Dig for gold like a three-year-old

Where’s a three-year-old when you need one?

They ask a lot of 'whys'.

I reckon they’d be a great addition to my tool kit.

A metaphorical addition, of course - both for when I’m designing and facilitating gatherings.

It’s a pity we can’t leverage the curiosity of a toddler on call.

The next best thing? Try to adopt it.

The curious mindset that is.

The one that keeps on asking why. That doesn’t take the first response as the answer.

It’s hard to resist a three-year-old.

But the rest of us are likely to get some pushback.

I reckon we can get away with five 'whys' in a row.

So, we need a range of questions in our tool kit to find out what information or ideas our colleagues or clients want to get from a group.

In other words, what does ‘gold’ look like to them?

No problem. We’ve been around for a few years. We’ve got a broader vocabulary than the average three-year-old. And we know how to navigate a thesaurus.

Easy – right?

Harder than it sounds. Funny how often we can’t find the words we need, when we need them. Like in a session to design a workshop with a project team of technical experts.

You know. Those meetings where only the clock feels like it’s making any progress.

Help is here!

Here’s a few that I use to identify what my clients are gathering the information for.

❓ What information are you hoping to get?

❓ What will you do with it?

❓ How will you use it? Show me.

❓ When? At what stage of your project / decision-making / planning?

It’s easier to get the information you need from a group when you know how you’re going to use it. And what you’re going to do with it.

It’s like saving money.

It’s easier to save when you know what you’re going to spend it on. From fun stuff like a holiday to more serious stuff like school fees.

I wonder if that’s why that’s so few of us save for that ‘rainy day’. We can’t picture what that day will look like. We don’t know what we’ll spend our savings on.

Picture what you’ll do with the ideas and information you get from a group and you’ve got a strong start to designing a gathering that will deliver what you need.

Family legend has it that I asked Barry – our neighbour – 23 ‘whys’ in a row.

Precocious behaviour. I look pretty chuffed with myself in the photo.

My questions have become a little more sophisticated but I’m told that I retain similar levels of childlike curiosity. Like most women, I deflect compliments. But I’ll take this one.

So cast your mind back and dig like you were three.

Before the workshop to identify what information and ideas you want to get, as well as during it, to make sure you don’t miss every opportunity to uncover them.

I’d love to hear what other questions you use. Just comment below or email me.

I’ll collate every reply into a list of helpful questions and share it with you next time.

P.S. If you like this blog and want to support it, you can*:

1. Forward this blog to a friend with an invitation to subscribe right here: https://www.jacintacubis.com/shop/sign-up-to-jacinta-wonders
2. Buy my e-book HUM.

*Hat tip to Ann Handey or this idea!