Welcome!
In this little series of communication, -
I would like to talk to you about appreciative inquiry, -
as well as open-ended questions.
But, ladies and gentlemen, first we have to talk a little about development.
And perspectives on development.
Because it could be that Darwin's unfortunate legacy -
is that the world is hostile, -
requiring a constant struggle for survival.
And that errors lead to death.
That life itself is an accident, one of many random events.
Things exist outside me in a fixed, independent state.
And that I must dominate, to control.
I am part of a huge machine.
Or perhaps Darwin was wrong.
Perhaps life is about invention, not survival.
And we are here to create, not defend.
That everything is in a constant process of discovery and creating.
And that life organizes and seeks systems -
so that more may flourish.
That life is a great playground -
that we make up as we go.
So, perhaps we should heed what Albert Einstein says.
He says that the world we have made as a result -
of the level of thinking we have done thus far -
creates problems that we cannot solve at the same level of thinking -
at which we created them.
So perhaps, -
new challenges require new thinking first.
So, we have this Darwinistic problem- focused approach to development -
that we need to identify a problem, analyze the causes, -
and then analyze possible solutions.
And that action planning in order to treat the problem.
Or we could have an appreciative approach.
We could be appreciating and valuing the best of what is, -
envisioning what might be, -
and we could have a dialog on what should be.
And we could have innovation related to what will be.
That is part of the answer to the question -
what is appreciative inquiry.
So, the word "appreciate" means: -
To recognize the quality, significance, or magnitude of something.
To be fully aware of or sensitive to.
Of course, we can also appreciate a house, -
because it increases in value and price.
An inquiry is then complimentary to advocacy, -
because it seeks to uncover information -
about why a particular view is held.
It asks questions about underlying assumptions, -
believes, reasoning, and it explores.
Why do you believe this?
What logic leads to this conclusion?
What facts or data do you have?
What examples or past experiences exist?
And this all is supported by -
attitude of wanting to understand, explore, learn, and expand.
It is not a technique to cross-examine people or find faults.
So, David Cooperrider, -
who was the one who has coined the concept of appreciative inquiry.
And by checking out his website you will find more, -
but in sum, this is what he says.
That appreciative inquiry is the discovery for the best in people, -
their organizations, and the relevant world around them.
It is an art and practice of asking the unconditional positive questions -
that strenghtens a system's capacity -
to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential.
Instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, -
there is discovery, dream, design, and destiny.
It works from accounts of the positive core of the issue at hand.
So, appreciative inquiry links the energy of the positive core directly -
to any change agenda -
and changes never thought possible -
are suddenly and democratically mobilized.
So, there are some assumptions linked to appreciative inquiry -
that we need to talk about.
Words, as we have talked about in two former sessions on communication, -
must be regarded as tools.
But it is what it is, the words.
So, what we focus on becomes the reality.
And in a way, the reality is created in the moment -
and there are multiple realities.
It is my reality, it is your reality.
How many times have you been in discussion and communication, -
and with people you live with, -
who say: "That is not how I see it!"
There is a different reality, -
a real reality for them and for you, but you see it differently.
And that the language used shapes our reality.
How we talk about it, we color the reality.
So, the same then, if you are asking questions.
Asking questions influences the outcome in some ways.
The way you ask questions will impact the answer you get.
So, another thing is that people are much more confident -
going into the future, into the unknown, -
when they carry forward parts of the present or what is known.
If we carry parts of the past into the future, -
they should, of course, be the best thing about the past.
Another assumption related to appreciative inquiry -
is that in every human situation something works.
Not everything is wrong, something works.
So, let us do a little experiment.
Sit back, pause this after I have said what I am saying now, and reflect.
Was there a time in school -
when a teacher made you feel that you achieved something, -
made you feel good?
Do you remember the name of that teacher?
Do you remember the name of a teacher you had later that day?
Some of you have such an experience, and it is a gift.
It is a gift from that teacher to you because it made you feel good, -
it made you feel that you achieved something.
And you remember the name of that teacher, -
but not of perhaps another teacher that came later that day, -
but did not leave an impression.
So, the gift of giving something positive to each other -
is part of what appreciative inquiry is all about.
In a way, it is a problem-solving orientation -
that we are used to that we are trained in that we go through school and learn -
when we talk about filling the gap.
Mending all the things that are broken and we are always looking back.
But with appreciative inquiry, we are looking forward.
We want to realize the potential -
and we want to bring that towards the future.
So, instead of asking what is wrong, how can we fix it, -
we are asking what is working, what is possible, -
what should we do together to achieve it.
So, you might ask why does appreciative inquiry focus on the positive.
Positive thinking makes people more flexible, creative, open, and efficient.
Positive communication relates to quality of relationships, -
cohesion, decision making, and success.
Positive emotion makes people more resilient, open to new ideas, -
creative, and increases their capacity for change.
So, positive thinking supports generative thinking, -
results in new ideas, -
inability to visualize new outcomes and opportunities.
I am sorry, I said "inability", I meant "ability".
Increases your ability to visualize new outcomes and opportunities.
We are now going to talk about another aspect -
that is extremely important when it comes to communication.
And that is to use open-ended, positive, strength-focused questions.
Of course, all questions start with why, where, what, how, when, and who.
But it is how you phrase it that is very important.
So, why are open-ended questions so important?
They require a person to pause, think, and reflect.
Answers will include personal feelings, -
opinions, or ideas about the subject.
The control of the conversation switches -
from the person asking the question -
to the person answering and being asked the question.
So, open-ended questions begin with the following words: -
Why, how, what, describe, tell me, -
or what do you think about this or that.
The whole appreciative inquiry process is really exciting, -
very interesting, and has been used in a host of different settings.
So please check it out.
I have left on the website some ideas for you to check out.
Thank you very much for joining us today and welcome back!