Something that I enjoy doing, and perhaps uniquely so, is story writing. Possibly born from Safe 4.0 training as a way for me to communicate process in a way that resonated between the doers (who want to write “gimme a button there” and get their bonus by doing 100s of those) and the dreamers (who want to conquer the ever changing landscape of their industry faster than everyone else). Listening to the free call today (Thanks Tim!) i am taking the call to action to post my question about detailed story writing of the format: AS a [role] I want/need/should have [a thing built] SO THAT I CAN [complete a goal] WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO [manifest the dreamers dream] The idea of the opening of the facilitation I am selling is to create alignment of roles, things, goals, and dreams by having the participants write stories in the morning that generate note and vote how might we discussions as calibration and communication with active listening as I guide them to and through their needs and wants and blockages. Could have posted and may also in workshoper master and may also, but was going to ask “Does anyone else plan or use story writing as a tool in their design sprint work and what other exercises are good for galvanizing what comes out of that activity?” Thanks in advance for the answers and as a fun example -> as a future successful workshopper I want to get feedback about my idea to use stories so that I can work on my business plan which will allow me to show up and advertise my one thing and get clients :)

Hello community! - I'm sure you've heard the riddle: "...how do you get to Carnegie Hall?..." Well, @David Rovira is scheduling a ROUND 2 of "practice sessions" - for all of us who would benefit from seeing facilitation up on its feet. Contact @David Rovira for availability and where you'd like to plug in. Excited for this! Hope to see you there ✨

Our first sessions were a success!! Check out the first outputs, and here are the videos of our first practice! Thanks to everyone who took part, you were amazing! 🤩✨ In this first session we tackled the topic of “Onboarding new employees”, and will continue working with it through the next few weeks, as part of a Design Sprint sequence. Join us!! 😆🏁 💫 Here's the official Schedule of Practice Sessions … Save your spot! ⚡✨ We’re looking for facilitation coaches… All levels welcome! It’s so inspiring having so many colleagues interested and passionate in pursuit of new skills. After a bunch of practice sessions over the last few weeks, we’re convinced that with a safe space and a supporting team, it’s much easier to feel confident and take the next steps. For those of you already experienced in facilitation, consulting, and public speaking, this is a golden opportunity to take your game to the next level. By helping others practice these essential skills, you become a teacher, a guru, a guide. Isn’t that what we’re all aspiring to be? We need your help coaching these fellow facilitators in their next practice session. They need your knowing feedback, to quickly become aware of where they need to improve, and where they are rocking it. They look up to you, and would love the chance in the near future to co-facilitate your next client engagement. Better make sure they’re ready! We respect your time and other commitments, and will only require you to attend portions of a practice session. Spots are limited, and all those who accept the challenge will receive their colleagues’ undying love and appreciation. Help a hero. Be the guide! Tell us, what’s your coaching level?

One of the toughest skills to learn as a workshop facilitator is managing circular discussions. I'm talking about those discussions where where the team goes around in circles discussing the same topic multiple times. Here’s my top tips on how to handle circular discussions: - Time-boxing - let the group know that you’re going to set a timer for this discussion, the time-pressure will help people be more concise in their thoughts. - Note taking - Listen to the discussion and add notes to your whiteboard. Visualising a discussion will help the team recognise when they’re repeating themselves. - Addressing repetition - Tell the team when they’re repeating themselves, highlight the notes on the board that cover what they’re saying and ask them (politely) to move on. - Challenge relevance - Circular discussions have a tendency to get off track, if you feel like what’s being discussed isn’t relevant to the topic at hand, highlight it with the team. - Summarising - Once you feel like enough has been said, interject with a summary, ask the group if you’ve missed anything and if not, move on. - Deciding - If the discussion needs a decision to move forward, summarise and then ask your decider to decide what you should move forward with. - Parking lot - If a discussion is stretching on too long, and its not crucial to resolve it for the purpose of your workshop, add a post-it to your parking lot and return the discussion later if you have time What are you top tips for managing discussions in a workshop?

Sometimes when people hear the word 'icebreaker' they cringe or might feel super anxious about taking part in one. Yes, icebreakers can make you feel a bit awkward initially, but they are proven to help enhance relationships and encourage creativity. 'Icebreakers can help increase team bonds, boost performance and creativity'—Harvard Business School study Integrating icebreakers into your workshops or meetings is a great way to get everyone relaxed and ready to participate. But how do you choose the right ones so that you avoid those dreaded awkward silences? Here are my Top 2 Icebreakers that are easy to implement (in-person or online): 1. My First Job Ask everyone in the group to write down their name, their first job, and what they learned from that job. Then go round the group and have everybody read theirs out. 2. Pointless Questions Prepare a few fun questions ahead of the workshop, then go round the room and have everybody take turns answering the questions. It’s as simple as that—you don’t even need to write anything down! Here are some question suggestions to get you started: - If you could invite a celebrity over for dinner, who would it be and why? - What is your most prized possession and why? - You can have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life. What do you choose? Here are some more icebreakers for you to explore! What's another great icebreaker that I can add to my list?