This issue I want to look at “signalling”. It is not about dictating behaviour but about giving people the space to choose how to be and understanding the outcome either way.

At ?What if!, at the beginning of all projects and workshops, we outline a set of agreements for how we are going to foster a creative environment and let the group know when we are moving into new territory. After each break we run playful, engaging games to relax minds so that they are more receptive later on and to signal that we are about to get stuck into business. We transform the dreary meeting room into one of colour, light and energy – all of these add verbal and non-verbal signals about the aspirations of the session. (In much the same way, the layout of a supermarket dictates the order in which we’ll shop.)