WHY stoke to focus

• A “stoke” is an exercise that you can use to change the energy in your group. Many stokes are borrowed from theater and improv, and they serve different purposes. Stoking to focus helps everyone in your group listen to one another. These exercises all require paying close attention to others’ cues.
• Stoking to focus is a great way to prepare for an intense group work session, especially one in which everybody is coming in with different information to synthesize. Maybe you’re just about to write a [LINK]POV statement or start building a prototype – you need everybody in your group ready to communicate with one another.

HOW TO stoke to focus

• A, B, C… Your goal is to get through the alphabet, one letter at a time. Start by saying the letter “A”. Now, somebody else must say “B” – it doesn’t matter who. Next, somebody else must say “C”. But if two people say a letter at the same time, you have to start again from the beginning! Read each others’ expressions closely to get in the zone where you can make it through the whole alphabet. For an extra challenge, try this with your eyes closed.
• A wise person once said… Stand in a circle. Start by saying a word – any word. The person next to you must say the next word in the sentence. Keep going until it becomes clear that you have created a proverb. Acknowledge your pearl of wisdom by nodding solemnly and saying “Yes, yes, yes”. And remember, a wise person once said, “A watermelon without a dog is no greater than a salad.”

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