Anyone here experienced zoning out in the middle of a facilitation session? How do you bring yourself back and catch up if you're the one facilitating and are supposed to be the most focused person in the group?
Just another Adhd facilitator chiming in, I was diagnosed last year and it kind of rocked my world for a little bit, I was extra hard on myself and replayed of all the what ifs, but I did learn some things that have helped me a lot, I read and article that talk about adhd motivators. They said there are three things Challenge, Urgency and Novelty. That helped me shape a lot of my task achieving and decision making it'll probably work for audience members but especially if you're facilitating. I also, use the hero’s journey mapping a lot for me to stay attracted but also it gives me micro sections to frame myself around, so if I get lost I work out where am I in the story, happy to talk about it later if you want 😅 But by story milestones and approaching each topic as if I'm learning everything about a character in a story, I've been able to stay curious, open-minded, and engaged. But in terms of the these aspects: 1. Challenge: I put obstacles for myself to overcome. If there is a summary, or an interactive section where I know we do a group recap, knowing that I'm accountable, helps me stay focused on the task at hand and keeps me engaged by pushing me to think critically and creatively. Often times in some people motivate themselves by making it announced goal so you have external motivation to stay focused. 2. Novelty: games and activities help but, for me I try to find what I find interesting sometimes and explore that, asking myself what their motivations are the why helps a lot. 3. Urgency: Creating a sense of urgency, like a ticking clock, your style might be a little more gameified, this helps me stay motivated and focused. By setting deadlines and setting time-goals, the key is I do it publically because in the moment it's hard for me to keep myself accountable. Yes... So these are some things that worked for me,. I hope it was helpful..
It's that time again! I want to put what we’re learning in the world of facilitation and workshopping into practice with this workshop design challenge! I will be posting anonymized client briefs (repurposed briefs from past clients of AJ&Smart) over the next few weeks and I would love for you to design a workshop to meet these briefs. I have attached our Agenda template that you can use to complete this task. In the comments section, you can write the same headings in this template to give you some guidance. This template follows AJ&Smart’s 4C’s Framework for structuring ANY workshop. So...what is the 4C’s Framework? We’re glad you asked! The 4C’s stand for Collect, Choose, Create, and Commit. The 4C’s Framework can be used to design any workshop regardless of topic, length, or outcome. If you want to get the full breakdown of how it works and how to use it in your workshops, you can download the Workshopper Playbook, where we explain everything in detail! So, let's take a look at the brief 👀 Client: GreenTech Innovators Contact Person: Emma Johnson Subject: Workshop Challenge - Sustainable Living for High School Students Background: GreenTech Innovators is a company focused on making the world greener. We develop products and services to help people live more sustainably. We want to teach high school students about the importance of sustainable living. Objective: Create a fun and engaging workshop for high school students (aged 14-18) about sustainable living. The workshop should help students understand how their actions impact the environment and teach them ways to live more sustainably. Workshop Requirements: - Duration: The workshop should last 1.5 to 2 hours. - Format: Mix presentations, activities, and group discussions - Content: Cover these topics: a. Why sustainable living matters b. How our choices affect the environment c. GreenTech Innovators’ products and services d. Tips for living sustainably
Andrew here! The new guy saying Hi! Originally from Sydney, now living in New York. My parents were refugees so i feel like i’m a long way from home. Glad to be here. Just wanted to reach out too, to see if anyone else is into story. I’ve realized with everything that’s happened so far that it’s what im trying to pursue, finding stories to tell, and helping guide them and then making my own. I was wondering if anyone else feels the same way or tries to incorporate storytelling (kind of a buzzword at the moment I know) into their communication and facilitation? So much of who I am revolves around Narrative Driven Decision Making. Whether that be operations, Marketing or Branding. I somehow find I’m always chasing the “why”? Why does this work the way it does? Why did they do that, so digging into the structure of the why, how stories shape decision making, and how stories scale to solve problems from the smallest to the biggest. I just recently found out I have Adult ADHD, which secretly at times has been the biggest curse but a superpower at times too. Obsession with patterns and why things work. So understanding what makes us tick, and how my brain and the brains of others make decisions this felt like home as soon as I saw it. I'm really excited to be part of this amazing community of facilitators. I'm here to connect, learn, and share whatever I can to help. Be great to hear how how has facilitation impacted your career or work, and what drew you everybody in? Or if anyone wants to talk shop about story too. I'm also a filmmaker, working on a podcast on decision making and a photographer. Looking forward to hearing your stories and connecting with you all!
Hi Everyone, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking in terms of its application in facilitation thought I would share. In story, especially film. We use Open Goals at the beginning and then move to close the goal to the end of a film let me explain. I’ll use Star Wars. Luke receives a message, he has to reach Leia with it, and he has to save her. This is a somewhat open goal. Save her from what? There are so many things that she might need saving from? So many unanswered questions. But an open goal, is a broad goal that is easily agreed upon. This is a lower cost of entry, for the audience as it has no commitment to the cause. The closed goal we eventually find out is Luke has to, blow up the Death Star, which in turn saves the galaxy which in turn saves Leia. So how does that apply conceptually to facilitation. Well using broad or open goals earlier in discussion can encourage buy-in, reduces the cost of entry. But using a closed goal, to define what success is helps people feel a sense of accomplishment and will want to do it again. But knowing where to use not use specific types of goals can help depending on the need. I’ll probably write a more in-depth analysis on a blog or a video. But I just wanted to share and discuss with everyone. Success = Saving Galaxy Blowing up Death Star = Saving Galaxy Success = Blowing up Death Star Success = making people more organized Improving the uptake due to a UX improvement = more people are using it = more people are getting organized = Success may the force be with you.