Nov 11, 2020
A recipe for building connection online.
For the last 8 years, I’ve led creative trainings for teams around the globe, transforming the typical business gathering into an unforgettable and connective experience.
Just imagine. Business executives writing collaborative poems to solve the challenges that keep them up at night. Engineers doodling to let go of their inner critic. Quantum computing scientists drawing blind portraits of one another to build empathy. Intrigued?
After 350 live events across 12 countries, my business Late Nite Art was finding its niche. Then, out of nowhere, COVID-19 hit. Since so much of what we do is about face-to-face connection and getting people OFF their screens, the shift to online was hard for us to even imagine. Like many other small business owners, I felt paralyzed.
But at its core, Late Nite Art has always held the spirit of experimentation.
So for months now, we’ve re-imagined new ways to bring meaningful connection to teams online. We’ve led dozens of online workshops with organizations of all sizes, and learned so much about how to create an engaging virtual training. Here are a few insights:
1. People are tired of sitting 🪑
Although it can feel like a risk, incorporating movement into your next meeting can shake people awake and provide an unexpected burst of energy. Whether it’s a body scan or a quick stretch, even the most subtle movement exercise can breathe new life into your group.
2. Use music, with intention 🎧
Music is the best tool I’ve found so far to transform a Zoom meeting into a more creative and welcoming space. Don’t underestimate the power of a well-selected Spotify playlist to shift the atmosphere and help your audience feel at ease. Here’s the Late Nite Art Official Mixtape to get you started.
3. Bring in new modalities ✍🏾
It’s time to move beyond just slides and keynote speakers. Bringing in modalities like creative writing, storytelling, or visual art may seem like an odd choice for your monthly team call, but harnessing these art forms and applying them to your topic can bring a fresh lens to looking at challenges and opening pathways for expression. Using an arts-based approach also caters to multiple learning styles and helps people get out of their heads and into their hearts.
In August 2020, LNA facilitator Kelsey Lotus Wong and I applied these insights to our biggest virtual training yet: we were hired to design the closing experience for the biennial Adobe Design Summit. Following 4 days of content, our workshop provided a much-needed “deep belly breath,” allowing space for contemplation, and developing community for the 600 designers, researchers, engineers, and strategists attending from around the globe.
“Late Nite Art was 100 minutes of pure magic.” — Bailey Sharrocks, Lead Organizer of the Adobe Design Summit
With the whole world now working online, people are craving new opportunities to connect and feel seen by their colleagues. We are excited to bring this refined and fully digital version of Late Nite Art to teams worldwide.
As you plan your next team retreat, all-hands meeting, conference, or event, consider doing things a bit differently. Let us be your creative partner!
Schedule your free consultation here.
Adam Rosendahl is the Chief Experience Officer of Late Nite Art, a learning and development lab. Through his experiential workshops and trainings, he fuses art, music, and dialogue as a vehicle to breathe imagination and connection into teams at organizations like Pixar, Southwest Airlines, LinkedIn, and the Mexico Tourism Board. Learn more at lateniteart.com.
