Trusting presence names an experience of being there in co-creation, a strong sense of connectivity involving other-awareness and energetic engagement with colleagues, tools and objects, transmitting trust and accountability.
TIPS FOR GOOD PRACTICE
- Mark the presence of the situation: Presence begins in silence. Start with silence and trust the silence in the room. Pause for a few seconds after you have asked for the word, and before you start your argument.
- Bring in the body: Do something early that engage people’s bodies, like scribbling with a pen in solitude, moving objects, making drawings or just moving around in the room.
- Brainstorm in solitude first: Start every brainstorming with a question, give each person time to think it through and write it down.
- Get the gear: Insist on regular unplugged meetings, ban mobile phones and use software like Freedom to cut the distraction crap. Be brave and bring out the old-fashioned paper, penscils, wall displays and use pin ups.
- Empower the occasion: Sometimes, interactions need a leveling of the field to counter asymmetrical power relations. Deemphasize formal status, have authorities talk about their mistakes and encourage showing vulnerability. Stop the flow of talk if people dominate or show disrespect or disinterest.
- Show your guts: Listen actively and with affirmation, respond intuitively in the moment, and connect your gut reaction to an empathic reflection. Challenge with respect and openness, ask direct questions and disagree inquiringly: “What do you mean with that? If you agree, jump on it: “That’s brilliant! This is so cool!”
- Eat, love, pray: Shared experiences (outside the work setting) create strong connections and a sense of a common value system, a cultural presence.
Readings for inspiration
Dutton, J. E. (2003) Energize Your Workplace. How to Create and Sustain High-Quality Connections at Work, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco
Lombard, M. and Ditton, T. (1997) “At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Presence”, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 3: 0
Haraway, D (2000) How Like a Leaf − An Interview with Thyrza Nichols Goodeve, Routledge, New York