An insight I picked up from Jeff Patton during his user story mapping workshop at Agile 2011.
- Use music to help you facilitate your sessions
Jeff used “Kung-Fu Fighting” as backing/timing music for one of the group exercises.
When I got home I sat at my computer trawling my music collection for perfect facilitation tunes ranging from 3 to 10 minutes long.
I have loads that I’ll unleash on teams over the coming months
There’s an important trick to these though. They have to be the “right” tempo and style to match the activity and team - generally upbeat and well-known enough that team members can “feel” the end of the tune coming.
In the meantime, in a change from my normal programming I’ll switch to my other passion; music…
If like me it’s been a really intense week and you’re on a post conference come-down (see Doc List’s post on similar here), here’s my recommended selection of music (in this order) to recover to…
If there’s any of these you don’t own, buy them now or cue them up on your favourite online station! I’ve added links to the hardest-to-find tracks.
2011-08-14 All Agiled Out - on Spotify
- Half A World Away – R.E.M
- Dusty Corners – Wob
- Someone Like You - Adele
- Redemption Day – Johnny Cash
- Waiting For The End – Linkin Park
- Green and Grey – New Model Army
- Something I Can Never Have – Nine Inch Nails
- Excess – Tricky
- Blue Dress – Depeche Mode
- You Look So Fine – Garbage
- Homesick - The Cure
- Lorelei – Wob
- Dying [Original Demo Version] – Hole
- The Glorious Land – PJ Harvey
- If Time Is All I Have – James Blunt
- The Slow Drowning – Miles Hunt
- Decode – Paramore
- The Honeymoon Is Over – Whipping Boy
- Ain’t No Grave – Johnny Cash
- Time – Tori Amos
- Country Feedback – R.E.M
- Somebody New – Amy MacDonald
- Getting To The Point – Electric Light Orchestra
- Can’t Shape Up, Again – The Wonder Stuff
- Just In Case You Quit Me – Tanya Donelly
- The Empty Dancehall – All About Eve
- White Rabbit – Sucker Punch OST
- F**kin’ Perfect – Pink
- The Letters That You Wrote Me – The Outcast Band
- My Descent Into Madness – Eels
- Where Is My Mind? – Sucker Punch OST
- Falling Down – The Birthday Massacre
- Taking Over Me – Evanescence
- Spaceboy – Smashing Pumpkins
- Friends In The Night – Wob
- Gimme Some Lovin’ - Spencer Davis Group
- Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield
- Trouble – Pink
- Let It Be – The Beatles
- Silence And I – The Alan Parsons Project
- Return To Innocence - Enigma
- Love Is The Drug – Sucker Punch OST
* playlist heavily influenced by available music selection on the airplane journey home
Note – If you’re not feeling so cheerful, It’s important you don’t stop part-way through.
For anyone who’s a fan of “High Fidelity”, the art of the compilation tape is the journey you’re taken on. This one will only leave you happy if you make it to the end!
