How to Use Videos to Facilitate Deep Reflection and Conversation

At a leadership retreat I facilitated a while back, I shared with the team the video of Jonathan and Charlotte (see below).

We used it as a catalyst for discussing how they can “Be a Charlotte” to each other during the challenging transitional period they were going through. Even though they have been a strong team for years with members who truly love and appreciate each other, they had temporarily lost their awareness and ability to support and encourage each other.

We used the video to spark conversation about how they can once again “Be Charlottes” to each other in supportive, encouraging ways.

This is a simple example of using a video to spark deep conversation about important issues.

It’s also an example of being mindful of any and all experiences you  have as potential teaching tools.

So in this case, after watching the video a couple of times and moving beyond the pure heart-warming and mind-blowing aspects of it, I found myself thinking:

“What’s going on here that is so big and where else can this message be brought?”

Perhaps the biggest theme for me was the power of “Holding the Vision” for another when they cannot. Charlotte could see Jonathan’s greatness when he could not and because of her unwavering friendship and confidence in him, he was able to attempt something he would never have dreamed possible.

In my blog on resilience WhateverLifeBrings.com, I wrote about this and included the following. I’m sharing it here to give you an example of how to use the video as tool to facilitate deep reflection and conversation.

In this context, I’m sharing the video with you as a way to catalyze you to think about how you can mirror back to someone the gifts and potential you see in them.

Think for a moment of  friends or colleauges who can’t yet hold the vision for themselves of their greatness and what is truly possible for them.

After watching the video, think about people who have been Charlottes to you and the difference it made to you during those times you didn’t believe in yourself.

And then think about those people in your life right now, to whom YOU can be a Charlotte…and how you might do that:

Notice how you feel after watching the video.

This is one of the ways that storytelling, whether spoken or through visual communication is so powerful.

Because they impact at a visceral level, they can shift you to a very different emotional state. In that new emotional state, you find yourself thinking things and seeing things that you would  not have in your  neutral or negative emotional state.

So…be on the lookout for videos, including clips from movie scenes, that move you and ask yourself:

1. What about this is moving?

2. What big theme or themes does this embody?

3. In what contexts is this relevant and important?

4. How can I use this to spark deep reflection and conversation?

Also…if you have videos and movie scenes that you really like and wonder about how to use them or…you have some that you already use, please share with the rest of us.

P.S. Another technical note. If you go back to the beginning of the post, I mentioned how after we watched the video, we talked about how they could “Be a Charlotte” for each other. This is an example of using a video story to make a concept more “Sticky”, in the words of Made to Stick authors Chip and Dan Heath. I could have just thrown out the question “How can you be more supportive of each other and help each see the best in themselves?” and at the end, ask them to keep doing that.

But…by showing the video and using the question “How can I be the Charlotte to others?” it makes it far more meaningful and sticky.