About twenty years ago, during a transformative three-day systemic workshop, I participated in an exercise that continues to resonate with me today. Although I don’t usually hold on to notes from workshops, this one was exceptional, and I still have all of my scribbled notes and handouts in my file.
The activity was by Dörthe Verres, and the workshop was masterfully facilitated by Silke Luinstra and another talented trainer, whose name I have forgotten.
The exercise centered around a simple but multifaceted question:
If you were a shop…
The task wasn’t just to complete sentences but to explore the deeper, implicit imagery behind them. It has stayed with me all these years. Every now and then, I find myself revisiting the shop I “chose” back then. Interestingly, it hasn’t changed much over time.
It’s still that independent little shop off the high street, much like my favourite shop from my hometown. It’s a place that doesn’t aim to dazzle you, but it has everything you might possibly need, quietly sitting on the shelves. There’s comfort in its familiarity and completeness.
Here’s how the exercise goes:
If you were a shop…
▶ You would most likely be a…
▶ Your location would be…
▶ One could see … in the shop window.
▶ Inside, it looks like…
▶ As a customer, you feel…
▶ You wouldn’t shy away from a long way because…
If you were a shop, what would you be?
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