For about a year & a half now I’ve been organizing a monthly learning & development roundtable in Nairobi. (Check out the link for a list of our workshop topics & resources.) We are an eclectic group from NGO’s, corporate companies & the UN. Each month we have a different speaker. This month we were fortunate to have Maina Joseph & his group from the Drum Cafe.
(Are you in Nairobi & interested in finding out more about attending future roundtable meetings? Simply email me – laragan at rpsinc.ca.)
Check out our efforts in the short video below.
There’s lots to be learned from the rhythm of the drums. Here are some of the debriefing questions we covered after the fun of drumming:
1. Drums speak a language all of their own. What are the parallels when we’re speaking with someone of a different language than our own? And when we’re speaking with someone who technically speaks the same language but we’re using the same language differently?
2. Maina & Antony prepared the drums by heating them with fire. Antony prepared us to play by counting us in. What kind of preparation do you do / need to do / want to do before ‘leading’? Before teaching?
3. There were various ‘levels’ of the group. Some were ‘ahead,’ perhaps because they were predicting what was to come, had previous experience &/or were impatient. Others were ‘behind’ perhaps because of challenges with coordination, less experience etc. What are the parallels when we’re leading &/or teaching a mixed level group?
4. Were you playing with your head or your heart? What were the implications of this?
5. Given the three main learning styles (audio, visual & kinesthetic) which were you paying most attention to & how does that reflect on you as a leader, a learner & trainer? That is were you mostly listening, watching or drumming?
6. When you were playing the drums were you focused more on sticking out or fitting in? What implications does this have for you as a leader, learner, trainer?
7. When you were playing the drums were you focused on creating your own rhythm or were you influenced by the rhythms around you? What implications does this have for you as a leader, learner, trainer?
8. At times the group was ‘in the zone’- that is the sounds were smooth & in harmony. Other times they were a bit rumpled & glitchy. What made it go smooth? What made it glitchy? What implications does this have?
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