Greetings from Barcelona☀️
🙌Many thanks for reading The Quest.
If you are joining for the first time, welcome to our deep dive into facilitation, learning, and how to live a creative life. A special hello to those of you joining via Scaling Intimacy👋.
Let’s jump right in!
Think for a second about a memorable experience that has shaped your life.
A defining moment. An extraordinary event. A time that sparked a life-changing realization. A significant milestone.
One that popped up for me was my son’s high school graduation.
It was exactly 2 years ago. I had imagined sitting in an audience of fellow parents and relatives bursting with pride as he walked across the school’s stage. That’s how kids had graduated from his high school every year for decades.
It was not what we expected.
Instead, we were at home in lockdown. The in-person graduation ceremony was canceled. We received a link to a video presentation that would be live-streamed. I couldn’t help but ask myself what else we could do to make this day more memorable and meaningful.
We realized that we had to invent something new.
My husband and I started brainstorming. We dissected the elements of our memorable experiences. We put them together into a day of memorable moments. The highlight was a Zoom call where grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins from around the world shared pearls of wisdom and their favorite books.
I realized that we don’t have to wait for memorable experiences to happen.
You can create them. When you do, you can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. You help people connect. You create meaning and memories.
Designing powerful experiences is one of the secrets of exceptional facilitation.
Good experience design not only increases engagement. It also builds your group’s trust in you. And it can spark transformation for your group members.
🤔How do you design powerful experiences?
That’s our Quest for this week. 🔎
👉The Power of Moments
👉Experience Design: 4 Ways to Make Your Next Event Unforgettable
👉The biggest problem with online sessions – and how to avoid it.
Plus
🎟️Join Jenny Sauer-Klein and me for a free Virtual Connection Lab session on Trust on June 15. Details below👇
💡The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact
A book from Made to Stick authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath on what makes for “defining moments” and how to create more of them.
If you are like me and like to uncover the mysteries of life’s powerful moments, this book is for you.
They boil positive memorable moments down to four elements👇
1/ Elevation – experiences that rise above the everyday.
2/ Insight – moments that re-wire our understanding of ourselves and/or the world.
3/ Pride – times that capture us at our best.
4/ Connection – moments that are strengthened because we share them with others.
Here are my 5 biggest takeaways from the book for designing powerful sessions:
👉We must learn to think in moments. Recognize where “the prose of life needs punctuation.”
👉Remarkable moments shouldn’t be left to chance. You need to plan for them and invest in them.
👉You can engineer defining moments. You can build “peak experiences” by adding active and immersive elements that spark emotions.
👉Break the script. Disrupt routines and welcome humanity and spontaneity into the system.
👉Create shared meaning. Design a mission that binds people together.
What are the key moments in your session or event that you could engineer?
Find the book 👉 here.
You can sign up for their free newsletter and get free resources on their books 👉 here.
Experience Design: Four Ways to Make Your Next Event Unforgettable
An IDEO podcast episode with PlayLab team members Jenny Gottstein and Olivia Vagelos. This podcast is the best primer on experience design that I have come across.
This is how they define experience design:
“Experience design is the crafting of distinct, memorable, transformative moments in time.”
Experience designers aren’t just designing what people might do. They are also designed for what people might feel.
Well-designed experiences change your audience in some way. This could be a shift in feelings, beliefs, or actions.
They outline 4 things you can do to make any experience better with intentional design.
👉Know your audience. Who are they and what do they care about?
👉Design an opening moment. This is the opportunity to set the tone and rules of engagement.
👉Design a closing moment. Use the ending moment to offer inspiration and closure.
👉Prototype your process. Plan every last detail and practice ahead of time to work out the kinks.
Listen to the full podcast 👉 here.
What’s an event that you could re-design to become unforgettable?
🚫The biggest problem with online sessions. And how to avoid it.
A Twitter thread I just published with design tips on how to avoid crappy online experiences👇
Gwyn Wansbrough 🚢What are your favorite design elements?
🎟️You are invited: Free Live Facilitation Workshop on Trust – June 15th
Join me and Play On Purpose and Scaling Intimacy founder Jenny Sauer-Klien for an action-packed Virtual Connection Lab live online session on ✨Trust✨.
3 reasons not to miss this session:
👉You’ll get to experience Jenny Sauer-Klien in action – she is one of the most seasoned facilitators I know
👉You’ll meet an inspiring community of facilitators, coaches, consultants, and organizational leaders
👉You’ll learn 2 new exercises you can use immediately with your groups and teams
The session is designed to be live and experiential. It won’t be recorded.
Jenny has generously offered free access to Quest members. You can register with the code: GWYNFREE2022.
Designing the Virtual Connection Lab session with Jenny this afternoon. It’s going to be on 🔥🔥🔥.
💌Thanks for reading The Quest
I always love hearing your feedback and suggestions. Just hit reply to share your thoughts and ideas.
🙌Special shout out to Allegra in Seattle, Jenny in San Francisco, Barry and Michaele in Bracebridge, and Romy in Stuttgard.
Visit my website for ways we can work together 👉 here.
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Creatively yours,
