Marie-Pascale Gafinen –
Illustration

ONLINE WORKSHOP

Generative Scribing

Explore and Reflect

An eight-session online course about Generative Scribing
focused on practice, reflection and feedback

 

 

Listening to the Unspoken

photo: cnapa

Did you ever experience a meeting where the most telling part was not the factual content but the way a group behaved, the atmosphere during a discussion, or the way everybody held their breath after an emotional statement?
Did you find yourself thinking that the thing people are arguing about is just a symptom of the real issue? That there is something unspoken in the room that would be worth putting into the focus?
Or that a new solution, a new way of looking at things is almost tangible in the room during a gathering but that as participants part it’s lost and you can’t quite remember what it was – you only remember that you felt like you had a solution?

Generative Scribing

These are situations in which Generative Scribing is a valuable tool. It’s a visual practice developed by scribe Kelvy Bird who describes it as follows:

„Scribing – visually representing ideas while people talk – is a distinct social art form that facilitates group learning and cultural memory. Scribes listen and draw simultaneously, ­creating large pictures that integrate content, prompt insight, and aid with decision-making.

‚Generative scribing‘ extends this art by ­attending to the field of energy and relation between people, and to the emerging ­potential of a system.“

– Kelvy Bird, author of „Generative Scribing: A Social Art of the 21st Century“ and originator of the Generative Scribing method

This different form of scribing was developed in the context of Theory U and is closely connected to the 4 levels of listening – from factual to generative – and the concept of presencing: a blending of presence and sensing.

Are you interested to explore this visual method helping groups to see their highest future potential? Then this course is for you!

An Eight-Session Online Course

This online course will

provide the theoretical basics on Generative scribing

allow you to practice in real live situations

create a room to reflect on your experience with fellow students who scribed the same session.

What you’ll learn

You will

  • get to know exercises to prepare yourselves before Scribing and bring yourself to an open state of mind
  • learn about deeper levels of listening and experiment with them, shifting your attention from reported events to patterns, structures, and  mental models.
  • examine your own mental models and beliefs.
  • sense what is happening in the group beneath the surface.
  • tune in with your whole body and observe how it reacts to what is happening.
  • try out new levels of scribing for those new levels of listening.
  • develop an abstract visual vocabulary to draw what you sensed, visualizing the intangible
  • try out ways to balance out the conversation of a group by choosing what to draw
  • experience how a group can be supported with generative scribing
  • explore and co-create emerging future possibilities with the group
  • gain experience with all the little technical and organizational details that go into scribing a live session online

… and as a bonus you will experience different facilitation methods for group work.

Session Overview

Session 1 - Foundation

In the first session we’ll get to know each other and cover the basic theoretic elements of generative scribing.

Session 2 - 7 Practice and Reflection

After session one, we will alternate between two kinds of sessions: practice and reflection sessions.

practice sessions

You practice live scribing during a real discussion or other group session facilitated with action methods such as Sociodrama or Playback Theater. I will of course be on your side to support you!

reflection sessions

In between the Practice Sessions there will be Reflection sessions for

  • feedback on your work from the preceding practice session
  • exchange on your experience during the practice
    questions and answers
  • theoretical input according to the need of the group

Session 8 – Wrap Up

Session eight will be all about stepping out of the training and into serving groups in real life:

  • how to communicate with potential clients
  • suitable settings
  • pricing etc. according to the needs of the group.

The sessions can not be booked individually.
Every participant gets a certificate after completion.

All sessions will take place on zoom. You will need a quiet workplace, a computer, a webcam, a microphone, headphones or speakers (those integrated in your laptop will be sufficient) and, a stable internet connection.

Dates and Times

Every Wednesday we meet with the whole group.

Foundation

November 2, 2-5pm CET
In session one we’ll get to know each other and cover the basic theoretic elements of generative scribing.

Reflection

  • feedback on your work from the preceding practice session
  • exchange on your experience during the practice
  • questions and answers
  • theoretical input according to the need of the group

Reflection sessions will happen on

November 9

November 16

November 23

from 3-5pm CET.

