Role confusion occurs during adolescence, especially during the early teens. During this stage, teens search for a sense of self and personal identity, leaving them confused, anxious and angsty. This in turn affects their grades, social relationships & wellbeing. Let Me Be Me is a bite-sized workshop that helps them navigate through this confusing period to emerge more comfortable and confident.
Usually workshops and conferences conjure up images of dialogues and learnings, but these can also serve as wonderful avenues of breaking down barriers. Last month, we immersed ourselves in two different projects, one was a conference that broke down geographical barriers to bring investors closer, and the other was a workshop that broke down the age barrier to jointly innovate for a better world.
Conference
The World Opportunities Forum brought together ambassadors from 18 countries to talk about opportunities on a single platform. The event was organised by our long time client, Sun Media. As consultant, we were involved in various areas of conference design, conference management and speaker management.
The Empactathon was an intergenerational design thinking workshop that brought children (school students) and adults (volunteers from Salesforce) together, to initiate conversations for a better world. We co-facilaitated this workshop for Design for Change (DFC), Singapore, an organisation that we have had long association with.
This month, the focus is on conversations. Conversations with collaborators, partners, service providers, participants and readers. We have realised that though conversation is essential, it is not always easy. Especially when we want the meaning to be conveyed in the simplest of ways.
So we would like to share with you what we know of communication and conversations.
There’s a big difference between the written and the spoken word. So, what we would have said is not what we should be writing. In this age of social media, this lesson become even more relevant.
The best communication is still the one that uses simple words and short sentences.
Tone of the conversation can make or break any collaboration or relationship.
If what needs to be communicated is difficult, find 2-3 ways of saying it. Then choose the most amicable way.
Empathise with your audience, reader, listener. What would you have understood if you were on the receiving end of this communication?
Timing is important. Ask yourself, if it is the right time for the communication to happen.
If it’s a f2f conversation, keep your devices away. If it’s a conversation, where lots of information is conveyed, keep a pen and paper handy.
Conversation can not be one-sided. Speak as well as listen well.
The focus is on conversation, and we have 2 upcoming events that allow it.
We are having a catch up session for the Story of Me participants. This is where we extend our support circle and revisit the goals. It’s a fun session with lots of chatter, where the participants share their stories of both success & failures.
For those who have missed being part of the workshop, do note the next schedule.
Read more about the workshop here
Contact us: storyofmeworkshop@gmail.com