha is a good way to disseminate background information and set the tone for a lively, creative atmosphere.  Schedule them after a break to bring the energy level back up.  Or, if your workshop spans multiple days, Pecha Kucha talks are a great nighttime activity -- especially when coupled with drinks, snacks, and the right emcee.  

You might find yourself facilitating a workshop where stakeholders share vastly different opinions on a given topic.  With a carefully selected topic statement, a rigorous yet friendly debate might be the perfect way to loosen things up.  Ideally, participants will reach a point where they understand the other side’s point of view and are able to shift their mental models to include these views.  Regardless of your position, maintain the role of impartial facilitator and only step in to moderate when necessary. 

At the beginning of the workshop, ask participants to identify the biggest problems they and the industry face in regard to the topic you’re addressing -- record these responses.  Ask the the same question at the end of the workshop and see how the responses changed as a result of the collaborative experience.  In doing so, participants will see the value in the work that they did during the meeting and you can use this opportunity to solidify commitment to follow-up steps.  Depending on size of the meeting, it might be appropriate to conduct these conversations and voting in small-groups, then aggregate results from groups up to the full room.

Throughout the workshop, you will have led your participants through the diverge, emerge, converge model and will have come to an agreement on some sort of solution to your problem.  

To turn the solution from an idea into a tangible outcome, your participants need to develop an action plan that solidifies next steps.  Be specific: define the steps, set a timeline, assign responsibilities, identify necessary resources (including additional stakeholders), and establish metrics through which your progress and success can be measured.  A solid roadmap and participant commitment to responsibilities are key to creating impact.