Wrap Up 

November 30, 2-5pm CET

Session eight will be all about stepping out of the training and into serving groups in real life:

  • how to communicate with potential clients
  • suitable settings
  • pricing etc. according to the needs of the group.

 

Practice Sessions

These are external sessions, where you can scribe to practice. You can choose from one practice session per block.
So far most of the sessions are in German, more English sessions will follow.

BLOCK 1

November 3: Newspaper theater, morning CEST
(in English)

November 7: Social Presencing Theater Jam Session, 5-6.30 pm
 CET (in German)

BLOCK 2

November 10: Newspaper theater, morning CEST
(in English)

November 11 Playback Theater 4:45-6:35pm CET (in English)

November 14: Social Presencing Theater Jam Session, 5-6.30 pm
 CET
(in German)

BLOCK 3

November 17:
Newspaper theater, morning CEST
(in English)
Systemic Constellation, 6-8pm
 CET
(in English)

November 21: Social Presencing Theater Jam Session, 5-6.30 pm
 CET 
(in German)

Registration fee

Solo-Player

950€

For participants

  • from the global North
  • that pay the course fee themselves

Supported

1450€

For participants

  • from the global North
  • whose course fee is partially or fully covered by their employer or another organization

I offer reduced rates for participants from the global South or people who experience an uncertain personal or professional financial situation. Please contact me at kontakt@gafinen.com

All prices plus VAT

Registration is open now!

There are 15 place available in total.

Sign up!

Why I Am Offering This Course

I want to carry generative scribing into the world.

In many of the current challenges like climate change, we are aware that more facts and more knowledge won’t solve the problem. We need to make people experience and feel their situation and acknowledge these emotions to finally act on what they already know. Generative scribing is a visual tool that can support these insights. Therefore I aim to enable more people to use it to help bring the change we all need.

to ease you into working with groups

I see people engaging with generative scribing, reading the book, maybe taking a course but never putting their new won abilities into action. And I get it: It is a very different thing to draw in a training situation during a course or during a real live event.
Practice opportunities aren’t that easily found either. You can’t just pull up any TED talk on YouTube and scribble away as you might do to practice graphic recording or sketchnoting.
I created this course to bridge the three, to offer a training setting with a real group interaction to scribe, which is safe enough to experiment without any risk and is at the same time similar enough to a situation with a client to ease you into working with groups independently.

Who Is This Course For?

$
Beginners who want to get a good overview of the basics, how Generative Scribing is used in a real group setting, and make their first steps scribing themselves
$
Scribes who have already taken a course with Kelvy Bird and want to deepen their practice to make the step and use their Generative Scribing in public
$
Experienced Graphic Recorders and scribes who want to explore deeper levels of scribing
$
Facilitators that want to use visual means to reach the full potential of the groups they are working with

Who Will Be Teaching?

 

My name is Marie-Pascale Gafinen and I’m an illustrator focussing on the communication of sustainability topics. I have been working as a Graphic Recorder for 5 years. In 2018 I took my first course on Generative Scribing with Kelvy Bird, more courses followed in 2019 and 2020. Since then I have supported 28 sessions with generative scribings, both digital and analog. Many of them with my colleagues Jörg Jelden and Valentin Heyde, who work a lot with action methods, but also during the GAIA sessions in the DACH region which were part of a worldwide series of online events initiated by the Presencing Institute.
As a passionate lifelong learner, I consider myself both a student and a teacher at the same time.
So far I’ve taught Visual Thinking and Visual Facilitation – the latter with a focus on intercultural settings. I worked with all kinds of target groups from school teachers to managers, from art students to climate scientists. Creating a container for all my students to thrive is very dear to my heart!

Registration is open now!

There are 15 spots available in total.

Sign up!

