THE ALIEN

CONFERENCE

A management

tool-game for

problem solving

in groups

by Var

Brief

The Alien Conference is a management tool that

comes in form of a game. It is designed to be

used by any group that meets to discuss or solve

a problem. As an alternative to a traditional

meeting this game is played in three acts over a

course of around 1 hour. 1.5. It is aimed at evoking deeper layers of creativity and

imagination within the group as well as ignite

motivations towards being in the group and

working at the problem later on.

The Challenge

Regardless of the context, when we

get together in groups to discuss an

issue or solve a problem we will

often deliberately avoid asking the

basic questions- the what, when,

why and who type of questions

even though asking these questions

will allow us to uncover the real

meanings behind the very concepts

we employ during these discussions.

This happens for obvious reasons.

People dont want to look like amateurs. Being an expert is more

prestigious and welcome. And as

you might know already, society is

not a place where who is best in

what they do gets far but often he

or she who has more reputation and

connections. These factors make

reputation an important currency

which people collect and cherish

and therefore arent willing to gamble on by asking questions that

may put their image in funny light.

Therefore, we often leave the

amateur side of ourselves outside of

the room that curious side that

speaks the basic language and tries to understand

things in simple terms. Instead we stay in the room

with the persona of the expert with all the pressure of

assumption and pretension that come with it. There is

a problem with this however. If you have a group of

people doing this it is like having a party where you

take away all the drinks and continue to have the

party with just red meat on the table. This party is not

going far as you can imagine.

No wonder why a lot of group meetings get stuck. In

ancient ayurvedic tradition there is a saying Free yourself from what you know. That is be afraid of your own expertise for it can block your own vision.

Einstein too was once asked what the secret to his

Genius was. His answer was I just ask basic questions.

History has it all. Mankinds progress was catalyzed by simple, seemingly primitive, sometimes dangerous and often dreamingly

impossible questions. Someone had to dare ask them. Examples?

What if Earth was not flat but round. Why is the Sun moving around the Earth and not the other way around? What would I

see if I was looking at the town hall clock from inside a train that

was moving at the speed of light.

We all know and understand that if we stayed on course of our

curiosity and asked the real questions that are on our mind we

could lead any discussion towards some insight and meaning. But

we dont often do this. Instead we assume and wrap up some conclusions midway hoping to preserve the appearance of

someone who gets things right away. Off course we survive this

way because there is a lot of coins on the surface level one can

pick up too, but a lot of nuance, insights and deeper meanings

never come onto the surface. If conversation was a Mario game

where meaning was lying around in form of golden coins, you

would have to dive deeper or climb higher to get access to those

points.

This problem happens to us everywhere from home to work to school. We simply just dont follow all the way to the core of what we would really like to ask. Therefore a lot of imagination and

creativity remains asleep because nobody bothers to wake it up.

And the sponsor of this process as we established is fear: fear to

challenge assumptions, fear to dream beyond, fear to stand out,

fear to be placed in the spotlight and be criticized, judged,

punished and rejected. On the other side of the scale is being

liked and loved, praised and encouraged. When this happens we

all get loose and act as our natural selves without placing a lot of

psychological barriers in front of ourselves.

However the irrational fear side of us most of the time wins over

the curious, creative and straightforward side of us. In other words

we have then a limited range of places where we are able to

make most of ourselves.

However this doesnt have to be this way. We can design a process which overcomes our individual limiting tendencies in

social contexts and one which activates our imaginative, playful

and creative sides.

