My Questions About Changemaker Bootcamp

At our first session, I had Anna and Marie brainstorm their questions about their projects. (Marie mentioned hers in a subsequent blog post.) I gave them five minutes to come up with many questions as they could, and then I had them repeat the exercise over and over again.

Why? Because I think that asking generative questions is one of the most fundamental skills that every changemaker should have. This first exercise was designed to force our participants to think in question form. I call it my “Jeopardy!” exercise for short, because everything needs to be in the form of the question.

This exercise is not about quality. It’s about coverage — making sure you think as comprehensively as possible about a problem. It’s good practice as an individual, and it works even better with a group, because you get a broader swath of questions, and get to see how others think about the same problem.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not just a trainer, I’m also a participant. When I started designing this bootcamp, I started with this very brainstorming exercise, and I continue to add, organize, and refine. You can read and add your comments to a live link to my questions. As always, feedback encouraged!

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About Eugene Eric Kim

Eugene helps groups learn how to come alive and collaborate more skillfully together. He spent ten years consulting with companies across different sectors, from Fortune 500 companies to grassroots movements. He’s now focusing his efforts on helping others develop the same skills that he uses to help groups.