In a meeting last week, an Italian colleague commented to me that our Canadian Prime Minister sure knows how to use the power of silence, and that world class facilitators know the same thing.
In case you missed it, here’s the clip Gerardo was referring to. It clearly made the rounds worldwide:
Silence in a meeting can make us uncomfortable. Continue reading “The Sound of Silence”
I spoke to someone recently who, like many of us, is converting an in-person learning experience to a digital one. She was discouraged because one of her go-to local workshop leaders was uncomfortable delivering online.
My response: Why limit yourself to local?
If everyone has to participate in sessions virtually, you can access anyone, anywhere in the world. Exceptional talent is more available to us now than it has ever been. We don’t have to pay for travel, and some people’s calendars are more wide open than usual. Instead of starting automatically with those you’ve involved before, consider asking yourself who you’d most love to incorporate into your workshop design! Continue reading “A New Sense of Scale”
I am currently participating in board meetings of the International Association of Facilitators, in my new role as Regional Director for Canada. Seventeen of us have gathered for three days in Kuala Lumpur.
We’re right in the thick of things, but two insights I’ve gained so far:
I was preparing for a couple of sessions this past week, designed to share my story in a program called Thought Leaders Business School (TLBS). I was therefore thinking about why it’s worked so well for me. Continue reading “Alone Together”
The facilitation activity I use most often is a spectrum exercise. I draw a horizontal line and label each end, either with opposite words (e.g. proactive/reactive) or happy/sad faces or yes/no. Then I invite participants to mark an X where they sit on that continuum on whatever issue we’re talking about. It makes visible two different things: does the group tilt toward one pole or the other (i.e. “If this line were a teeter totter, would it tilt to the right or left?”), and how consistent are participants in their views (i.e. how spread out or clustered are their Xs)? It takes three minutes and makes lots of good information visible. I love high leverage tools.
