Appreciative Inquiry Session

RecommendedReadings:TheThinBookofAppreciativeInquiry,SueAnnisHammond(pdf
availableforviewing)

LearningObjectives:
Participantswillunderstandthedifferencebetweenaproblemposingand
appreciativeinquiryapproacheswhenworkingincommunities.

Participantswillpracticeusingappreciativeinquiryindiscussionswithsmall
groups.
(1hour45minutes)

Participantswilldiscusstheimportanceofappreciativeinquiryin

developingcommunitybasedprogramming.

Participantswillbeabletogiveexamplesofwaystheycoulduse

appreciativeinquiryintheircommunityorcurrentefforts.



Inquy
Ssson

MaterialsNeeded:

Numberofboxesappropriatefordividingtheclassintogroupsof56
people.Fillboxeswithabunchofrandomitems,officesuppliesoranything
layingaroundinajunkdrawer.Prizesintheformofsnacksorsmall
itemsenoughforallparticipants.FlipchartsorslideswithAIprinciples
preprinted.

Introduction (5 min)
1. IntroduceselfandconnectiontoAppreciativeInquiry.
2. Reviewobjectivesthatwillmeetinthissession.
3. Wearegoingtocontinuebuildingoffoftheassetbasedapproachesyouwerejust
workingonandcontinuetoslightlyshiftourperspectiveandthewaythatwework
together.
4. Imsureyouhavealreadyknowthatyouallareaphenomenalgroupofpeoplewitha
lotofstrengths,passionandwisdomwewillcontinuetoseethewaysinwhichthat
unfoldsmorethroughoutthedayandtheweekend.Thisisalsoimportanttoremember
asweproceedthroughthissession.WheneverIfacilitateasession,Ialsotakea
momenttointentionallyrecognizethatthewisdomisintheroom.Wedontneedto
seekitfromanywhereelse,wehaveeverythingweneedtosucceedrighthere.
Soletsgetstarted!

Appreciative Inquiry Session

Box of Random Stuff (30 minutes)

Instructions
1. Buildsomethingthathasmeaningorsignificanceforthegroup.Itcanbeasymbolor
somethingrealyougettodeterminehowtocreatesomethingofmeaning.Youcan
bringobjectsfromoutsideoftheboxtoaddtothecreationifyouwanttoandyouare
notrequiredtousealltheitemsinyourbox/bag.Youwillhavetenminutestocreate
somethingthatismeaningfultoyoubutyoumustdosowithouttalking.Attheend,the
groupthathasthemostcreativeandclearlymeaningfulproductwillwinaprize.
2. Insilence,thefacilitatorshouldwalkaroundandobservethegroups
3. Afterthetimeisup,askeachofthegroupstowalkaroundtheroomandobservethe
othergroupsmeaningfulobject,stillwithoutspeaking.Conductavoteviaclapping,
withoutdiscussion,onthemostcreativeandclearlymeaningfulcreation.
4. Awardprizetowinners.[Firstgivetowinnersbuteveryonegetaprizebecausewe
allworkedtogethertocreatesomethingofmeaning,andthatistherealgoal]
5. Haveeachgroupexplaintheiritemofmeaning
6. Questionsfordiscussion:
a. Whatdidyoulearn?Howdidyourmeaningcontrastwiththeintendedmeaning?
b. Whatdidtheprocesstodeterminewhatthemeaningwouldbelooklike?Did
anyofthissurpriseyou?
c. Howdidnotbeingabletospeakimpactyourgroupdynamics?Howdoyouthink
thisactivitymayhavedifferedifwewereabletospeakfreely?Howcanthis
adviseourapproachforworkingtogetheroringroupselsewhere?
d. Inadditiontotheideathatwecanmakesomethinggreatoutofnearly
anythingwhatdidthisactivityteachusabouthowwecommunicatetodoso?
e. Howdoescultureplayintothatcommunication,andtheapproachthatwetake
tocreatemeaningfulexperiencesamongdiverseviewpointsandbackgrounds?
7. Message:
a. Alotoftimewelookforanswersanddirections.However,thewisdomisinthe
room.Insidethisgroupandinsideourselveswehavewhatweneedtobe
successful,evenwhenitsometimeslookslikeaboxofjunkwhenyouopenitup.
Theimportantpartisnotnecessarilytheexperienceortheproduct,butthe
meaningweattachtoit.
8. Awardprizetoeveryone.