Student testimonials

This is what previous students of “Generative Scribing – Explore & Reflect” say:

We had many opportunities to experiment and to be in situations of Generative Scribing, to discuss our work with the other scribes, and this was a real chance to go deep into the practice.
Thanks Marie-Pascale !
Lydia Aubin

Graphic Recoder and trainer in the European programs field

Marie-Pascale guided our group with great passion through this very practical Generative Scribing course! I loved the idea and structure of “explore & reflect”, which describes the path very well. Even though I am not an artist, I learned to trust myself, the process and my result.
Corinna Thierhoff

Coach and pioneer for education

I liked the depth of connections we reached in this course, even though we didn’t know each other before and it was all online. Marie has this gift to generate meaningful conversations and create really deep learning experiences.
I feel different now about online courses in general because I know that even online you can create real connection and experience, if you dare.

Cornelia Brezing

Innovation Coach

The course was very well thought out and sensibly structured in a great mix of reflection and practice. Through the link with the Sociodrama Academy, there was a valuable and direct exchange. A really recommendable investment for all who are looking for a kick-start into Generative Scribing and want to gain direct practical experience.

Magdalena Vollmer

Illustrator & Scenographer

FAQ

I’m a beginner and don’t know much about Generative Scribing. Is this course suitable for me?

In my opinion, Generative Scribing is at least as much about doing and experiencing as it is about knowing. We’ll cover the basics in the first session and that should be sufficient to start practicing. If you wish to go deeper into theory I suggest that you do some additional reading over the 4 weeks. During sessions 2 – 4 there will be enough time to discuss any questions you might have.

I already took a course with Kelvy Bird. Will I still learn something new during the course?
If you already took a course, some of the things we talk about in session one will be a repetition to you, which should be helpful to get back into the practice. The biggest part of the course will focus on practice and feedback which will help you progress on every stage of your journey.
I can’t draw. Can I take part in the training?

We will work visually in this training, so you have to be willing to give drawing a try. But in scribing, we work a lot more with simple abstract forms and writing than with elaborate figurative drawings. Therefore a lack of drawing practice should be no obstacle.

I’m not a scribe / Graphic Recorder. Can I still participate?
During the course, we will focus on scribing but if you are interested in facilitating groups with drawings this course will be helpful no matter whether you do so as a scribe, in the role of a facilitator, or any other role.
Do Generative Scribing and action methods work online?
When Covid hit and we all had to stay at home, my colleage Jörg Jelden ran a series of sociodramas online that I scribed digitally. I was suprised how well both of it worked in the digital space. I would even say that Generative Scribing is more important then ever because it gives participants an additional visual layer to relate to.
I'm unsure about the online format. Will I be able to ask questions?
Although „Generative Scribing – Explore & Reflect“ is an online course, don’t expect any old webinar, where you listen while chopping the vegetables for dinner and are only asked to react via chat every once in a while. We will be a small group of maximum 15 participants and the course is designed around your active participation. You will scribe during live sessions, get feedback on your work, answers to your question and direct access to me, Marie-Pascale, and my experience.
Which equipment will I need to participate?
There are several options. If you have an empty wall and can get hold of large paper, working large scale can help you to work with your whole body and not just your head and your hand. This is especially helpful if you are only starting out. But working on smaller paper or digital drawing devices is an option as well. I will give you some information about possible materials before we get started.
I can’t take part in one of the practice sessions. Will there be a recording?
Since we are guest at the practice sessions, I can’t guarantee, that there will be recordings. The host might decide against it to secure a private setting. If you miss one of the practice sessions I’ll give my best to assist you in finding an alternative – either recorded or live. In any case, practicing is an essential part of this course and should not be skipped.
I can’t take part in one of the feedback sessions. Will there be a recording?
Yes, the feedback sessions will be recorded and you can hand in your work and questions beforehand.
My employer will pay for the training but can't handle Eventbrite as a ticketing sytem. Can I get a regular invoice instead?
Yes! Please contact me via kontakt@gafinen.com and send me the invoice address and your companies VAT number.

For further questions please contact me via kontakt@gafinen.com