Short Autobiography
A simple and effective way to start a personal presentation.
by João SevilhanoGoal
Think about oneself in a different and meaningful way.
Present oneself to a group.
Get to know colleagues/participants.
Materials
Instructions
The challenge is to present oneself using no more than 10 words.
The facilitator can give some examples:
- "Born a woman, an individualist that doens't believe in GOD";
- "Firstborn, made art out of loneliness, strength out of weakness";
- "Wanted to be an archeologist or detective. Turned to psychology."
Give 10 minutes to individually reflect and practice.
Can write the final version in a post it (to create a group wall).
Each participants shares it's short autobiography and can complement with other information.
Colleagues are encouraged to ask questions to know more and clarify.
Background
The idea came up when in 2009 a Portuguese magazine invite 10 well know personalities to write their autobiography using up to 10 words. According to the article, the ideia of writing a story in a sentence came with a challenge that was made to Ernest Hemingway.
Author
João Sevilhano works with and for other people, via learning experiences design, and improving human relationships and interaction through conversation. A graduate of applied psychology, he also works in the corporate world helping people, teams, and organizations to establish more human relationships. His belief that our work lives are making us not just miserable but sick, is the principal thrust of his quest to reframe our relationships with work, starting by openly and provocatively designing and implementing conversation contexts where we can question the “truths” that should be changed. João co-founded and co-manages the learning design studio Way Beyond, where he has a particular focus on strategy and innovation.