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There are many ingredients which make a successful anecdote circle, but one that eclipses all others is the level of trust that can be fostered between the participants and the facilitator. Building trust is a vital first step and in my experience a great deal of trust building occurs in those 5–10 minutes when everyone is milling around before the session formally starts.

Here are 3 things I keep in mind in order to build trust with anecdote circle participants:

1. Be friendly and relaxed. It’s important to get the chit chat going before the session. Ask people informal, easy questions such as how long they have worked in the organisation or whether things are busy at the moment. Listen to them and have some fun. Offer them food and drink. Before the session is also a good time answer any burning questions and explain why this approach is being taken. On this point I tell participants we are seeking people’s real-life experiences rather than their opinions because opinions can be easily disregarded but a person’s story is difficult to refute. People take notice of stories.
2. Be open. Last week I facilitated an anecdote circle and before the session one of the participants asked who else was going to provide their stories. Rather than giving a thumbnail sketch I handed him the list of everyone planning to attend. The group eagerly poured over the names and I sensed that this helped them feel comfortable with the process and help me build rapport. Describing the process for the project is also a useful pre-session topic. In particular letting everyone know that names will be removed from the transcripts and the anecdotes will not be analysed individually.
3. Dress appropriately. Over my career I have worn suits, business casual and even shorts and thongs (thongs in Australia, by the way, are footwear in case your were wondering). So I feel comfortable in a range of attire. Matching your attire to the organisation is important. For example, lawyers like you to wear suits, government agencies, research organisations and calls centres (a couple of environments I’ve worked in) like you to be in business causal. I’ve yet to find an opportunity for shorts and thongs! I would cause a great deal of suspicion wearing a suit while conducting anecdote circles in a call centre.

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Posted by: Warwick Holder at March 9, 2006 3:49 PM

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