In this weeks #TopTipTuesday - We explore the 'Why' of gamifying content.
I've been sharing a lot of content recently and it's the feedback I get from those consuming it that motivates me to continue. I awoke this morning to a story shared by Dominic, someone I met during a training course in the early days of lockdown.
Dominic shared with me a story. He works with an IT lead, a person who seldom breaks a smile. Dominic introduced the 'Queen' themed retrospective to this IT lead and the consequence? This persons hard exterior was broken down and he confessed his love for Queen.
I've had similar experiences. I was facilitating a meeting with a team recently and as I always encourage, we started with non work focused chat. Someone made mention of the chair behind me and how it looked like a gaming chair. Based on this, I suggested as our icebreaker for the session, we each shared our favourite video game and why.
Now, what I love about this story is that two people who had been working together for months, had no idea they both LOVED the video game Battlefield 3. As a consequence of spending a little time on non work chat, they learned they had more in common than they thought and made plans to play together outside of work.
There is a simple power & beauty in gamification. It's capable of breaking down barriers, building bridges between the working world, and the more abstract. Helping people to form connections on a personal level which is hugely important in this digital world.
Top tips
Explore different ways to make your content visual, engaging and abstract. Miro / Mural or any whiteboarding tool can help with making workshops and meetings collaborative and engaging
Don't forget to connect on a personal level with your teams. If you have a team of avid gamers, gear your retros towards gaming. If music is there thing, make them music themed. Mix things up!
Use the 4 C's approach for creating workshops. Connections, Contextualise, Concrete practice and Conclusions
What stories can you share about gamifying / making engaging content? How has it helped you connect with those you work with on a personal level?
Don't stop believin folks!