In Praise of Flip-charts
In the English-speaking world, there are Flip-Charts everywhere: in managerial offices, training centres, in team-rooms,in business, in government, in schools, police-stations, universities, in the city, in the country. Even if they are used just as a crude note-pad, for messages, or reminders, or to record an event, they are useful tools.
Used with even the most basic of facilitation skills, however, they can enhance the quality of team-dialogues and thus team-efficiency, vastly improve problem-solving capacities, planning, decision-making, dilemma-resolution, idea-generation, information-sharing and leadership potential.
From community-participation projects to board-rooms, from sales-offices and research laboratories to the factory floor, flip-charts are invaluable tools for raising the levels of energy, understanding and collective-effectiveness.
When there are large numbers of people involved, as at a conference, it is commonplace for the big audiences to break up into a dozen or more smaller groups, each group working around a flip chart for thirty or forty minutes, before they reconvene to share their groups´ outputs in plenary sessions.
Such processes require teams of at least semi-skilled-facilitators. But the pay-offs are well worth the effort. Obviously these large-scale events take a lot of forethought, creativity and planning. Again, the use of flip-charts can eliminate the vagueness and uncertainty that blights much conference planning.
Learning facilitation skills is not hard. There are many good facilitators in every effective organisation and YouTube offers dozens of instructional videos for would-be facilitators. You do not need a University degree. You just have to understand the importance of following the basic rules of facilitation and write reasonably legibly with a felt-tip pen (though I have known good facilitators with terrible writing). Secretaries seem to have a special aptitude for facilitation.
There is an enormous literature in English concerning effective large- and small-group processes. It goes back to the 1950s. In many ways, the principles underlying effective group-processes are very similar to the dialogical culture-circles pioneered by that great Brazilian innovator, Paulo Freire.
Until I started living in Latin America I thought flip-charts were as universal as bicycles or computers. But they are not. They can be bought in the biggest office-supplies stores, but otherwise they are as rare as hens-teeth.
Their absence does perhaps go some way to explaining the incredibly frustrating experience of attending and contributing to a conference anywhere South of the Rio Grande. The much-lamented absence of administrative competence, customer service and innovation in government, business and the public services owes something to the failure to understand the benefits of using flip-charts small- and large-group processes.
Above all the indifference to the potential benefits of using flip-charts effectively may reflect the persistence of an extreme form of the Command and Control Leadership.
These thoughts began to stir in me as I endured an endless succession of tirades from speakers at the Mercosul Social Forum (FSM) in soon after I arrived in Brazil in 2008. It was a painful introduction to one of the central features of Latin American culture.
As I sat through the sessions, I thought how sad Paulo Freire would have been to see the serried rows of passive and often blatantly inattentive listeners being harangued through sound-systems that bore an uncanny resemblance to those installed in the Evangelical Churches that open out onto the pavements in so many city-streets. They in turn take their cue from the deafeningly amplified rhetorical techniques of multi-millionaire pastors and priests who take up much of Brazilian TV
At the FSM, there would be as many as ten impassioned orations in any two-hour session. The atmosphere resembled a three-day political rally, and at times, even a revivalist meeting.
As far as I could see, there was nothing resembling debate, or dialogue or any real learning, any more than there is from a hell-fire sermon or an election speech. The use of inspirational music, slogan chanting and hymn singing heightened that impression.
A number of films were shown, but rather than serving as a stimulus for discussion they were applauded and wrapped up with one or two words of uncritical praise. In three days I saw only three speakers who offered any kind of visual material, and none of them had bothered to tailor their presentations to fit either the time that they were allowed or the audiences they were addressing.
In their turn, the audiences scarcely bothered to listen to the speakers: a low-roar of chatting and greeting persisted in the main hall, and a crowd of people stood at the back or even in the aisles, totally ignoring the impassioned words being addressed to them from the stage. And, on the platform, mobile phones were freely used, expressions varied from the impassive to the pained, and neighbours engaged in – admittedly muted – conversations
And the net result of all that time, effort, and expense? Nothing as far as I could see. Of course, that could well have been the organisers’ intention. It is far more likely however, that this is the unquestioned norm for almost all public events. their only model for a public event, based on political demonstrations and religious ceremonies. They are simply unaware that another approach is possible.
However, in over fifty years of organising and attending conferences, however, I have yet to meet a member of the audience who actually wanted to be subjected to endless haranguing. Instead they wanted to have the chance to tell their stories too, to question the experts and decision-makers, to listen intelligently, gain new ideas and deeper understanding of important issues, and contribute, to the development of programmes of positive action.
If I could wave a magic wand and take charge of the next social forum, my first decision would be that for most of the sessions, the microphones and sound-systems should be replaced by flip-charts. overhead projectors and power-point screen. Speakers would be told that at least 50% of the allotted time for every session would be give over to facilitated discussions much like Paulo Freire´s Culture Circles. They too would take part in the facilitated small group work. They would learn a lot by listening respectfully to what members of the audience had to say. And, the outcome of the event would be some plans, some shared commitments, some positive moves towards a better future – and a basis for ever-more successful Social Forums on the future.
But none of that can happen without our blissfully unpretentious flip-charts. All praise to them.