Imagine you were playing a game with your group. A game

where not only you would not have to avoid but instead would

have to ask very basic, outrageous, crazy and seemingly primitive

questions which you normally wouldnt ask. But in this game you wouldnt even have to be criticized for it because you wouldnt have to be yourself. You would be a character, someone from

space who arrived on Earth to provide some help to people here

who are having a problem. You came to Earth to share the best

practices from your planet and give people on Earth a new

perspective. The only nuance being that you are not very good

at our language. You speak the language to the level of a 3 year

old because where you come from there are other forms of

communication- like telepathy, etc. Therefore the Earth people

have to try really hard to explain to you what problem they are

facing. Thus there will be lots of questions and answers back and

forth. And real meanings are going to start to bubble up as the

discussion progresses. And as real meanings are starting to bubble

up you will also notice how motivations in the group become aliv

as well since these processes are highly interlinked. This process

can be visualized like this. Group imagination is like the clouds

coming together in the sky- as they dense up it rains- our metaphoric equivalent to that is the emerging of meaning and

insight. The rain makes things grow on the ground. And that is the

equivalent to motivation. No cloud-no rain. No rain- no growth.

As a summery to this introduction to the problem we can say that

perhaps everyone who organizes or attends group meetings

hopes or even expects that people will show up as their best and

most creative and motived selves. However this doesnt happen as often as we would wish because money stays in the pocket

unless someone designs a process to get it out. Same is true for

meaning, motivation and creativity. Its a matter of process design. To get those clouds up there you need to make it

happen. The Alien Conference is a game that addresses these

this problem by creating conditions for the emergence of insight

and heightening of motivation in groups.

THE GAME The Game starts with the assumption that before the conference you and your group

sent a SOS signal into space through an internet controlled satellite, calling for life

forms from other galaxies and planets to arrive on our planet to hold a conference on

the issue of your concern. Their presence would help you get an outsider perspective

as well as expertise and best practices from other planets and galaxies that can help

you solve your problem better. To make communication possible with the Aliens

along with the SOS signal a multimedia document was sent which teaches

elementary concepts of your language. Therefore it can be assumed that the arriving

aliens will speak the language of a 3 year old which would exclude abstract or

complex concepts, narrow professional jargon, etc. The reason behind having a

limitation in language is justified by the possibility that people on other planets may

not be using only language as a form of communication but there may be other

forms such as telepathy and many more unknown to us. However we can assume

that the guest aliens have learnt the language using the document we broadcasted

to a degree of a 3 year old.

THE GOAL

The ultimate goal of the game is to help the group find new solutions to their problem

by seeing their problem differently and understanding their problem better.

The aim of the game is to have Aliens understand what the problem is and help

people from Earth (Earthians) with advice and solutions. Therefore Aliens will have to

ask questions that naturally a 3 year old child who doesnt understand something would ask. And Earthians will have to use their own creativity to simplify and

communicate better the complex concepts they deal with on daily basis.

ROLES + STRUCTURE

There are two types of actors in the conference. The Aliens and the Earthians (people

from planet Earth). You start the conference with half of your group being in the role

of the Aliens then the other half as the Earthians. Half time through the conference a

break is introduced and after the break the Earthians play as Aliens and the previous

Aliens become Earthians. It is as if during half time of a theater the cast would change

but the play would carry on where it was left. Important to note is that while the

people stay the same new characters are formed as a result of the shift: so if you were an Earthian in second half you will play as the Alien of your own creation rather than take up the Alien from before.

STRUCTURE

ACT 1

Break

ACT 2

Break

Act 3

1. Welcoming the

Aliens. Everyone

introduces

themselves (from

their roles). (max

10m.)

2. Earthians present

their problem and

the discussion

begins. (30m.)

3. Five minutes before

the end of first 30m

the timekeeper

refers to the group

that the first set of

aliens have to leave

to catch their

shuttle.

5-10

m

4. Welcoming the

Aliens. Everyone

introduces

themselves (from

their roles). (max

10m.)

5. Earthians present

their problem and

the discussion

begins. (30m.)

6. Five minutes

before the end of

second 30m the

timekeeper refers

to the group that

the last set of

aliens have to

leave to catch

their shuttle.

5m

7. All of the

group now

gathers in the

circle as their

normal selves

recapping the main

findings and

insights from

the session.

(5-10m.) up to

convenience.

