How do you engage a huge room full of people and get them to talk openly about sensitive subjects? With puppets! (And humor!) What started out as a joke about doing a puppet show at a SAFe Program Increment Planning event, turned into a real-world training technique that uses puppets to break down social resistance to hard conversations. Today, in a very special episode of Agile Puppet Theater, we'll look at the psychology of why people may be resistant to having honest, open conversations across a large organization. We'll investigate techniques to allow us to discuss problems and make real change a possibility, using puppets, humor and hyperbole. Combining multiple approaches, you will learn how to create a safe space to address the issues in your organization that are holding back your cultural development. As a team, you will build your own Minimum Viable Puppets and use them in scripted sketches that we've actually used to spark candid conversations about tough issues. Along the way, we'll pull back the curtain on how the different parts of the training work together to create the engagement and safe space we're looking for. We will also leave you with strategies for creating your own versions of Agile Puppet Theater to bring back to your organizations to encourage communication and improve your own organizational culture.

1. MINIMUM VIABLE
PUPPETS
H O W TO C R E AT E A S A F E S PA C E
F O R H A R D C O N V E R S AT I O N S

2. WHO WANTS TO
HAVE SOME FUN?

4. L E T ’ S B E H O N E S T…
PUPPETS?
REALLY?

7. ACTIVITY DESIGN
PATTERNS
• A pattern for conducting
training or workshops
• Use when it is the right tool
for the job
• Plug in your own content

8. MASTERS OF PUPPETS
Ian Garrison
ian@sketchdev.io
Matt House
matt.house@sketchdev.io

9. BACKSTORY…

11. Barb: I want to do some fun training based on
Andrea Goulet’s [Agile Midwest 2018
keynote] talk.
Ian: How about a puppet show. Ha ha ha.
Barb: Yes! That’s perfect!

12. Ian: …$#&%!

13. THE PROBLEM
Lots of dysfunction in the teams
People blame everyone else but
themselves
Lack of empathy between leadership
and the teams
Hard to have some
of these
conversations
because of
Fear of Retribution
Lack of empowerment
Cultural differences

14. Therapists have used puppets in cognitive behavioral play therapy for
decades
Puppets give a safe distance - These are not my problems or your
problems, they are the puppet’s problems
You can safely bring issues into the room so people don’t feel alone or

15. WHAT MAKES TRAINING EFFECTIVE?

16. WHAT A
GREAT
IDEA!

17. H O W D O Y O U D O P L A Y T H E R A P Y W I T H A
R O O M F U L L O F 2 0 0 P E O P L E ?

18. SO HOW DO WE PULL
THIS OFF…
Constraints:
• 200 people (that need to be engaged
in the training)
• Not a lot of room
• Not a ton of time
• Leaders representing both business
and technology, so topics need to be
relevant to everyone

19. HOW WE ROLL
W H E N W E R O L L P U P P E T Y

20. A QUICK
ANNOUNCEMENT
F R O M T H E D E PA R T M E N T O F A . P. T.

21. OUR COMPANY IS LEAVING
THE INDUSTRY
• No one will be fired
• All projects are cancelled
• Today we will begin retraining for our new required skill sets

22. PUPPETS!

23. AS A RESULT
WE ARE CHANGING SOME ACRONYMS
• PDS – Puppet Division of Services
• PLM – Puppet Lifecycle Management
• PDA – Puppet Displays of Affection
(ok, that last one doesn’t change much)

24. WELCOME TO
YOUR NEW JOB
F O R T H E N E X T 3 0 M I N U T E S O R S O

25. ONBOARDING
Build your own
Minimum
Viable
Puppet

26. ONBOARDING
[Boring puppet
construction rules
& regulations go
here]

27. SPRINT 1
M I N I M U M V I A B L E

28. SPRINT 2
P I E C E S O F F L A I R

30. WHY WE DID
WHAT WE
JUST DID
Gets everyone active and
engaged in the training
Build a personal investment
in the show to come
(because they built the
puppets)
Learning objectives
What is “Minimum Viable”
You don’t have to be “done” after the first go

31. WARNING:
PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT
YOU FUNNY

32. PRE-SHOW
JITTERS

34. PUPPET-MAKING KIT

35. WHAT WE
CAME UP
WITH

36. T R A I N I N G W I T H
AGILE PUPPET
THEATRE
P R E S E N T E D BY T H E
MI N I M U M VI A B L E PU P P E T E E R S

37. T R A I N I N G W I T H
AGILE PUPPET
THEATRE
E P I S O D E 1 : I N T E R R U P T I O N S

39. What did we learn?

40. YOU GOT A SEC?

41. Image from @andreagoulet

44. finis Episode I

45. T R A I N I N G W I T H
AGILE PUPPET
THEATRE
E P I S O D E I 1 : R A D I C A L C A N D O R
( I N 4 A C T S )

47. FEEDBACK
INTERACTIONS
can be categorized on
2x2 grid along the
propensity of the
individuals involved to
care personally
and their willingness to
challenge directly

48. Obnoxious Aggression
Act I:

50. WHY WE DID WHAT WE JUST DID
Let them choose a puppet
Jump right in if they can
recognize the situation
Prep the audience with
context where it will help
Give them enough time to
read the script once through
Give minimal direction so
they take ownership of the
character
Low tech audio & video
adds to the chaos

51. HOW TO
WRITE A
GOOD
SCRIPT

52. WHAT MAKES A
GOOD SCRIPT?

53. It’s short

54. I T ’ S
R E L ATA B L E

55. It’s funny
• Comedy
• Hyperbole
• Caricatures
• Dialogue

56. geralt / pixabay
Knowing how much you need to set up
vs how much your audience already understands

57. WHAT MAKES
A BAD
SCRIPT?
Lots of stage directions
Too many props
Too many characters
Reliance on tight timing or acting skills
Too many scenes

58. WARNING: IT TAKES A LONG
TIME TO WRITE A GOOD SCRIPT
A WRITER’S ROOM A TEST AUDIENCE TIME
Things that help

59. SCRIPTWRITING
POINTERS
• 1 page = 1 minute of active time
• 1 sketch requires 3 minutes of setup/teardown
• The “good” example is always the least
interesting story
• Keep stage direction light
• Limit narration

60. THINGS TO PREPARE/DO
• Have scripts prepared and marked out by part
• Use obvious humor (puns, slapstick)
• Have facilitators or plants perform any complex roles
• Set up video & audio so everyone can see & hear
• Appoint a stage crew

61. THINGS TO AVOID
• Dialogue that requires
good timing to get the
point across
• Putting people (especially
managers) on the spot
• Waiting to get
puppeteers/actors until
the skit is about to start
• Liquid glue

62. THINGS YOU
THINK YOU
WANT TO
AVOID, BUT
ACTUALLY
END UP BEING
AWESOME
• Mistakes
• Massive equipment failures
• Not having “enough” prep time
Leeeeroooy
Jennkiins!!!

63. THINGS YOU
THINK YOU
WANT TO
AVOID, BUT
ACTUALLY
END UP BEING
AWESOME
• Mistakes
• Massive equipment failures
• Not having “enough” prep timeAKA

64. THINGS YOU THINK
YOU WANT TO
AVOID, BUT
ACTUALLY END UP
BEING AWESOME
MISTAKES MAJOR EQUIPMENT
FAILURES
NOT HAVING
“ENOUGH” PREP TIME
BREAKING THE 4TH
WALL

65. NOW IT’S
YOUR
TURN

66. WRITE A
SKETCH

67. ALL THE
WORLD’S A
STAGE