Focused Conversation – Reflection
Appreciative Inquiry Focused Conversation
Before beginning on long-range planning, it may be helpful to reflect on the past of the organisation. Below is a sample Focused Conversation Outline;
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Session |
Process |
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Opening Remarks |
Before we start our planning, let’s spend a few minutes reflecting on the past of this organisation. Some of us have been related to it for many years, others for fewer. We all have memories of key events in the life of the organisation. |
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Objective Questions |
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Reflective Questions |
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Intrepretative Questions |
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Decisional Questions |
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Closing |
Our past accomplishments tell us we can have a great future. |
This facilitated conversation offers a way to bring the learnings of the past into the present, as the group contemplates ways to move into the future. The dialogue focusing on the past is used to utilize the learnings from the past as a launching pad into the future. For the participants themselves they can experience themselves as part of a larger picture and heal any wounds from the past. It also helps to address any organisational sacred cows that need to be slaughtered.
Introducing a New Topic
Focused conversations can also be used to introduce a new topic – perhaps in a workshop setting, at the beginning of a project or to support team development. Try this framework