Important psychological implications:

It is important to note that the shift of characters in the middle of the game has a

number of important functions.

1. Everyone gets to explore their own creative unconscious by inventing and

being another character.

2. Each individual undergoes a personal perspective shift by role play

3. The entire group undergoes a perspective shift on a high level as a result of

everyone swapping roles and re-establishing personal perspectives to continue

the exploration of the problem from where they had left. This serves as a meta

or high level perspective shift.

From the perspective of storytelling and cast you may notice that it is the same

people telling one story in two different sets of roles. Normally in the middle of the

conversation people dont become someone else. However in this irrationality lies the opportunity to harness hidden potential of the double perspective shift.

THE FUN

Each Alien is encouraged to bring one thing from their planet- a story, a prop, an

object, fashion, food, music, etc to share.

Each Earthian is encouraged as well to bring one thing they value that they would

like to share with another Alien to take away with them as a memory from this planet.

It can be a story, a fact about life here, a piece of stone, music, cake, a note written

on a paper, whatever you wish.

Important psychological implications:

It can be anticipated that some people might think that devoting time to talking to

Aliens, telling stories of other planets or even sitting in a circle pretending to be an

alien might all be unserious business, taking away that valuable time you would rather

spend thinking about your problem while stroking the lower jaw.

It is for this reason your attention is brought to the fact that the quality of your ideas

and your thinking are not only a product of intellectual capacity but also your mental

states that constantly change. Emotion and environmental factors play a great role in

shaping these states. This game is trying to create conditions that try to elicit the

mental states manually rather than leaving them to chance. In real life it is harder for

people to tune into a playful and harmonious frequency given the differences in

tastes, styles, moods and many other things. Therefore in many groups the common

ground becomes the professional neutralism. But we all have some experience to

understand that perhaps neutral is safe but it may not be the best emotional and

intellectual setting for getting people to be creative, excited and motivated.

PROCESS and Suggested RULES

1. Let people know in advance about the game rules and give

them time to prepare their role of the Alien. This can vary

from 5 minutes in advance to a day or more.

2. At the beginning of each part of the game start with getting

in a circle and welcoming the Aliens. Everyone goes in a

circle sharing what they have brought with them. Each Alien shares their name, their planet, whatever they wish to

say about it and whatever they have brought. Each

participant gets up to 1 minute. (Experiment with time).

3. Each Earthian introduces themselves at their turn and shares

something that theyd like the Aliens to go away having or knowing about life on Earth. It can be a story, a fact, an

artifact, an object, whatever. Each participant gets up to a

minute. (Depending on the group size you can experiment

and see what variation of time best works for you).

4. After the sharing session the actual conference is

conducted. Earthians present their problem taking into

account the linguistic limitations of the guests. Earthians may

enhance their presentation with whatever representational

forms that may include seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and

feeling. It has to be taken into account that the linguistic

limitations of a 3 year old stay valid at all time. That means if you would not make sense by explaining it in real life -having

a video on the wall saying the same thing does little

difference. Be creative with your communication. You have

to at all times consider that you have to have your audience

understand. And you can know if they do by their reactions.

5. Aliens-may not only ask questions and but share their ideas,

about solutions when they wish so. They have to also speak in

a way that someone who has the limitations of a 3 year olds language can. However because they are not three year

olds they can be infinitely intelligent. Its just that they will have to use the language of a three year old to present their

ideas. Aliens can as well use more than just language. Any

form of representation that speaks to any of the human

senses can be used. Ex. One can make a face, quickly

sketch something on the wall, build an object out of paper or

something. Or even come with an object built already. One

can use the sense of smell, taste and touch as well. The limit

is the sky.

6. Five minutes before the end of the 1st Act the time keeper

announces that there are 5 minutes remaining for the Aliens

to catch their shuttle.

7. Half time a break is introduced. 10 min. This time can be used by the group for people to change and

psychologically transition to and from their roles.

