Thursday, August 7th, 2008, 11:00 am - 12:30pm, Breakout 1
The Tools We Use: Visual Metaphors and Narrative Analysis
Robert W. Barner, Ph.D, Professor, Dispute Resolution and Counseling, Southern Methodist University

Using group self-generated metaphors as a tool for assessing team and organizational change: The idea behind this topic is that much of what has been written and taught on the subject of visual facilitation is based on the idea of having a third-party facilitator construct visual images or metaphors to help teams envision goals, needs, and potential constraints. What happens when team members are encouraged to work together to arrive at a visual metaphor that gives voice to their needs and concerns? A team's iterative development of a metaphor can be treated as a type of "group narrative" which tells the story of how the team discovers its collective voice. This approach has power in helping teams express issues or concerns that they would otherwise have difficulty expressing.

Attendees will learn:
	When it is important to use visual metaphors as a facilitation tool
	The unique perspectives provided by the use of visual metaphors
	How to interpret visual metaphors

Robert Barner holds the position of Associate Director of Executive Education and Lecturer with Southern Methodist University's Graduate Program in Dispute Resolution and Counseling., within the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. He is the author of five business texts, which have been translated into German, Norwegian, and Estonian, and has been a contributor to seven other texts, including The Handbook of Adult Development and Learning (2006, Carol Hoare, Ed.; Oxford University Press). His articles have appeared in such journals as Team Performance Management, Career Development International, The OD Practitioner, and The Journal of Management Development.

	Nick Payne will be recording Robert's session. Nick became a IFVP member in 2006 and joined us in Santa Fe last year.
Click on the detail to view Nick's chart >