Facilitating in‑person sessions with Communicarda
Step-by-step
The following explanation assumes you are signed in to your Communicarda account, have created a session for your upcoming event, and have enough Participant Passes to allow all your people to join.
If you are unsure about these steps, check out Getting Started
1. Participants JOIN and get their cards
The first thing to do is to invite your participants to JOIN your session so they can get the digital cards on their mobile device.
Put a copy of the Communicarda Table Joining Sheets on each table ready for your participants. It will only take participants a minute or two get the app on their devices and be ready to play.
[Note: at times you might like to hold off providing the Session ID until you are ready to start to keep everybody at the same point.]
2. Quick intro on using the cards
Give participants a quick intro on how to use the digital cards app.
- Move through the pack: swipe or tap the arrows
- Select a card: double-tap a card, or tap the + button
- Tap Next to see only your selected cards
- Tap Next again to see your choices laid out
- Tap Share to share your choices with the group.
Participants can also refer to the Using Your Digital Cards steps on the Table Joining Sheet.
TIP: Have participants introduce themselves while learning the app at the same time - in under 5 minutes. See, The perfect introduction
TIP: Always introduce image cards by emphasising that any card can mean anything to anyone — there are no set meanings for the cards.
3. Explore the key topic
Announce the topic you would like everyone to consider, such as:
"Go through your pack to find 5 cards, that for you, describe the elements of an ideal team experience."
or
"Find 3 cards to describe your experience of the year so far."
Encourage them to take their time selecting — even to sit back in their chair and gradually go through the pack.
When they have made their choices, have them move through to the Share screen and tap the Share button.
4. Facilitate discussion and connection
Ask participants to share their choices with other people at their table (in pairs or all together).
Allow sufficient time for all to share.
You can help people explore common and unique ideas around the room by having table representatives briefly share the thoughts from their group.
5. Analyse choices (optional)
Optionally, you can display the Communicarda Card Analysis Tool on the big screen to show all chosen cards and use this as a springboard for inviting responses and looking for common ideas.
IMPORTANT: It doesn't really matter which cards people have chosen. What matters is why they say they chose a particular card. So, focus on the comments people are making about why they chose certain cards, not on the card itself. When using the Card Analysis Tool, be careful not to create a situation where people feel left out simply because they did not chose one of the more popular cards. The tool is just an aid to facilitation, it should not be used as assessment.
