Helping Heuristics

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

• Invite participants to view all human interactions as offers that are either accepted or blocked (e.g., Improv artists are trained to accept all offers)
• Ask them to act, react, or observe four patterns of interaction
• Invite them to reflect on their patterns as well as to consider shifting how they ask, offer, and receive help

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

• Any number of participants, standing
• No tables in the way of people standing face-to-face!

3. How Participation Is Distributed

• Everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and to contribute
• Participants switch into one of three possible roles as the activity progresses

4. How Groups Are Configured

• Groups of 3: two participants interacting face-to-face in the roles of client and coach plus one observer
• Whole group for the debrief

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

• Explain that there will be four rounds of 1–2-minute improvised interactions. Groups choose one member to be a “client,” another a “coach,” with the third acting as “observer.” Roles can stay the same or change from round to round. The fourth round will be followed by 5 minutes of debrief. 2 min.
• During every round the person in the role of client shares a challenge he or she is passionate about. While the observer pays close attention, the coach responds in a sequence of patterns that is different for each round as follows.
• During the first round, the response pattern is “Quiet Presence”: the coach accepts all offers with compassionate listening [see the Liberating Structure Heard, Seen, Respected (HSR)]. 2 min.
• During the second round, the response pattern is “Guided Discovery”: the coach accepts all offers, guiding inquiry for mutual discoveries (see the Liberating Structure Appreciative Interview). 2 min.
• During the third round, the response pattern is “Loving Provocation”: the coach interjects advice, accepting and blocking as needed when the coach sees something that the client does not see (see the Liberating Structure Troika Consulting). 2 min.
• During the fourth round, the response pattern is “Process Mindfulness”: the coach and client accept all offers from each other, working at the top of their intelligence while noticing how novel possibilities are amplified. 2 min.
• Debrief the impact of all four helping patterns as experienced by clients, coaches, and observers. 5 min.
• Based on the debrief, repeat all rounds or only some for all participants to practice various response patterns.

WHY? Purposes

• Reduce/eliminate common errors and traps when people are giving or asking for help
• Change unwanted giving help patterns that include: premature solutions; unneeded advice; adding pressure to force use of advice; moving to next steps too quickly; trying too hard not to overhelp
• Change unwanted asking for help patterns that include: mistrusting; not sharing real problem; accepting help without ownership; looking for validation, not help; resenting not getting enough

Tips and Traps

• Encourage people to change roles in each round
• Develop trust, inquire humbly, create climate of mutual discovery
• Focus on patterns that will help the client finding his or her own solutions (self-discovery in a group)
• Do not ignore status differences, the setting, body language, demeanor, subtle signals
• The first cycle of four rounds can be used as preparation for deeper work on any single pattern
• After initial cycle, let trios choose the patterns they want to focus on in their group

Riffs and Variations

• Invite participants to create their own profile, self-identifying their default patterns and opportunities for growth
• Incorporate the helping progression into other Liberating Structures that focus on give-and-take: Troika Consulting, Wise Crowds, What I Need From You, Improv Prototyping, Simple Ethnography
• Start with “fun” patterns: neutral (zero response) and blocking by ignoring or interrupting

Examples

• Used when Wise Crowds or What I Need From You does not achieve a group’s intended purpose—for example, when participants have fallen into one of the unwanted asking for or giving help patterns
• For nurses, coaches, teachers, or anyone else in the helping professions to renew and learn new relational skills
• For any group working to improve interprofessional coordination
• For Liberating Structures facilitators to dig deeper into underlying patterns that cut across many Liberating Structures
• For expanding options when frustrated with trying to help another person