Learning how to think and listen: Systems thinking and facilitation

19 August 2021

There's an old saying: “Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach them to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.”

That's the spirit behind the skills training at the heart of the Singapore Children's Forum (SCF). Before participants can tackle the issues that matter to them, they need the tools to think through those issues clearly and to have conversations that actually move things forward.

The first two training workshops for SCF 2021, held on 17 and 24 July 2021, covered two of those foundational tools: Systems Thinking and Facilitation.

Systems Thinking: Slowing down before jumping to conclusions

It's human nature to see something and immediately form an opinion. But good thinking (especially on complex issues) requires us to pause and examine the assumptions we're making along the way.

The Systems Thinking workshop introduced participants to the Ladder of Inference: a tool that maps out how we move from raw observation all the way to a firm belief, often without realising how many steps we've skipped. By tracing that process, participants could start to catch themselves making leaps and learn to question them.

To put this into practice, participants worked through another tool called Levels of Perspective, applying it to two themes they'd be exploring in their projects: the digital world and mental health. The goal was to peel back the layers of each issue, moving beyond surface-level observations to understand what's really driving them.

Facilitation: The art of a good conversation

With small group projects getting underway, conversations would be at the centre of everything, including in brainstorming, researching, decision-making, and presenting. But good conversations don't just happen. They need to be guided.

The Facilitation workshop looked at what's really going on beneath the surface of any exchange between people: the gap between what someone says and what the other person hears, the role of body language in making people feel seen and understood, and how asking the right questions– at the right moment– can open up a conversation rather than shut it down.

For participants preparing to lead discussions with their peers, these weren't abstract ideas. They were skills they'd be putting to use almost immediately.

Below are some takeaways from our participants:

"When doing research, I can better understand the connections between different things and elements, which gives me a better understanding of the subject. I can also communicate with others when I am doing facilitation or getting a discussion going in the future. For example, I can ask open-ended questions so that the discussion does not end easily, and we can find out more about the other party." – Ezann Yeap, 14

"Be more open minded and aware of how I think and what people think. For example, you think someone is being suspicious, in the end, the person was trying to be nice. We can't always think the negative way but must also think about the positive side. I can also apply skills learnt about facilitation on my day-to-day conversations with people." – Daryl Lin, 15

"Using the Level of Perspectives, it helps me to better plan and execute my goals. As for the facilitation skills, I am able to analyse conversations, allowing me to ask better questions and draw out insightful and meaningful conversations"– Zerlina Kok, 16

Themes:

Skills Building