8. As the group returns in their new roles- the circle is formed

and people go around the circle in their new roles- the Aliens

presenting themselves and their planet and sharing one

thing. So do the Earthians. After this the group discussion is

resumed continuing from where it was left.

(important ! the process continues it doesnt start from the beginning). The only difference is that the roles have shifted

and people have to continue employing a different style of

thinking and communication while talking about the same

problem taking into consideration everything that has

happened before.

9. 5 min before the end of 2nd Act the time keeper announces

that there are 5 minutes remaining for the Aliens to catch

their shuttle. The group tries to wrap up their discussion.

10. A five minute break

11. The group now spends around 10 minutes recapping the

ideas and insights. If the group feels there is need for more

digging in some of the discoveries either by continuing or

scheduling another discussion later.

BENEFITS OF THE GAME

Making officially safe and possible to ask all kinds of questions.

Eliciting individual and group creativity

Harmonizing the group through shared play

Increasing motivation among the group members towards

engagement with the problem.

Uncovering deeper meanings that lead to insights.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

While this is a tool designed for groups to address any problem in

any area let us suggest a number of sectors where this may be of

particular use.

Business

Businesses always want their employees to be motivated and

creative- jumping on the problems the business faces and

solving them. They often hold meetings to do this and often have

to face the limitations inherent to group dynamics discussed

earlier. The Alien Conference can be a fun and challenging task

for employees to step out of the company culture and employ

perspectives and meanings that were not used before. It may

be a democratic tool for collaboration in settings where

hierarchies are in place. A CEO playing an alien gives a

nonthreatening green light for other members to speak also at

their best without hesitation. The game takes the interests of the

company at its core and through its design tries to elicits the best

out of everyone regardless of power structures.

Forums, Conferences & Workshops

The game can be used as an addition in conference settings.

Public sector

Politicians in particular spend a lot of time in group discussions.

While I fully recognize that perhaps the responsibilities that

politicians face are very serious I still wonder- whether the entire

atmosphere of monolith stiffness around politics is the most

favorable for our chosen representatives to engage in debates

about what is good or bad for ourselves and the environment.

Perhaps a bit of creativity and less suit and ties could help us get

their creative to join the table more often. Matisse once said that

it requires courage to be creative. Lately everyone is talking about innovation and that is good. Things are getting slicker in

design and technology surrounds us more and more. Perhaps to

add a human dimension to this process, innovation has to come

also in the process of how we face each other. Maybe the

innovation here is going back to basics.

Education

In a class of 40 students you will have some students not fully

following or aligned with the presentation or the lecture. Often

competition among some students for intelligence and

recognition may discourage others to ask simple questions to

fulfil their genuine desire to understand. If they did they might

have catalyzed better discussions and gave way for more

meaning and value to emerge for everyone. From a professors perspective it is harder to estimate whether a question that is not

asked is not asked because it is not on anyones mind or for any other reason. The Alien conference can help a class to explore a

topic in groups of 10

Taking into account all whats mentioned above it makes sense to not let meaning and motivation to chance but rather design

their way out.

INSIGHTS WANTED

If you have used the Alien Conference Game, please tell us about

your insights using this short form.

http://goo.gl/forms/3Yv5XdYdof

If you wish to stay updated about interesting stories and uses of the

Game visit the official Facebook page The Alien Conference to stay

connected.

https://www.facebook.com/alienconference

About Var Sahakyan

My story is that of a free particle,

leaping between the orbits of

art and social sciences.

I am currently developing tools and

strategies like this for evoking creativity

in individuals and groups.

Contact me at:

Email: inbox.var@gmail.com

LinkedIn: http://goo.gl/SsV6ek

MSc in Marketing and Creativity,

ESCP EUROPE/ France, UK

MSc in Strategic Leadership

towards Sustainable

Development, BTH Sweden

Academy Program of Art and

Philosophy, ECLA Germany

BA & MA in Social Work,

Yerevan State University, Armenia

UGRAD fellow,

SMCC, USA