IA Summit 2010: This One Goes to Eleven -- The Best Conversations Happen in the Hall

My alma mater, Earlham College, had a funny little cheer for its sports teams:

Fight, Fight, Inner Light!
Kill, Quakers, Kill!
Knock 'em Down, Beat 'em Senseless!
Do It 'til We Reach Consensus!

Of course, Quakers being advocates of non-violent solutions to problems, there
wasn’t a whole lot of killing on the sports fields or anywhere else for that
matter. On the other hand, there was a great deal of spirited conversation and
active listening: consensus building was one of the key skills every Earlhamite
acquired.

Winning over the opposing side is also a common battle for user experience
practitioners. Whether trying to convince a manager that doing wireframes
before design is a good idea or proving the need for persona development to a
reluctant and spendthrift client, UX practitioners need to be able to build
consensus. Rather than continuing to bemoan the absence of a seat at the table,
IAs can take leadership positions by actively facilitating conversations among
coworkers, clients and peers.

In a workshop setting, participants will learn how to frame, develop and
facilitate a consensus conversation by actively participating in one. A
familiar issue will be framed and participants will be led through a series of
activities that both engage their problem solving abilities and introduce them
to the power of consensus building.

Participants will leave the workshop with a solid grasp of simple yet powerful
activities and skills that they can take back to their jobs and immediately
begin using to build consensus among their teams and clients.