Esther Choy’s idea of using creative job titles to spark conversation is fabulous. In her blog post How to hook your audience’s attention at a networking event she tells how she introduces herself as storyteller when she goes to networking events and how this unusual job title sparks curiosity and conversation.
Agree! I can see how this works very well and can hear interesting small conversations fill the conference room. Having small conversations stimulated by funny job titles is a great connecting activity to start a learning event. In certain learning events, I could imagine going a step further and linking the job title to the event’s topic to make the conversation more specific. I would encourage participants to inquire more deeply about roles and tasks, opportunities and challenges. Eventually a short interview guideline could also help. This again could lead to more interesting conversations – always depending on the purpose of the meeting.
So, let’s give it a try, how would I present myself as facilitator under new creative labels?
A conversation architect
A knowledge gardener
A conversation nurse
I hide the PowerPoint presentations and make people talk with each other
A midwife for Aha moments
I connect people and ideas
A travel guide for those who are exhausted by boring meetings
Fitness trainer for conversations
I am dealing interactions
I am curious to know what kind of conversation I would spark with my fancy job title. I will try this out. How about you?
Related stories
- Tree ring by tree ring; or how knowledge management helps grow “learning rings”
- Using a metaphor for explaining what it means to be the facilitator
- Yes you can facilitate this!
26/02/2018 at 5:17 pm
It was wonderful to stumble on this and see that you found my ideas helpful! I love your examples, especially “Fitness trainer for conversations”! -Esther Choy