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?

Hello Facilitators👋 I'm really curious about where everyone is from. I'd love to make this a mega post where we can see how diverse the Facilitator Club community is. Who knows, you might find a lot more people in your area than you thought! Once I have lots of answers on this post, I want to make a nice graph!

I would love to open an overview list for worldwide facilitation and facilitation related events and gatherings. A dear friend an colleague invited me to a beautiful opportunity to surrender into playfulness this weekend at https://play14.org – a facilitation-related movement/franchise piece/micro TED for facilitators, this time in Berlin. It was inspiring, refreshing, uplifting and energising, especially as there were a lot of cross-industry and cross-institutional fans of PLAY! Play14 happened irregularly across major European cities but is open for anyone to host along their guidelines – it was held as an Open Space. Fifty people played, exchanged, observed, promoted, tested and had fun while learning. Which events and event series of comparable kinds do you know?

Hey there! 👋 Facilitator Club is THE community for Facilitators or those who want to learn the skill of facilitation, where you can… ✅ Talk about facilitation and workshops (like the Design Sprint!) ✅ Talk about facilitation careers and how to build one (and make $$$ as a Facilitator!) ✅ Share workshop/facilitation insights, experiences, and resources ✅ Ask the AJ&Smart team questions about facilitation & workshops! This document contains important information about getting the most out of this community, so please read through everything before you get started! 👇👇👇 💃 How to get the most out of the Facilitator Club community 🕺 Really happy to have you here, hope you love the community as much as we do! Lots of love, The AJ&Smart team 💛

Any ideas on how to facilitate business continuing sessions and providing some tools for participants, we may have weak internet.

Could we share our best moment for facilitation. Once I supposed to drsign and run 2 hours workshop for 300 participants about corporate values, the time was limited and I was very busy preparing for another training, here how my design went: 1. I started with an ice breake, igrouped them into trios and I used the cmon game 2 lies and 1 truth since integrity is one of the values, I used it as a transition to the main workshop, even a simple lie people detect you, what about major things at the workplace. 2. I went through quick review of their values through direct facilitation with interaction with the audience, concluded that with a video explaining the values again. 3. I invited a guest speaker psychologist who shared an interesting session about belief system, the interaction between ideas, emotions and behaviors. 4. I used kahoot game using the meaning of their values, since they are too many, every pairs or trios will log in as a team, it was super exciting session to recap what they could retain from their understanding of the values 5. Last activity, made 8 groups and each will have to write a poem, add lyric and practice in order to perform on stage, it was super creative and amazing, my secret I'll be moving around in order to sequence their performance, the one that seems best ll perform last and vice versa, definitely there are some surprises. 6. Closed with prizes for winners during the different activities and wrap up session.

During one of my team building programs, a very exciting participant wasn't satisfied about the result and she argued loudly and aggressively demanding extra points for her team, and this is the moment for us as facilitators to show our strength and wisdom, it was very tough moments for me, how to handle it, because if I let it go it ll ruin the whole program, I changed the debriefing around that point and linked it with the objectives of the game and involved her at the discussion along the way several times, later I had a conversation with the manager who were attending, she told me that I was watching and waiting for you to handle it :) - Have you eve faced a vert tough participant or similar situation ? - How you handled the situation, or what tools you used?

If you're looking for a new way to do group introductions, check out my all-time favourite activity in the slideshow I probably spent way to much designing today 😄 As someone who loves deep conversations and hates small talk, this activity keeps things interesting not only for the participants but also for myself. I feel like I am learning so much from the types of questions someone asks. I've included some of my favourite questions I have used and heard from the participants in my workshops and trainings below. What are your favourites? PS: I prefer calling this an #icemelter, but in case anyone is searching for #icebreakers later, I'll include this in the post as well 🤣

Would love to hear from anyone involved in Design Thinking and how you apply it to facilitation. Curious also about the resources you have access to, courses you've learned from and any DT community you may be a part of (I myself am a part of IxDF). Do share!

