Communicube (Group Facilitation)

The Communicube is a 21st century multipurpose communication tool, invented by Dr John Casson for his therapeutic work. It is a transparent, open, five level container, with a grid of twenty five squares printed on each layer.

I was introduced to the Communicube at a workshop being run by John, and quickly started to see its potential. I had found myself getting frustrated at a number of planning groups that I had attended, which were based on a process of round-table discussions. I felt that this process stifled creativity, tended to favour the most outspoken, and led to outcomes which were bland and disappointing.

By comparison the Communicube seemed to offer an approach which was stimulating, encouraged creativity and lateral thinking, and allowed everyone to participate on an equal footing.

Using the Communicube

Participants work with the cube by selecting small objects from a collection provided, and placing them on the structure. Objects can represent many different things - including the self and other people, issues, problems, resources, feelings, ideas, goals - the possibilities are endless.

As the communicube starts to fill up with objects, then I might invite participants to step back and take a wider look at what is emerging…

• Is there significance in the choice of objects?
• How do the objects relate to one another?
• Are the five layers starting to take on a particular meaning?
• Is anything missing?
• What do you see if you look at the cube from a different angle?
• What feelings arise as you work with the structure?
• Is a story or theme emerging?

Advantages

I find that the Communicube offers several benefits in working with groups:

• Working with the cube is fun, enjoyable, and encourages creativity
• People who are not natural verbal communicators are helped to participate
• The structure acts as a container, which when combined with the small size of the objects helps to reduce issues to safe and manageable proportions
• By providing a visual representation, the cube helps to bring clarity and focus to the subject under discussion
• Themes are captured and recorded by placing them on the structure, compared to a purely verbal discussion where issues can easily be passed over and forgotten
• The structure encourages thinking in levels, which can improve understanding of a situation and reveal solutions to problems

  Applications

• Brainstorming
• Team building
• Organisational mapping and change
• Conflict resolution
• Working on relationships
• Creativity
• Goal setting
• Supervision
• Groupwork
• Education and Training

Communicube Workshops

Each workshop is tailored to the needs to the organisation or individuals involved. I have used it with individuals, and groups of up to 20 people.

An individual or couple can make good use of the structure in a 1-hour session, whereas group sessions might typically last 3-7 hours. For workshops lasting more than a day, the position of objects on the structure can be recorded on a template and recreated at a later date.