CAMPFIRE
Much of what we learn is through storytelling. Campfire is an informal exercise that helps participants develop diplomacy and teamwork skills through trial and error, and by sharing successes and failures. The purpose of the activity is to reveal commonalities through shared experiences.
This activity can be useful for experience mapping. The key words can be chosen around a specific care pathway and then participants, such as clinicians, patient partners or anyone using the pathway, can take the words and share their experiences related to the pathway.
Source: Adapted from Gamestorming
What to do
- Before the meeting, come up with 10 words that can be used as prompts to start the storytelling. Ensure that the words are positive or neutral: happy, work travel, ideas, work, opportunity, etc.
- Write each word on its own post-it note.
- Post the notes together in a visible space on a wall. This will be known as the “wall of words.”
- Provide participants with pens and their own blank post-it notes.
- Show participants the “wall of words” and ask them to take a few minutes to look at the words and recall a work story associated with one of the words.
- To demonstrate how the activity works and help the group warm up, start the storytelling session yourself by removing one of the words and posting it near to the wall of words, naming this space the “story wall” as you share a story associated with that word.
- Now, ask a participant to select a word from the “wall of words,” post that word on the “story wall,” and share their story. As that person is talking, ask the others to write down new words that come to mind based on that story.
- When the story is finished, ask for a new volunteer to use one of their own words or select a word from the “wall of words” and post it to the “story wall” while sharing their story. Repeat this process to create a “story wall” which will act like a visual archive of the campfire conversation.
- Before you “put out” the fire, ask the participants if there are any lessons learned that they would like to share.
Debrief
(following the activity)
As the facilitator for Campfire, your role is to encourage storytelling and experience sharing. The point of the activity is for participants to hear each other’s stories, encourage sharing and help to highlight similarities in experience.
- What did you have in common with your team?
- Are there any themes that arose from each story?
- What did you not have in common?
- What did you learn about your team members?