I was all set to go teach a workshop on my newest obsession, using jazz improvisation techniques to become a better research facilitator. But that didn't happen, because #pandemic. Instead, I was able to give a talk about the subject for the annual IA Conference 2020, remote from Seattle.
As designers and researchers, we spend much of our time facilitating conversations – articulating design decisions, getting alignment from stakeholders, interviewing customers, and any number of other activities centered around communicating with people and actually hearing them. It comes as no surprise that to become good at this, you must actually practice the art of facilitating and listening. But how do you practice something so ambiguous and unpredictable? Like jazz, facilitation is an act of improvisation supported by an invisible, learnable framework. Using methods from jazz improvisation, this talk breaks down qualities of great facilitation into bite-sized methods. Attendees will take away components of good facilitation and practical exercises for developing skills in each area. Interactive transcript: (available soon) IAC20 playlist: www.vimeo.com/showcase/iac20 Website: www.theiaconference.com
