Stickies are the lifeblood of collaboration - but what if someone can't/won't write?

I recently did a facilitation for strategic planning, and one team member had limited mobility in his hands, which made it difficult to write.   During our brainstorming exercise, not only was he struggling, but I've seen many others struggle in the same situation, for reasons of:

• Not experienced in brainstorming

• Self-conscious about their spelling or handwriting

• Verbal thinkers who prefer to ‘talk it out’ 

• Power dynamics in the room

I want to get as much participation as possible, because that can be the key input to our collaboration exercise.  The quieter voices/writers often have the most valuable input - they are typically listeners if they have a physical constraint - because they have had to be!  Getting everyone’s input ensures that our collaboration will have the best input possible, from the broadest range of experience, knowledge, and talent.  Also, having all these inputs ensures that whatever we are deciding or co-creating will have better odds of success from all the experience in the room, as well as commitment to the solution/decision, as everyone has contributed.  ,   

I’ve used multiple techniques in this situation to ensure our collaboration gets everyone involved:

• Get verbal input from those who struggle with writing. 

• Have pre-work before your workshop - get inputs that are collated before the meeting

• In Miro, send a board link out early with the agenda to gather input

The benefits you’ll achieve are many:

• More thoughtful inputs from participants - save the heavy lifting or brain work for sorting, prioritizing, and deciding on next steps.  

• Comprehensive input from a broader range of people - it will ensure every voice is heard, not just those that are loudest or more adept with brainstorming and stickies

• Less about who’s in the room and more about the content or problem to be solved.