Give Gain toGether: A technique to facilitate teambuilding, planning, opening and closing conversations, discussion guidelines … and just about any topic.
About ten years ago, I created a technique I call Give Gain toGether for a community goal-setting and action-planning session. It worked fantastically! Over the years, I have used it in many meetings, workshops, and sessions adapting it to the group and the topic. I wrote about it in an earlier blog and decided that it’s time to share it again.
Reasons to use the technique
Give Gain toGether helps individuals describe emotions, express needs, offer gifts, generate ideas and actions, and make decisions.
The words “give, gain, together” are clear and concise. People immediately know the essence of the words and with minimal instruction, can answer individually and as a group.
The technique moves thinking and feeling from the individual perspective to the group perspective.
The technique allows each individual to express their needs; an opportunity that is sometimes overlooked or neglected in group discussions. As well, it invites each person to think about and state what they will contribute, e.g. ideas, respectful behaviour, etc.
When and how to use
Here are situations in which I have used it and examples of questions to invite participants to answer.
As an opening conversation
- What can I give to this meeting?
- What do I want to gain from this meeting?
- What do I hope we can do together during and as a result of the meeting?
As a closing conversation or a retrospective exercise
- What did I give to the conversation and decisions? How?
- What did I gain from the meeting or session? How will it help me?
- What did we do effectively together? How did we change?
As a team-building activity
- What can I contribute (Give)?
- What do I need (Gain)?
- How can we best connect together?
For a multi-stakeholder collaborative plan
- What can I and my organization contribute (Give) … to our partnership? To our plan?
- What do I and my organization need from our partnership? (Gain)
- What can we do as partners (toGether) to collaborate fully and effectively?
As an action plan at the end of a strategic planning process
What actions will I and my organization or team carry out? (Give)
What actions would we ask others to conduct? (Gain)
What actions can we best do together?
How to facilitate the technique Several years ago, I wrote a blog about Give Gain toGether with descriptions of ways to facilitate it in online and in-person sessions. http://www.barbpedersen.ca/give-gain-together-a-facilitation-technique-and-three-words-for-2021/
Give Gain toGether is one of my “go-to” techniques. Let me know if you use it and how it works for you.