Joran Oppelt

Not everyone appreciates, hears, or feels the language of music the same way I do. Some who read or write musical notation hear it much the same way they would hear words. And working to music (even in the background) can be no different than trying to have a conversation while someone else is talking. Because of neurodivergence, different learning styles, past trauma, or individual taste, music is not the salve for everyone that it may be for you. Unless you plan to use music in a very intentional manner (i.e. “We will now silently sort the stickies while I play two minutes of Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto”), ask your participants if they would prefer music while they ideate, write, or post up – or whether they prefer silence.

Beware! Time works differently in virtual sessions. If a facilitator has 50 participants brainstorming in a physical room, she must allow time for the participants to stand, approach the wall, uncap their pens, jot their idea, jockey for position, post it up and repeat. Brainstorming 50 ideas (one idea per person) on a wall may take 15 minutes or more. People also tend to talk if they are standing around. A virtual session can generate an astonishing amount of content in a short time. Participants are one click away from creating multiple stickies in the same location on their screen (no waiting or lining up required). 15 minutes of virtual brainstorming with 50 participants can yield an unmanageable amount of content.

I like to turn VUCA on its head and develop practices that are Visual, Unf*cked, Collaborative, and Aligned. That means every team’s toolbox should have visual frameworks and canvases, methods of simplifying complexity, platforms and processes for teaming and co-creating, and ways of identifying gradients of agreement and orienting everyone in the same direction.

Speak their language. Change comes in different forms (volitional, environmental, developmental, etc.) So, know the type of change you’re dealing with and then speak to the heart of your audience. What do they fear? What do they have at stake? Do they care about the bottom line this quarter? The five-year vision? The safety of their family this month? Connect with them on a human level and be sure they feel included in the story you’re telling - even as it’s changing.