Hi workshoppers, I am looking for L&D role as I need to flee the country due to the war, if you could spot any opportunities around or through your network please let me know, thank you in advance :)

Pleasen pray for us, we are living a war in the city for 8 days and it is continuing in Sudan, Khartoum

My colleague @Ryan de Metz found this amazing icebreaker which is PERFECT for Remote Workshops and we ran this in a coaching call earlier today and it was so much fun! We call it 'Intro-DUCK-tions' Yes, it's the best name ever 🐥😂 @Ryan de Metz you're a genius! 😂 After doing this exercise you’ll see how different we all think about a simple object. It's this difference in thought we look for in workshop participants to make sure we’re representing our target customers needs. It's super simple to run: Step 1️⃣: Have a Miro board (or any whiteboarding tool that you use for workshops) set up with spaces for each participants duck. You can also add a sticky note for people to add a name for their duck. Step 2️⃣: Send everyone this link Step 3️⃣: Encourage everyone to make their Lego duck Step 4️⃣: Download the duck Step 5️⃣: Drag the download of your duck to the Miro board (or any whiteboard tool you're using to run your workshop). Step 6️⃣: Re-size your duck and give it a name! Step 7️⃣: Introduce your duck to the group and tell them one interesting fact about it's personality Try it out and share your creation in the comments below by taking a screenshot of it. Be sure to give it a name! 🐥💛 ***Another variation of this icebreaker is called 'Draw a Duck' which another colleague of mine @David Finnegan shared in this community a few months back. To learn more about this and to see other people's amazing ducks, click here: https://www.skool.com/facilitatorclub/my-favourite-icebreaker-draw-a-duck?p=77e65c73

Just completing the Workshopper video course by Jonathan... has helped me with the difference between facilitating and FACILITATOR. It has caused a shift for me now I see we are providing solutions and helping companies and others organize better to commit and get results, through our workshops. Please share your views on this .🙏 Thank you AJ& Smart for this great platform, I am completely open to learning 📕 We moooooove as we groooooove in FC 😊

Hey Facilitators! I want to take a moment to express our gratitude for your dedication, collaboration, and enthusiasm in the Facilitator Club community. Your consistent engagement, insightful advice, and willingness to share your knowledge have been instrumental in nurturing the growth of the Facilitator Club. We are SUPPPPPPPER grateful for the amazing energy you bring to this community and can't thank you enough for your contributions. Huge shout-out to everyone on the leaderboard! 🥳 @Shannon Wagers @David Finnegan @David Newman @Jan Keck @Benedict Odjobo @LaYinka Sanni @Kerri Price @Msoo Mee @Brendon Cappelletti @Austin Govella @Tomoo Okubo @Shaul Nemtzov @Joao Ribeiro @Donna Benjamin @Will Stammers @Jeff Panning @Hassanein Ismail @Sam Pettersson

In any meeting or workshop, I always start with some kind of activity to engaje people within each other and with the theme of the event. My favorite is Blind Portrait: a game where, in pairs, people try to draw each others faces, but without looking at the paper! That way, anyone can make a drawing full of character and surprises. In the end, each person have to choose their favorite drawing and introduce themselves with that! What about you?

What are some of the best certification courses (internationally accredited) for Facilitators ? I see there are lot of International Coaching related, but specifically to be recognised as facilitator what do you recommend? Also, mention the benefits if you really feel it's mandatory to take it up for persuing full time career or bring you great credibility.

