How To Use Liberating Structures In A Classic Meeting Room?

Some time ago, I used Liberating Structures in two completely different settings. The first was made for Liberating Structures: lots of space, a large group, no distractions from technical devices, and no physical barriers. A perfect setting to use Liberating Structures!

I could tick all the boxes to make the workshop a smooth ride: 
✅ Room specs: a minimum of 2m2 per participant
✅ Good climate control
✅ A room with plenty of daylight and the option to open windows to let in the fresh air
✅ Chairs that can easily be moved around
✅ Two or three tables around the walls, no other tables
✅ The center of the room should be free
✅ Projector: no thanks, not necessary
✅ About 4–6 flipcharts, and plenty of wall space to put posters on

But this was a setting we created upfront. It’s a luxury we don’t always have “in the real world”. My hope is that everyone uses Liberating Structures continuously. Not only during workshops but also for everyday meetings. And with an everyday meeting, chances are you end up in a not-so-ideal setting. In my example, I faced a large table that couldn’t be moved, there wasn’t much space to walk around, and a large TV begging for a PowerPoint presentation.

In settings like this, it’s really tempting to use a conventional structure. Let’s just do a themed brainstorm, open discussion, managed discussion, status report, or presentation. With the pitfall that voices are lost, potentially great ideas are not raised, and not everyone is included in the conversation.

Resist the temptation! Be brave! Be courageous! 💪

You can still use Liberating Structures, you just need to be a bit more creative. That’s what we did in this case as well. We still managed to use a string of Liberating Structures:

👉 Impromptu Networking to make first connections
👉 Appreciative Interviews to share success stories
👉 1–2–4-ALL to explore a model on Scrum Team Effectiveness
👉 Celebrity Interviews to answer burning questions
👉 15% Solutions to identify next steps

We never made Liberating Structures “a thing”, we simply did it. And participants loved it. And we never made the classic meeting room “a thing” either. Don’t complain. Just be creative and make the most out of it. It might not be perfect, but unleashing & involving everyone in an imperfect setting gives me even more satisfaction!

If you can make Liberating Structures work in a setting like this, imagine what becomes possible in the ideal environment!

Closing

What is your experience with using Liberating Structures in environments that are made for conventional ways of interaction? How did you manage to make the most of it? And how was it perceived by the participants? We’re always happy to learn from your experiences. Let’s learn and grow, together!

Interested in learning many different Liberating Structures in an intense 2-day workshop? Check out our agenda for upcoming Immersion Workshops. If you’re aiming to join, book early — they are exceptionally popular.