Appreciative Inquiry Session

Appreciate Inquiry Demonstration (30 minutes)

Problem-Posing vs. Appreciate Inquiry (10 minutes)
1. Ask for two volunteers and have them briefly introduce themselves. Interview
them about their community and perhaps their previous role, work or activities.
2. Interview one from a problem-posing posing perspective:
a. (I am interested in working with you on ______. I am not sure if we will be
the right fit or if I have the skills that are needed. Can I ask you a few
questions about your experience?)
b. What do you find most difficult in your role? (follow up whys)
c. What is the biggest challenge you overcame? (dwell on the problem!!!)
d. How well does the organization or community support you to overcome
these issues?
3. Interview one from an appreciative inquiry perspective:
a. (Hi. [shake hands, greet each other]. I heard you are connected to ____.
How long have you been interested in ________? What was main
motivation for this work? What was your project?
b. I am trying to get a better understanding of ____. I would love to hear
more about your specific experience. (pause for a bit)
c. Can you share more with me about when you feel successful in your
community? What happened? (dwell on success details)
d. How does this connect to your future goals or projects?
4. Discussion:
a. Did you a notice a difference between these two interviews?
b. To the interviewees, how did you feel in this process?
c. Other observations or experiences (interviewees or participants)
5. Message:
a. What you focus on and the language we use creates our reality. The act
of asking questions of an organization, group, or individual influences that
group or individual in some way.
Paradigms (15 min)
1. We have been programmed to work, think, and live in a problem-solution mode.
This is what consultants use, what doctors use, even our education system, etc.
They define the problem. Then try to fix the problem.
(Show flipchart with the Problem-Solving Table).

Appreciative Inquiry Session

Problem-Solving Process (Traditional)

Define the problem
Fix whats broken
What problems are you having?
2. Appreciative inquiry, however, engages the group or organization in an inquiry
about what works, instead of whats broken.
Appreciative Inquiry
Search for solutions that already exist
Amplify what is working
What is working well around here?
3. The difference is that in the data collection process or brainstorming sessions, in
problem solving we ask, What do we do about the problem? How do we fix it?
What are the next steps? Sometimes people try to use an asset-based
approach to find solutions to problems. This may not necessary be negative, but
it focuses on something that is broken.
4. Appreciative inquiry, however, is asking people to envision What can be? and
What will be? They create a vision of the future instead that is based on what is
working well. (Not just the dream of what they WANT to see, but examples of
what we already do well, times where we have seen success, etc.) We arent
looking for solutions, we are looking for what works.
5. Appreciative inquiry comes with a few assumptions. These assumptions are the
rules that a group follows to make decisions about their behavior or
performance. The assumptions of appreciative inquiry are (show on flip chart):
a. In every society, organization, or group something works.
b. What we focus on becomes our reality.
c. The act of asking questions influences the group/individual in some way.
d. People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future
(unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past that are known.
e. If we carry parts of the past forward, it should be whats best about the
past.
f. The language we use creates our reality.
6. These may appear reasonable to you, but the application of this set may be a
challenge. That is what we are going to spend some time practicing now.

Appreciative Inquiry Session

Group Time (45 minutes)

1. We will be meeting with our groups for the remainder of our time. Recall from our
opening activity that the wisdom is here in the room. We already possess what
we need to be successful, but your life in Atlanta or Clarkston, your
accomplishments, and your participation in different groups is not about
individual successes and failures. Rather, its about the meaning you attached to
the things you do together. Ultimately, that meaning becomes your reality.
2. By listening to each other about the experience of what is working well, you can
envision a future of what is possible. As you break into your groups try to focus
on the principles of appreciative inquiry. This may not come naturally at first. You
may be tempted to mask problem-posing questions with positive terminology,
such as What is the biggest challenge you overcame? Keep each other
accountable to truly discuss a future vision based on appreciative inquiry.
3. The rest of this time is yours. Its up to you to determinate your reality and
envision a future.
4. Divide into groups and allow the discussion to evolve naturally as they may
struggle with the language or stopping themselves from problem-posing.
5. Visit each of the groups for a few minutes to observe how things are going.

Closing (2 min)
I hope this information and approach was useful and will help shape the mindset we use
in planning, in communicating and in setting goals and action items.
[We are going to now transition to the next session after a short break.]