Sensemaking as a way of coping and understanding

If overwhelm, stress or uncertainty creeps up and dumps on you, get out a pen and paper... and map it all out. 

- Map out the overwhelm: what’s going on?  

- Map out the stress: what’s happening - what are you thinking about? 

- Map out the uncertainty: what do you know and what could you do about that? 

Rather than endless thinking thinking thinking, sensemaking can help because it involves the visualization of what can seem like a mess of information. 

We’re able to get perspective on where we are and what’s going on so it begins to make more sense to us. 

It doesn’t need to be fancy. 

A simple page of shapes, lines and words can be enlightening and uplifting. 

There are no rules. Your map doesn’t have to be a certain way. 

It’s the act of making a map that helps get the tangle out of your internal mind and out onto an external page. 

Sensemaking is one of the key capabilities of adaptability : to be able to respond to and deal with change. 

If we don’t map to make sense of things, they don’t make sense no matter how much thinking we do. 

Why aren’t our meetings more creative

We’re not to blame! Our meeting cultures date back decades, even centuries to how parliaments and governments functioned. 

These old systems run deep and aren’t quick or easy to change when they’re passed on via generations, leaders and cultures. 

It’s a risk to change or suggest something needs to change. Instead we endure, tolerate and bemoan boring, inefficient and ineffective meetings ...online or otherwise. 

Why else? 

- Some people believe work is serious and creativity isn’t serious enough. 

- For others it’s easier to do what they’ve always done and play it straight.  

- Change can be difficult to make working in dominant and powerful structures and systems. 

- We may not want to stand out, mess up, look foolish or be criticized for trying more creativity. 

- We may not think we’re creative enough. 

- And we can wonder ... is it even possible to be creative in a meeting? 


There are many activities and ways of working in meetings that are clever, help us think better and make easier progress. 

These are creative ... and they’re effective and productive too! 

Why it’s worth being a little more creative in meetings

You don’t have to go way out there creative. Just a little can make a difference. 


🔶 For participants 

Are they participants - they’ll be doing, contributing and participating? Or are they attendees, an audience of spectators just watching and listening?

Creativity brings focus, stimulation to keep interest high and helps hold attention. 

Creativity makes memories. If you’re dealing with dry or complex matters, creativity anchors the key points. 

It brings content to life!


🔶 For you 

Creativity helps you stay interested. If it’s good for you, it’s likely to be good for them too. 

Moods and energy are infectious. If you’re not feelin’ it, they won’t be!

Creativity helps keep content fresh if it’s repetitive or the same topic as the last meeting. 

Variety alerts us. 


Many meetings are experiences of monotonous boredom. They benefit from injections of creativity. 

You don’t have to go for crazy creativity. A subtle or clever activity can build engagement, make swifter progress and help reach better outcomes. 

Are you using creativity in meetings?

Creative activities for online meetings

We often hear the tappity-tap of people working on emails while they’re online in a meeting.

It’s not their fault. 

They’re BORED!

They’ve had four of these boring meetings today. And you're dragging them through another one? YAWN!

We must make things more relevant, more creative - and it will most certainly be more effective.

If you’re inviting people to an online meeting to work, plan, contribute or decide, be sure you have a range of inspiring activities on hand. 

Giving people a question and putting them in breakout rooms is done - overdone! And it's just ONE activity. 

There are MANY OTHER WAYS to add connection, relevance and creativity to online meetings.

And it need not be ‘crazy creativity’ but relevant, smart and brilliant creativity!

I’ve spent years creating activities for meetings. And I’ve adapted, edited and morphed existing activities to make them more interesting ... and they work online too. 

Everything is an idea

Our opinions are ideas. 
Messages are ideas too. 
Statements and questions are. 

Movies are ideas. 
Products and services are as well. 
Blogs, posts and comments are. 

Our opinions and beliefs are ideas. 
Same with our impressions and perspectives. 

Ideas are everywhere. 

They’re how we understand what something is and how we communicate about it. 

Don’t be too upset if what you’re trying to communicate doesn’t change someone’s opinion immediately. It’s your idea, landing up against their ideas. 

We’re presented with so many ideas every day, it’s no wonder some of them don’t get through!

It may take a little while or some repeated attempts. 

Our world is a big mix of ideas, hitting up against one another, circling, collecting in groups, moving, swarming and changing shape. 

Get more of your ideas out into circulation and there’s more of a chance for happy collisions, random landings and repeated connections. 

It’s most certainly a numbers game.