workshops work 132 - Can we automate the facilitation of deep conversations? with Edric Subur
It was in the arid air of Burning Man that Edric Subur first felt Warmspace flicker in his mind and heart.
Connecting deeply, sharing widely, and being radically – Edric wanted to capture the feeling of genuine understanding and connection and bottle it. Or, to be more accurate, automate it.
Edric built, iterated, tweaked, and launched Warmspace – a tool that facilitates deep connection through guided video conversations – with that same desire still burning at its heart.
Now, a year and a half after starting the platform for human connection, Edric has plenty of lessons, insights, and observations to share about the format for facilitating connections between people… without ever being in the room with them.
What a wonderful episode!
Find out about:
- The mechanics of Warmspace and the beating heart that drives it
- Why connection is simultaneously a means to an end and an end itself
- Which three guiding principles help Warmspace create psychological safety between strangers
- What it looks like to take the principles and structure of Warmspace into a corporate space
- How to encourage participants to use their voices when they feel there’s nothing to say
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Questions and Answers
[01:07] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?
[02:06] What label would you give yourself?
[05:01] What is Warmspace?
[10:17] What was it about Burning Man that sparked this idea?
[14:59] Where would you start with a group of people who aren’t comfortable being vulnerable?
[16:21] What effect does physical presence have on these conversations?
[18:44] Is there some kind of magic formula for facilitating deep human connections?
[21:06] How did you choose the prompts for these conversations?
[24:46] How do you hold the boundary between facilitating a conversation and coaching people?
[26:55] Do you see connections forming after just a few minutes?
[28:07] What makes a workshop fail?
[31:09] Do you check in on conversations or do you trust the participants to make their way through it safely and happily?
[32:37] Would Warmspace work in a corporate setting?
[43:01] What does psychological safety mean to you and how do you negotiate it between strangers?
[48:05] Do you have a favourite exercise?
[50:39] What is the one thing you’d like listeners to take away from this episode?
Links
Exclusive invite link to access Warmpsace (or use the invite code WARM)
Warmspace on Instagram
Connect to Edric:
Share your thoughts about our conversation!
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