Using the CCS

New life and the game of family connection

By Craig Browne

Thirty years ago Australian couple, Craig Browne and Leonie Cutts, experienced two simultaneous life-changing events. And it’s happening again! In January 1997, Craig and Leonie…

The CCS VFE is now Communicarda. What’s changed and why?

By Craig Browne

A LOT HAS happened since we created the CCS Cards Virtual Facilitation Environment (CCS VFE) during COVID and I am pleased to introduce you to,…

What happens when strategy gets visual?

By Dr Cathryn Lloyd

Guest blog by Dr Cathryn Lloyd, from Maverick Minds I’m still buzzing from The Experience – the Basic Bananas business retreat. A brilliant few days with…

Talking about conflict

By Nancy Ansheles

When we saw this post on LinkedIn from an experienced, and much loved, facilitator in the US, we knew we just had to share it with you! It is a simple, and powerful use of the cards to open a session about conflict.

Best Ending for a Team Session (and virtual back up plan if you forgot your cards)

By Leonie Cutts

I almost ended a team session without my all-time favourite close. I’m not sure why, but when I planned this team day, I thought I…

This Will Change The Way You Feel: the impact and importance of positive feedback

By Leonie Cutts

There is only one way to end a workshop. After you have spent a whole day, or often more, with a group, and everyone has…

Better Out Than In: the importance of bringing emotion into the room

By Leonie Cutts

From the moment I walked into the room, I could feel it. Everyone was happy. Pleased to be together and looking forward to our session.…

Is it OK to fake empathy?

By Craig Browne

Late last year I was part of a university presentation and group discussion about the impressive progress of AIs (in this case GPT) in lots…

“I Am A Tactile Person” – Until This Happens!

By Leonie Cutts

I was talking to a long time facilitator friend and showed him our digital CCS Cards. His first reaction – “I’m a tactile person”. This…

The ‘Eff’ Word You Need To Build Relationships

By Leonie Cutts

I got a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ GIF from a friend on my phone on Sunday and I was a little annoyed. I wasn’t annoyed at…

The bricklayer, the builder, and hard conversations

By Craig Browne

Is it just my experience, or are builders and bricklayers more emotionally aware than the rest of us? Let me explain …

Connect instantly with these Two Words

By Leonie Cutts

We all look at the world in our own way. To understand each other a little better, try adding these two simple words to your conversation questions.

Removing the Awkward in the Meeting

By Leonie Cutts

I was super excited about the meeting. A colleague and a new ‘friend’, getting together to connect after meeting at an online conference. This is…

Connect before … well, pretty much anything

By Craig Browne

I believe very strongly in the importance of bringing us together knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us. Who said this, and what are the lessons for your virtual meetings and high performing teams?

Reframing Reflection for Action-oriented Doers

By Leonie Cutts

STOP. Right now. And breathe.
Close your eyes. Think back over the last hour. If you had asked me 5 years ago to do something like this, I’m not sure I would have coped. As an ‘action-oriented doer’, I would have been challenged even by the word “stop”.

Fishing for the right words to answer the big question

By Leonie Cutts

How was your year?How was your trip?How’s the new job going? Ever find yourself scrambling for the right words when someone asks you one of…

“Bring your brilliance” Creating emotive values with CCS Cards

By CCS Craig Browne

“Bring your brilliance!” In 5 and half minutes of articulate joy, the brilliant Julie Alexander nails the power of CCS Cards for values work.

We are image card experts, we are going digital, and we think you should too (at least some of the time)

By Craig Browne

We’ve being creating and facilitating with paper-based image cards for decades and, after several years of development and experience — we are going digital. What’s more, we think you should too (at least some of the time). Here’s why.

“Epiphany, histrionics, catharsis, expeditious” – this is one heck of a testimonial!

By Craig Browne

After two decades of playing with image cards, I wasn’t ready for this testimonial from Dr Murray. I knew I had to dig in and find out more. Turns out there is a very deep-seated and vulnerable story behind his comments.

Don’t teach anything new!

By Craig Browne

“Don’t ever let me come into one of your classrooms and hear you teaching something new to your students!” You could see puzzled looks on all our fresh faces. Isn’t teaching all about providing new information?

Phygital is back!

By Craig Browne

Well, it probably never went, but it sure feels like its having a renewed moment! The term phygital learning, a combination of physical and digital…

Winning new clients using CCS Cards

By Leonie Cutts

Trying to win a new client? As facilitators, we are often in a position where we have to demonstrate our expertise by running a ‘sample’…

Opposites attract, or Birds of a feather?

By Craig Browne

If you are like me, you probably find these kinds of generalisations applied to relationships, somewhat troublesome – too inconsistent to really be useful. I mean, they can’t both be right, can they? Either two people described as “opposite” are attracted to each other specifically because of their oppositions, or they are not. In which case two people who are of a feather – flock.

Do guys feel emotional connection?

By Craig Browne

How’s that for a clickbait title? But I didn’t make it up. Google offered it up to me in the list of suggested questions in response to my typing “emotional connection” in the search bar. As a “guy” (AMAB), the voice in my head immediately shouted “yeah, of course we do!” But as I thought for a moment, I found myself saying “oh, maybe we don’t — maybe I’d better click!”