Getting Started

The challenge isn't changing people—it's shifting the tiny structures that hold us back.

Getting started can feel a little awkward. That's normal. LS exercises underused collaborative muscles, and there will be some growing pains. The key is to start simply, debrief honestly, and try again.

Follow the path below, and then look for tips for going deeper at the end.

  • → Try Your First LS [link to shared page]

  • Don't go it alone. Find a steady partner—someone who will give you honest feedback and experiment alongside you. LS pioneers Keith and Henri guided each other through this same transition: from expert on the stage to guide on the side.

  • If you need approval before trying LS, focus on the problem you're solving—not the methodology. Lead with results. Skip the jargon. Frame it as a short experiment.

    "I'd like to try a slightly different format for the first 20 minutes to get more ideas on the table. Happy to pilot it and report back."

  • Most practitioners start by wanting to create better meetings. Think of a session not as a single event but as a six-phase arc. Each phase builds on the one before it—forming a simple, flexible pattern you can use for a 30-minute huddle or a multi-day summit.

     For your first few sessions, focus on phases 1, 2, and 3. The rest will follow naturally as your practice develops.

    HOW TO PUT IN THE TABLE?

  • Selecting a Liberating Structure should be based on what fits your particular challenge and unique setting. The goal isn't to find the "right" answer—it's to find a good starting point and refine from there.

    Purpose

    Structures to try

    Connect people / get started

    1-2-4-All, Impromptu Networking, Mad Tea/Calm Tea

    Share information or expertise

    UX Fishbowl, Shift and Share, Celebrity Interview

    Explore context

    Conversation Café, Critical Uncertainties, Agreement/Certainty Matrix

    Devise options

    Ecocycle Planning, Discovery & Action Dialogue, 15% Solutions

    Work together

    Heard Seen Respected, Helping Heuristics, Troika Consulting

    Reflect & self-discovery

    Grief Walking, What? So What? Now What?, Spiral Journal (TABLE FORMAT)

    Three steps

    1.    Review the list of LS objectives.

    2.    Mark the objective that best fits your needs.

    3.    Match your selections to specific structures from the LS Menu.

    We recommend working with cohosts when picking. When you're with a group, use 1-2-4-All to generate options and agree on selections together.

    → Use the Selection Matchmaker [link]

  • Once you've tried a few individual structures, the next step is stringing—placing your selections in a logical order where each activity feeds the next. Think of it as a conversation that builds momentum as it goes.

     

    LS is modular. Each structure is a standalone building block, but when placed together they make much more possible. A good string provides enough structure to be safe—and enough freedom for intuitive leaps, surprises, and serendipitous discoveries.

     

    Don't worry about creating a perfect flow. LS is forgiving. Even a slightly clunky string will produce better results than a conventional meeting, because the underlying design of each structure is doing the work.

     

    A simple example string

    Impromptu Networking → Appreciative Interviews → Creative Destruction → What? So What? Now What?

     

    Each structure prepares the ground for the next: participants build connections, surface what's working, clear what isn't, then map next steps together.

    As you get comfortable, you'll find the sequences start to suggest themselves.

  • Go Deeper

    •       The path from Novice to Virtuoso — what growth looks like over time (see Building Your Practice)

    •       The five microstructural elements that underpin every LS (see How LS Works [link])

    Note to the Skeptic: why LS is different from other meeting approaches