Spontaneous group discussion – family vacation day at home
Private example: Family, vacation day at home, it’s 11 a.m., mom, dad and two daughters want to do something nice. Everyone is busy playing, reading or doing housework. Nothing works. At 11:20 there is still no change. The parents get the children together for a family council. Who wants to do what? Lilo wants to go roller-skating around Lake Greifensee or into the Altstetter forest to make a fire. Ella would like to go on a short hike up the Uetliberg with a stop at an inn. Both children are keen for a family friend to come along. It’s not so important to the parents. But they don’t want to try a forest fire because everything is wet from the rain. The children have very little patience: they insist, argue and prevent a consensus. The friendly family is consulted. They want to rest today and only do a short activity, if at all. It is important to the children that they are there. So they suggest that both families roller-skate to Mica’s garden to eat ice cream at Gelateria di Berna at 3pm. This decision concludes the group discussion and all the roller skaters head off in the direction of Mica’s garden.
Once there, it becomes clear that Mica doesn’t open until 5pm. The disappointed find an alternative: Salvati Gelati on Lindenplatz. Everyone is happy there.
What do we learn?
- Coming together at the same place at the same time to coordinate together
- Everyone should know what they want and say it. Expectations should be spread out.
- You need to be willing to put yourself in other people’s shoes.
- You should listen to each other, stay tuned, instead of shouting and running away.
- A willingness to compromise is needed. What cannot be done today will be done another time.
- Things turn out differently than you think anyway.
