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MAKING SENSE OF SENSEMAKING
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Since embarking on the Visual Thinkery journey many moons ago, I’ve often been quite unable to articulate what it actually is to other people. Given that I’m in the business of helping others articulate their messages, this is all a trifle embarrassing. Visual Thinkery itself has organically come into being through a series of experiments, small enough to allow me to bypass any bravery requirement, and at the same time not needing to have a degree in art. When pinned down by others, I’ve used words like Visual Thinker or Cartoonist to describe what I do - though these seem to fall short of some key ingredients of my creative process such as active listening or ideation.
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I was recently in a creative conversation with a client (visualising aspects of their organisation’s strategy) when they reflected openly that what we were doing together was Sensemaking. And that compound word presented me with a moment of clarity - a frame through which to understand my work. In all the conversation capture, distillation and playful remixing I’ve done for people, I’d never really considered what I do as Sensemaking.
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And after doing a little research, I came across Karl E. Weick’s seven characteristics of Sensemaking. Weich coined the term (or certainly the compound word) and researched how people construct meaning in ambiguous, uncertain or complex situations. (The puzzle of constructing visual meaning in ambiguous/complex situations is exactly what butters my parsnips!) So I used these characteristics as a frame for reflecting on the Visual Thinkery creative process, which is rooted in open facilitated conversation. And of course I had to draw some thinkery as a way of making sense of it all…
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…so here are some thoughts on Weick’s characteristics of Sensemaking:
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Sensemaking is grounded in identity construction
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I try to create a space where people can be themselves, and bring their stories, perspectives, opinions and humour. This is personal dammit! I often suggest a diversity of perspective leads to a richer conversation and therefore better visual ideas. I’ve also become aware of how hierarchical power structures in a conversation can often obstruct creative openness as participants guard what they say.
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Sensemaking is retrospective
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Often we simply don’t know why something is significant until we look back and connect the dots. As humans, we can only really see the world through our experiences to date (and therefore everyone sees a different world!) So we try to articulate the future by drawing meaning from past events.
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Sensemaking is enactive of the environment
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But sensemaking is not just about capturing a perception of how things are. With every action or interaction, we potentially create a new reality in the conversation. A doodle of something said potentially becomes a prompt and a useful reference point - a new stepping stone to stand on for the group’s shared imagination.
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Sensemaking is social
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Sensemaking is not an individual activity - it’s influenced by other’s views, conversations, norms and shared meanings. No idea is an island! Even having an outsider (or curious idiot) like me facilitating the conversation prompts a different language amongst colleagues. Stories bubble to the surface to illustrate and explain.
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Sensemaking is ongoing
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It’s a living process. How much time will it take? How much time have you got? One story sparks another. One sketch paints a new reality for the conversation. Add more participants and new meanings will be added too.
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Sensemaking is focused on or by extracted cues
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Tiny details, quirky phrases or a humorous aside can become the cue that anchors the shared meaning. We naturally reach for metaphors to explain and as we do, others start to see pictures and build on top.
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Sensemaking is driven by plausibility (rather than accuracy)
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The goal is not to capture a factual truth. The goal is to create a plausible workable coherent (and truthful!) story. One that potentially resonates with others. I'm aware that in an exploratory conversation, little fragments of sense materialise and come into view - Quick! - capture them before they escape!
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Through this little bit of visual research, I’ve realised that Sensemaking goes hand-in-hand with my curiosity. Whether it's a live capture of a gathering, or a creative process to create a visual asset, or even a reflective journaling of growing up in Ulster during the Troubles, at its core is that puzzle of meaning just waiting to be solved.
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You are receiving this visual newsletter because you are very sensible and signed up for an occasional dollop of Visual Thinkery, at our website, visualthinkery.com.
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If you'd like to send us some thoughts, just hit reply to this email. :)
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