THE Appreciative Moment in Appreciative Inquiry

Recently I listened to a radio program in which the guest talked about how to pitch television scripts to studios.

Script writing is something I’m very interested in, as I’ve been working on a movie script (first draft stage) although at the moment it’s on the back burner until I complete the memoir I’m currently writing.

The guest suggested that to pitch a script successfully you need to ask and answer just two questions.

1. What’s it about?
2. What’s it really about?

After the program finished I reflected on these questions and thought about the work Sue and I do in our The Essence of Appreciative Inquiry workshops. 

During these, we use ‘paired conversations’ in which two people discuss a particular topic. I’ve also occasionally participated in one of these ‘paired conversation’ myself and it’s amazing how the process covers the two questions above.

As we start the conversation we tend to focus on ‘what it’s about’. Then, after a while, it goes to the deeper level of ‘what it’s really all about’ where we’re talking about our passions, values, ethics, and dreams.

Once we’ve explored the question ‘what’s it really about?’ I experience what I think of as the most powerful appreciative moment in the Appreciative Inquiry process. 

It’s moments like this which often lead to a truly transformational change. One that can propel an organisation to success when using the AI process.