Simple Snowballs Can Jumpstart Energy and Exchange of Ideas (Facilitation Friday #82)
Every facilitator needs purposely playful activities and formats in their toolkit.
Once upon a time, I participated in a conference session laden with unhelpful content judging by the bored and questioning reactions of many people around me. The presenters seemed unaware, and I wondered how often I might miss similar signals when leading a workshop.
As I left that session to do my own, my negative thinking flipped positive and I decided to try something I had never done before.
The paper snowballs experiment
I instructed the 60+ people in my session on "Beyond Brainstorming: Facilitation Tips and Techniques for Generating Great Ideas" to crumple a sheet of scratch paper into a snowball and pelt me with it when they got a good takeaway from the session. A summer snowball fight during a session in Florida when outside it was in the high 90s!
When multiple snowballs were thrown at once, I usually paused to facilitate a brief discussion of what had resonated with the attendees and why.
Being trashed in public has never been so satisfying. It provided real-time feedback about what connected with participants, multiple energy boosts in the room, and a good deal of laughter.
Several weeks later, I turned to paper snowballs again. This time the purpose was to facilitate a fast and fun exchange of participants’ takeaways in the form of a snowball fight at the end of my workshop.
On a sheet of scratch paper, individuals noted one of their "aha" moments or practical takeways and then crumpled their sheet into a snowball. The snowball “fight” then began with everyone tossing snowballs at each other.
Participants read the takeaway on the snowball that hit them, crumpled it up, and tossed it at someone else. This continued for about five minutes. I ended the activity by asking for a few individuals to share a particularly compelling takeaway that pelted them.
Note: To support sustainability, use scratch paper for any form of paper snowballs instead of brand new stock.
Unpacking use of paper snowballs
Let’s be clear. Paper snowballs were not some genius activity that had never been used before in some form.
Like many great facilitation tools or techniques, the basic paper snowball form can be adapted for a variety of functions. Drawing on the principles behind the activity can inform your design of other approaches, but first you have to identify them:
If you were describing the key principles of either paper snowball activity or what its value might be to a facilitator considering using it, what would you say?
My list, in no particular order, would include that Paper Snowballs in either of the two formats described …
Respects individual autonomy. Participants control the content they share and/or act when they feel compelled to do so.
Helps surface meaningful content or insights that were previously unknown to others.
Is purposely playful in support of a relevant purpose.
Privileges active learning and can repeatedly boost participant energy and engagement.
Introduces something unexpected into the sessions.
Is scalable, working with groups of almost any size.
Is multi-purpose in that it can be used to help achieve a variety of meeting, workshop, or conference outcomes and at almost any point.
Doesn’t require many resources.
Has simple and easily understood instructions.
Caters to both introverted and extroverted participants.
Can allow people to anonymously share their thinking.
Bottom Line
Sometimes you just need a simple, fun, perhaps even silly, way to add some energy and enjoyment in a meeting or workshop in a purposeful manner that supports the overall outcomes for the gathering.
Getting in Action
Decide how a snowball fight could be effectively used in a meeting or workshop you facilitate or attend as a participant.
Generate a short list of classic children’s games or playful activities. Pick one and adapt it into a facilitation format that makes it easier and enjoyable for workshop participants to capture and share takeaways or ideas. Hmm … Red Rover, Red Rover, send your best idea over?
Other than paper snowballs, identify 3-5 simple and purposely playful ways you could elicit real-time participant feedback or input during a meeting or workshop, ones that could increase energy.
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