Smart Templates
Unmanageable communication
To face their great incoming challenges, organisations urgently need to improve their key conversations: those in which thinking and deciding together can make all the difference.
However, the majority of digital communication tools – email and corporate versions of social networks – are designed to exchange information, not think collaboratively. They organise opinions and contributions from participants chronologically (timeline) without considering their relevance and quality.
Timeline inconveniences
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Contributions of all kinds are mixed with no distinction
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Good arguments get buried
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Parallel threads are generated and focus is lost
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Redundancy between contributions increases
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Conversations can carry on indefinitely, without a clear objective, and deviate from the original subject
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As a consequence: It becomes hard to draw clear conclusions and next steps
Why structure conversations
A lack of structure leads to dispersion and meaningless wandering. This can have a demotivating effect on all involved.
Structured digital conversations help focus our attention, stimulate thought, and increase the desire to add value to the groups’ intelligence. They allow for deliberation, give the possibility to co-create, and help reach the main objective.
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What conversations need to be structured
Only those that are key: those in which the group as a whole needs to understand and think together about where they are, where they want to go, and how to get there. It is not necessary to structure instantaneous or routine conversations.
How are conversations structured
Delibera structures important conversations through smart deliberation templates designed to raise issues or pose questions within a group. These templates vary according to the objective pursued and the operations required to accomplish it, and organise participants' contributions according to their nature, sense, and quality.
Some operations made in smart conversations are easier with the templates
Analyse pros and cons
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Prioritise a series of options
Make a list of alternatives or ideas for improvement
Evaluate a situation, project, initiative, person (feedback)…
Compare according to a diverse range of criteria
Distribute limited resources amongst a number of options
Try to foresee the likelihood of future scenarios
Follow-up on projects
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These operations allow to optimise decision making in complex contexts
Key features of our smart deliberation templates
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The objective of the conversation is always clearly visible so there isn’t a deviation from the subject
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They include a visual summary of the status of the conversation (results, level of participation and collaboration index) and the time remaining until the closing date
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They provide a space so that each contribution can be discussed in and of itself
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They strive for a good balance between quantitative (numbers, percentages, votes…) and qualitative (text) content
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Parametrisation options, like anonymous or blind participation (not seeing others’ opinions/answers until you have participated)
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Conclusions, decisions, next steps and responsibilities are made clear