A Fresh Way to Manifest Creativity for Groups
In a recent LinkedIn post, David Sable, Global CEO of Y&R, argues how despite the digital world we live in, we “often limit ourselves with linear thinking” at conferences where “so much of the news is predictable and, in my opinion, uninspiring.”
He describes a new trend called the “unconference movement”, which eschews the linear format of conferences and conventions for something strikingly different and non-linear.
“The idea is that if you get an interesting mix of people in a room and let them decide what they want to talk about, how they want to talk, even when and where they want to, it is likely that interesting things will happen.”
The issue being addressed reminds me of how educational systems have been challenged in the last few years to rethink their traditional teaching methods in the digital age. The unconference movement is introducing the idea of crowdsourcing topics and agendas from participants, creating an unpredictable yet enriching experience. Sable explains how “when you arrive, if you have something you want to talk about, you put it down on a white board, where the conference agenda organically builds hour by hour.”
The random nature of the process relies on the unexpected, demanding the audience’s active participation. By creating a sense of discovery, the unconference method inevitably draws the rapt attention of each attendee, whose contributions deliver a retention-boosting experience.
Read the full article here.
