What is your level of engagement in online events?
It depends, you probably say.
It depends on what is happening and if you are invited to contribute.
Right you are. Being invited to be an actor, contributor, and discussion partner makes all the difference.
Unfortunately you are not always invited in an active role. Most likely you have experienced it yourself many times in your meeting career, the ‘magic formula’ of input followed by Q&A and followed by discussion? The formula is widely spread. But the promise is not always kept. Because time is running out.
‘Sorry no time left for discussion.’
And yet, the pattern is replicated over and over again, also in online events. In virtual meetings and workshops, the logic of input followed by eventual discussion is even more tragic and almost unbearable to support. It creates more frustration than profit. Because distraction is a mouse click away. Multitasking participants spoil the ‘party’, they are mentally somewhere else.
This is a waste of your and our precious time.
We – Corinne and Nadia – believe that a good conversation is worth more than 1’000 slides – also online. Investing time for conversation is no luxury. In fact, it is the only thing we do when we bring people online. By the way, online conversations are possible, see our previous post on Curious conversations in online meetings. Why shouldn’t this be possible?
Conversation is the way that humans have always thought together. In conversation we discover shared meaning. It is the primal human organizing tool.
Margret Wheatley
Why is it important to bring conversations online?
Because many challenges require more than expert talks.
Transferring knowledge from the knowledgeable to the unknowledgeable does not apply any longer. At least not for many situations the world is challenged with. Best practices do not help. What is needed are next practices adapted to the evolving context. You can find them through inquiry. Conversation is inquiry. Searching for answers is best done by jointly engaging in conversation.
Knowledge doesn’t sit still. You’ve got to be on your toes – you’ve got to improvise, solve problems, strategize, jump on opportunities. And bring others along. Learning that matters today is social, in real time, and inventive. More often than not, what we need to learn is not yet known. And that’s why we need a new learning model.
Beverly and Etienne Wenger-Trayner
Because wisdom is sitting in the room.
Those joining come not empty handed. They bring along experiences, insights, viewpoints and questions. To unlock this collective wisdom you have to engage them in conversation. Knowledge generation is a collaborative process. Learning is an active process. You learn by engaging yourself with new ideas brought in by others and linking them to your own experiences. Only listening to experts is not learning yet. Through conversation you explore an issue actively, we engage with others. And sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. In conversation you get a chance to uncover your blind spots.
Because in interaction you connect humanly
Being in conversation with one another is also about you being human. Deep conversation goes hand in hand with deep presence, commitment and engagement. A curious conversation allows not only to explore an issue but also to “better understand something important about yourself, the other person or the world”. In a conversation you relate to each other and feel connected.
Meaningful conversations, in short, allow us to learn something important about ourselves, about the other person, or about the world – and, when this happens, we come away feeling better understood and connected with those around us.
Lucy Foulkes
Put people in conversation.
A good conversation is worth 1’000 slides – also online.
What’s your experience?
We are curious.
Let us know.
Upcoming opportunities
Registration for the next round of Bringing your Online Meetings & Workshops Alive starting on January 18, 2022 is now open! Interesting Early Bird till 10th of December.