Using exercises

When you use an exercise, you give people a task to carry out that accomplishes one of two purposes:

• In generative mode, for storytelling, the task helps people bring out stories that would otherwise go untold. People doing a generative exercise will be building something, but the real outcome of the exercise is not the thing they build: it's the stories they tell on the way. The task is really just a way to get people past whatever stops them from telling the stories without it.
• In integrative mode, for sensemaking, the task helps people bring together disparate material into a coherent, complex whole. Whatever people build in an integrative exercise is the primary outcome and any stories told are secondary.

All of the exercises described here work both in both modes, but they are described mainly in generative mode because, well, I wrote that part first. If you are using them for sensemaking, check that section to see how to use the methods for integrative purposes.

Pros and cons

Exercises dig deeper than you can usually get in unstructured conversation. They ask more of people than just sitting in a circle talking. They can be useful to help people bring out things that are hard to articulate or deep below the surface, and they generate diversity in situations where it is lacking. However, exercises require people to work together, and they require a greater investment (on your part and your storytellers' part) in time, space, attendance, facilitation, and attention.

Requirements

In order to use these exercises, you need to be conducting a group session. The session does not have to be physical: people can work on a task in a chat session or over the phone. But if you have the opportunity a physical session is better. You need at least three people, because otherwise there won't be enough diverse input to support doing the task. And you need at least a half hour per exercise. For some exercises you need blackboard or wall space to work on (physical or virtual), but for some you don't.

Types

I've seen people use many types of exercises, but these are four I think are the most useful for helping people tell stories and make sense of them, in order from least to most difficult to facilitate:

1. twice-told stories
2. composite stories
3. histories
4. emergent constructs

A note about finding your style

I've seen quite a few people do these exercises in group sessions, and one thing I've noticed is that everybody does them differently and, for the most part, everybody does them right. Meaning, you can bring some of your own experience and knowledge to bear to make the exercises work for you and your needs. You don't need to adhere to a strict recipe but should take these descriptions as food for your own thought processes.