High School Students enjoy the chat cards!

"Its important to make career choices based on what we value in life"  stated the Trades Training Initiative CTS Instructor.  So he asked the high school students to pick a card that expressed what they valued and share it with the rest of the class. They were able to have some great engaging discussion around their values and possible career choices in the trades. 

The Jr/Sr High School Librarian & English teacher used the Start-A-Conversation cards with an  interesting goal at the start of the school year. They had their students choose 1-2 cards and facilitated discussion among the small groups. Their goal was to help the students discover some of their interests and values, which in turn would help them pick some books that they would enjoy reading. The Librarian was able to make title suggestions based on the responses of the students. A great way to individualize a reading list for the students and help them develop a love for reading. 

Dreaming

I used the cards with a group of indigenous young entrepreneurs a couple of months back – they were instructed to pick a couple of cards that represented their goals they have for their new business ventures / ideas.  It was so interesting to see what cards they chose and their great descriptions of how the card represented their goals.   I found the individuals were quite expressive and they found it helpful to hold the card up and look at it when they spoke.  One individual started off very literal about what the picture was, but then moved on to an amazing description of what it represented.  I loved the emotion and passion that was expressed!

Informal session with a senior

I was interested in seeing how the cards could be used in an informal chat with a senior to build rapport. I invited her to just flip through a deck of cards and when an image caught her eye I invited her to share. It was so interesting to hear her share a story that happened 70 years ago. She expressed how meaningful it was to remember and to be given the opportunity to share some things about her life. She seemed to really enjoy just flipping through all the images and commenting when something came to mind. A great tool to help build relationships in a comfortable, fun way. 

Setting Goals

Ed conducted a Time Management workshop where participants learned about their Personal Styles and how they apply to managing time, setting priorities and how they plan.  At the end of the session, each participant was asked to select a card or 2 that represented something they would like to develop or improve around this topic.  After the training, Ed conducted one on one coaching and the participant explained why they chose the card they did and what was the goal they would like to work on.  This was great for getting the coaching session going and participants often referred back to their card.  Some participants even wanted to take a photocopy of the card so they could remember the goal and next steps they were going to take to reach it.  Ed loved how expressive all different types of people were when they used the cards.

Workshop Learnings

2 decks of cards were used yesterday in a workshop session that Ed facilitated.  The participants were asked at the end of the workshop to choose 1 or 2 cards that represented what they learned about their own personality styles and conflict styles.  Each participant shared their cards with the rest of the group.  The participants were very enthusiastic and shared some great insights!  A great way to end a learning session.

Conference Get to Know Team Members

We heard our cards were used at a conference last week. There were over 50 people attending and each table of 9 were asked to pick a card that represented something they were passionate about. They then shared their card and stories with their table. This generated a lot of chatter and excitement in the room. The exercise ended with a spokesperson at each table sharing their tables results. Lots of fun! 

Ice Breakers

Ice Breakers - The most simple and yet most effective ice breaker I use, is to have my workshop participants choose a card that represents a hobby or interest they love to do.  This always generates a lot of discussion and people get to know each other and they find common interests.  Relationships begin and learning happens!