New engagement technique!!! A pile of old postcards ...

Sometimes I come across an engagement technique which is so simple and powerful it produces the delight of discovery and use equivalent too ... well, insert your favourite tool. I  hesitate to say good software, because this is definitely non-tech.
So it was at the Collaboration Convention run last week by my friends at ruralnet|uk and their partners. The whole event was delightful, with plenty of different workshop choices on networking, participation, and joint service delivery with or without added technology. The cybercafe in the centre of Hilton Hotel, Warwick,  offered free wifi and refreshments and created a hub for face-to-face and online communication.

The technique I discovered was in the Participatory Working session run by Gray-King and Gray Ltd, where Elizabeth and Peter were sharing the expertise they and colleagues use in projects, and also offer as part of the ruralnet Experts Online service (questions answered within 24 hours).
There on a table was a spread of postcards ... holiday destinations, cartoons, people, animals, places. The technique was ultra simple ....just pose a question, then look for a postcard which serves as a metaphor for the point participants want to make. Each then takes it in turns to explain it. We used the cards to ask "what annoys you about getting access to information in your community?"

We scrabbled around and soon found walls to climb, unhelpful people to deal with, closed doors, flowers we might need to offer - and much more, less literal. It got us talking.
As Maitrisara, our guide in the exercise explained, the postcard table can be used to ask a whole range of questions - from "why did you come to this meeting?" to  "what do you like about living in your area?" and " what would you like changed".

The postcards seem to bring out a more reflective, almost poetic mood in the participants. It seems to evoke a more heart-felt response to the question which helps to build relationships between the group more quickly. The attention on the picture both helps the person to articulate what they want to say, adds a dimension to the explanation, and seems to help to overcome shyness as the focus is on the picture not the person speaking. It certainly makes their contribution more memorable. The postcards are a rather nice recycling project in their own right as there are lots of birthday cards, postcard and free things in art galleries and shops which can all be put to good use.

What struck me about the technique was that it shifted us into the sort of conversation we might have anytime, anywhere ... and out of the usual participation workshop world of post-it notes and flip charts. It was comfortable, fun, low-cost, and anyone could do it. I admire consultants prepared to follow and share that approach.
Of course, collaboration and engagement take more than techniques, however useful. As Simon Berry, chief executive of ruralnet|uk reminded us on the day:

'Collaboration is an endangered word, and there is a risk of it going along the same path as the word 'partnership' if we are not careful.
.. . . collaboration is an order of magnitude more challenging and complex than competition. Real collaboration needs trust, a shared set of values and a clear understanding of what's in it for each of the collaborators.  This takes time to establish and to maintain.'

I rather take that for granted at ruralnet|uk events.... and they've got the list of partners to show for it. (OK, declaration of interest, I'm one. But what's the point of blogging if you can't give some cheer to your friends?)

Update: Elizabeth Gray-King has kindly sent me a fuller explanation of the postcards technique:

This is an invaluable way to gather opinion on almost any subject.  A number of postcards are laid out on a table or floor or any other surface.
In this image, there are over 100 of all sorts of images from scenes to people to animals and more. People select postcards to let the image expand their feelings about an issue.  In this photograph, people were asked their frustration with accessing information.  Each person chose a postcard and then explained their frustrations.  The beauty of the method is its inclusivity and the drive for information from direct sources.
This is not the classic research method of a researcher guessing frustrations, asking respondents to rank their agreement or not and then taking further comment.  This method has nothing between the participant and their opinion - only the tool to help them describe.  Valuable indeed is its ability to cut across all levels of literacy.  Explaining a picture and how that describes an opinion (issue, thought, etc) needs no written word or practised argument.  Even for those who are not comfortable speaking in a group, the action of describing a picture (holding it, looking at it, occasionally looking at the group) means that the the participant almost 'forgets' that they are speaking to a group. 
Further benefits are the physical closeness of participants as they choose, often profoundly helping a disparate group learn to trust. It has been used to help a Healthy Living Partnership decide its future, a Citizen's Advice Bureau 'unpack' why some people are excluded from their services, a group of new Ministers/Priests show expectations of their ministry, a group of residents in a deprived housing estate decide their learning priorities and much much more.

Comments

[Brent MacKinnon]

Outstanding tool and excersize to use in a collaboration workshop or similiar training. I will certainly store this one away. Thanks for sharing.

[Rose Hallam]

What a positive write up! Only sorry I wasn't able to be there.

Rose - GKG Collective

[Carl Reynolds]

come, come, a new technique - image as metaphor - i got this off a colleague several years ago - there's nothing new under the sun - only new ways to adapt. glad you're still blogging and mapping the sector. ;-)