Celebrity Interview - Liberating Structures

Subject

Empower people/facilitation

Participants

Managers, stakeholders, project sponsors, board members (optional or if they are the interviewed celebrity), agile teams

Facilitator

Agile coach / Agile master

Summary

Using a "talk show" format instead of presentations.

Definition

A "celebrity interview" involves an expert answering questions from a moderator and the audience. The aim is to capture stories and give depth to a topic, while avoiding typical presentations. At the same time the audience is greatly involved.

Motivation

A "celebrity interview" is useful for introducing new initiatives or people as well as for sharing experiences and insights in general. Futhermore it is helpful to personalize and enhance a topic presentation.

Results

The content is not presented, but conveyed in a lively way in the form of an interview. Thus a connection between an expert/leader/management/stakeholder and an audience/teams is created.

Benefit

Boring lectures and PowerPoint presentations are avoided and every individual is engaged by asking questions. Another benefit is that such a format brings big concepts to life by using stories that are developed during the workshop. With a well-designed interview, you can turn what would otherwise be a passive, often boring presentation into a story telling that is entertaining and provides valuable knowledge to the audience.

Procedure

A celebrity (a manager, stakeholder, project sponsor, the CEO etc.) is invited to let go of his/her formal presentation or speech and answer the difficult questions that are on everyone's mind in an informal "talk show" format. People are invited as audience that is writing down questions for the invited celebrity. The facilitator welcomes and introduces the celebrity and topics to be discussed. The facilitator asks questions that the audience would probably ask (both humor and gravity are appropriate). Afterwards, the participants are invited to generate additional questions in a 1-2-4 conversation and then on cards. The facilitator visualizes the cards, looking for common aspects and by asking the celebrity additional questions. The facilitator makes closing comments and thanks the celebrity.

Tools

A room with multiple chairs, paper cards

Hints

It is good practice to provide the questions to the expert a couple of days before the interview. Great care should be taken into formulating challenging questions. The interviewer should ask personal rather than general questions, as well as dig for the stories in the background.

See also

Liberating structures - Celebrity Interview,Christiaan Verwijs (2021): "Celebrity Interview - Reconnect the Experience of Leaders and Experts with People Closest to the Challenge at Hand"