PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2020

PleasecontacttheStanfordContinuingStudiesofficewithanyquestions

365LasuenSt.,Stanford,CA94305continuingstudies@stanford.edu

650-725-2650

Course Title: Effective Collaboration: Facilitating Group Communication with Simple Sketching Course Code: BUS 80 Instructors: MJ Broadbent & James Young

Course Summary: This course will be an interactive, participatory, and activity-oriented experience. Be prepared to lower your professional guard and access your innate creativity. You will gain knowledge about using visual aids and behavioral techniques to support efficient, effective group collaboration. Using real-world scenarios combined with reference materials provided during the course, you will learn how to beneficially impact “business as usual” meetings with simple sketching techniques (drawing a meeting). By the conclusion of the course, you will possess the tools to increase your personal effectiveness with groups: the ability to create visual artifacts that enable a common understanding and support consensus building. As the person who brings these tools to your organization, you will be able to change how your company thinks and acts. Please see course page for full description and additional details.

PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2020

PleasecontacttheStanfordContinuingStudiesofficewithanyquestions

365LasuenSt.,Stanford,CA94305continuingstudies@stanford.edu

650-725-2650

Grade Options and Requirements: • No Grade Requested (NGR)

o This is the default option. No work will be required; no credit shall be received; no proof of attendance can be provided.

• Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) o Students must attend and participate in four of the six course sessions.

• Letter Grade (A, B, C, D, No Pass) o All assignments will be graded on a completed / not completed basis

§ Attendance 40% § Participation 40% § Homework completion 20%

Please Note: If you require proof that you completed a Continuing Studies course for any reason (for example, employer reimbursement), you must choose either the Letter Grade or Credit/No Credit option. Courses taken for NGR will not appear on official transcripts or grade reports. Preliminary Outline: WEEK 1 Introductions and Course Overview Discussion: Why is the current business meeting culture ripe for visual disruption? Presentation: How the five Ws (who, what, why, where, and when) factor into human and group dynamics. Introduction to the power of visual thinking, graphic facilitation, and simple sketching, illustrated with real-world business examples. In-Class Experience: Utilize provided course materials (pens, pocket guides for simple sketching, visual practice notebook) to practice simple sketching as a powerful tool for communicating visually. Homework: Build “visual vocabulary” by drawing in the provided notebook, using the simple sketching pocket guides for reference. Create one-page visual explanation — in response to a real-world prompt — where words are enlivened by drawing. WEEK 2 The Human Landscape: Focus on “Who” Discussion: What can be learned from taking a closer look at the people around us? Presentation: The benefits of visually mapping stakeholders and constituents based on specific criteria. Understand how to choose a visual communication approach that meets stakeholder needs. Recognize how people behave — particularly in groups — based on what is relevant to them, along with the ways differing organizational cultures provide behavioral context. In-Class Experience: Continue simple sketching practice by drawing maps of the people in your environment. Reflecting on these maps, gain new insights to support alliance building and collaboration strategies. Homework: Continue simple sketching practice using the pocket guides and class notebooks. Complete “listen and capture” exercise using brief recorded presentation.

PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2020

PleasecontacttheStanfordContinuingStudiesofficewithanyquestions

365LasuenSt.,Stanford,CA94305continuingstudies@stanford.edu

650-725-2650

WEEK 3 Content is King: Focus on “What” Discussion: How to decide what content is most important and how to capture it. Presentation: Improve your ability to listen, curate, and use simple sketching to capture key content (active listening). Evaluate the importance of information hierarchy and basic composition. Understand the similarities and differences between drawing your own ideas and capturing those of others. In-Class Experience: Learn to translate words into images. Hone your listening and simple sketching skills in real time during group and pair practice activities. Learn journey acting, a method that enables groups to collectively create an experience map of a product or service that is visually documented. Homework: Create visual notes during a meeting in which you take part. Alternatively, continue practicing active listening and real-time capture using recorded presentation(s). WEEK 4 Crafting Outcomes: Focus on “Why” Discussion: What is the purpose of holding a meeting? How do we maximize engagement and enable desired outcomes? Presentation: Learn about the power of facilitating with questions and how to prepare ahead for success as a visual facilitator. Level up active listening skills by eliciting content from others in a group setting. Helpful tips for summarizing, asking questions, giving feedback. Identify opportunities for using templates that support information capture. Learn about creating those templates in advance. In-Class Experience: In small groups, practice using a visual facilitation template based on a simulated meeting. Each participant will have a turn as facilitator while other participants provide narrative content. Concludes with a classroom-wide debriefing and discussion. Homework: Craft a visual template relevant to a real-world meeting. WEEK 5 Context Shapes Experience: Focus on “Where” & “When” Discussion: How to engage the busy, dispersed people of today’s global workforce. Presentation: The similarities and differences between facilitating in-person versus remote meetings. Understand the importance of pre-planning the meeting space and/or technology to effectively support group work. Consider when to gather people based on the type of work needed from them. Overview of digital tools that enable groups to communicate and collaborate visually when people are geographically distributed. In-Class Experience: Synchronous and asynchronous facilitation, as a group.

PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Quarter: Winter 2020

PleasecontacttheStanfordContinuingStudiesofficewithanyquestions

365LasuenSt.,Stanford,CA94305continuingstudies@stanford.edu

650-725-2650

WEEK 6 Bringing It All Together: Facilitating Visual Meetings Discussion: How will you use this newly acquired skillset in your everyday work? Presentation: Recap of the learning journey, tools, and techniques. Discuss effective approaches to lead and support various types of meetings across a project’s lifecycle. In-Class Experience: Continue integrated skills practice to gain confidence leading visual facilitation. Come away with actionable plans to transform future meetings.