Tag: brief

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Buying Bags of Kaleidoscopes: reflecting on how far ideas in teaching can travel

Photograph showing the sign outside the Cambridge university department of engineering

Today, Oliver concluded his series of six workshops as part of the Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE) Masters program in Cambridge. In this final session, participants reviewed the material covered over the last five sessions, spread out over two years, and set objectives for their continued professional growth.

The series of six lectures aimed to integrate collaborative design skills into the Masters program, focusing on both creativity and collaboration.

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Catalytic Style

Catalytic style is a an approach to having conversations that helps the solution emerge from the client rather than  having it planted by the consultant. I learnt this approach from Nick Zienau at Intelligent Action, and it is well worth taking the time to practise using it.

The rules of Catalytic Style

  • Keep the focus on the client.
  • Ask short, open questions to keep them talking (what, how, but not why).
  • Offer quick summaries to show you are listening.
  • Don’t offer your own solutions – this is about keeping the focus on the client.
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