Tips To Design Your Own Session With Liberating Structures

So, you’ve learned the basics of Liberating Structures and are excited to give it a try! But where & how to start? 🤷‍♀

Here’s what I often recommend. The order is random, and the list probably isn’t complete. It’s what came to mind first.

1️⃣ Check your calendar 📅 , pick one meeting or workshop, and make a pledge to facilitate it with Liberating Structures.
2️⃣ Don’t go for the 2-day workshop from the start, try a straightforward 1 or 2-hour meeting first.
3️⃣ Start with a clear purpose 🎯. What’s the purpose of the session itself? What do you want to achieve, personally? Design your workshop based on the purpose.
4️⃣ Go for the foundational structures first: e.g. 1–2–4-ALL, Impromptu Networking, Troika Consulting, Nine Whys, and Min Specs. It helps you build confidence, go for the “advanced” ones a bit later.
5️⃣ Co-facilitate. Prepare, host, and debrief the session together. It’s a super valuable experience. You can give each other feedback, and improve the session together.

6️⃣ When in doubt about the timebox ⏰, your string probably doesn’t fit. Things quickly take more time than expected. Be prepared to drop something or tweak the timeboxes.
7️⃣ For in-person sessions: check the workspace space upfront. You can do LS everywhere, but it can prevent some unpleasant surprises.
8️⃣ For online sessions: check your tooling. Can you create breakout rooms? Do you have access to the chat? Etc.
9️⃣ Use the Liberating Structures Design Cards to create your string. The cards describe the purpose, steps, and timeboxes of all the structures. Christiaan Verwijs and I spent many train rides decorating windows with potential workshop templates.
🔟 Structures like “Purpose-to-Practice” work really well to design LS strings. Also, check the Liberating Structure “Design Storyboards”.

Finally, the most important rule of Liberating Structures is…

❌ Don’t talk about Liberating Structures
❌ Don’t announce it upfront
❌ Don’t make it a ‘thing’

Just do it! ✅

Once people experience Liberating Structures, they’ll probably like it and want to learn more about it. Don’t get stuck with the few people that might not like it. Listen to their feedback. Learn from it. But focus your energy the most on the people that want to experience & learn more!

What are your recommendations for designing your own Liberating Structures workshop❓ What other tips do you have❓