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name: People Puzzles: Tools for Understanding What is Really Going On

designers: Naomi Karten and Eileen Strider

max number of participants: open; design is flexible to accommodate various numbers

min number of participants: open; design is flexible to accommodate various numbers

optimum number: open; design is flexible to accommodate various numbers

duration of session: three hours

configuration of room: flexible, chairs only (step stool, stilts or other "height enhancers" available if needed ;-})

Have you ever walked away from an interaction with a colleague or customer, asking yourself "What just happened?" This is an example of a "people puzzle."

There are lots of ways puzzling interactions can occur. Sometimes these interactions are mystifying but of no major consequence. At other times, however, especially in organizations, they lead to misunderstandings, frayed nerves and ruffled feathers -- to say nothing of project snafus, plunging morale and damaged relationships.

In this session, we will start by defining what we mean by "people puzzles." We will give you opportunities to describe your own puzzling interactions and we�ll share some of our own (maybe even some that we�ve had with each other!). We�ll also give you the opportunity to participate in untangling some puzzling interactions during our session.

To help you avoid puzzling interactions, we�ll present a tool for understanding how puzzling interactions happen, called "Ingredients of an Interaction," created by Virginia Satir. We�ll demonstrate how to use this tool to recognize, analyze and resolve people puzzles -- whether the puzzles are ones you�ve experienced yourself or ones you�ve observed in others. During the session, you will have opportunities to explore puzzling interactions of your own using this model. And since puzzling interactions are inevitable despite our best efforts to avoid them, we�ll develop concrete guidelines for avoiding puzzling interactions.

Please join us in our session for some interesting puzzle solving. EileenStrider and NaomiKarten

Updated: Monday, October 9, 2000