I was brainstorming with ChatGPT4 for a new video where I want to talk about one-off team-building sessions being a waste of money and instead of an annual event – it's a daily practice. Leaders should be weaving connection activities into every meeting to foster engagement, trust, and collaboration. Well...Just for fun, I asked it to come up with some funny tweets. Here are my favourites, which one is yours? 1) Why limit team building to annual events? Let's throw in connection activities at every meeting – it's like trust falls, but without the chiropractor bills! 😆 #CrackingUpAtWork 2) Team building: from annual trust falls to daily meetings, because nothing says 'we got this' like navigating trust exercises while holding coffee! ☕😂 #CaffeinatedCollaboration 3) Let's make team building a part of every meeting, because who doesn't want to bond over the shared fear of being late to the next call? 🏃‍♂️😅 #ProcrastinatorsUnite 4) Weave team building into every meeting – because nothing says 'I trust you' like sharing embarrassing work stories over a video call! 🎥🤣 #VirtualTrustCircle 5) Who needs annual team building events when you can turn meetings into group therapy sessions with connection activities? Get ready to laugh and learn! 😂📚 #TherapyWithPowerPoints Let me know in the comments, which one is your favourite 😂#TeamBuilding #Leadership #NoMoreTrustFalls

Recently I've been reflecting on how much time we spend setting the scene for a workshop. Most facilitators are very intentional about making sure everyone is on the same page about why they are there, and we work hard to ensure people feel safe and comfortable to engage. However, when it comes to the end of the workshop, it often wraps up in a hurry. There might be an action list created, perhaps a quick whip-around to see how people are feeling, but I'm not convinced that the wrap-up is always given the time (and energy) it really needs to be done well. (And for the record...I'm reflecting on my own practice here...maybe I should replace 'we' with 'me'.) I'm keen to hear how others wrap-up their sessions. Are there specific exercises you use to bring things to a close and encourage next steps are actually taken? I've got a few tried and true methods I use, but I'm keen to give it more focus.

Hi Everyone! So much experience and expertise in this community ... thrilled to be a member. I have a four-hour (same day) virtual session coming up and after the hour lunch break, I begin with energizer that gets the participants out of their seats and have a laugh. I have done ... find objects, eye yoga and the “after lunch shuffle”. Please what are your ideas? Thank you for sharing! Take care.

I was off to India, New Delhi for training, just missed interacting with you guys,every post and every comment is a new learning, from the other side I managed to network with people from over 20 countries which was amaaaaazing experience :) :) :) Now I back to learning with you :) :) :)

1. How you will ensure transfer of learning back to the workplace? 2. Do you conduct any sort of follow up after the workshop/program finished?

Mastering the art of eliciting information is very crucial in order to understand client needs clearly, sometimes the clients may not give you the root causes for their issues, you may end up treating symptoms and that's will impact the delivery and outcomes. Asking the same question from different angles and different people will give you better clues. mini-meeting with several members from the client's team; will give you the chance to observe how they are interacting and guide each other to the root causes. anymore ideas :)

Hello everyone, what skills do you think everyone should learn to become a facilitator? and how did you learn that skill?

In my 20+ years of facilitation, I've only ever worked with a co-facilitator a handful of times. (And on every occasion it was someone I knew well and had worked with in other contexts.) I've recently been given the opportunity to co-facilitate on a reasonably large programme of workshops, and while I'm not super-passionate about the work being proposed, I'm tempted to say yes just so I can experience co-facilitation on a different level. I'm keen to hear of your experiences co-facilitating (especially if it was with someone you didn't know well to begin with). What do I need to think about / plan for / consider in order for it to work really well? I'm really keen to explore where co-facilitated workshops fit in the mix of things.

Perhaps one of the biggest perks of a community like this is to openly share failures and have a laugh about it 😀 What were some of your most memorable fails to date throughout your facilitation journey? Either yours or that you witnessed first hand! Let’s hear it! I’ll start in the comments!

If we met at a networking event and you asked me: “So, what do you do?”, I probably will say “I am on a small talk detox.” A few years ago, I created a deck of Connection Cards to help my friends bond on a camping trip, and now they're being used to turn shallow conversations into deep connections on every continent around the globe (yep, even Antarctica). Since then, I have been running countless experiences that promote trust, vulnerability and create a sense of belonging. I love to turn a group of strangers into friends with playful activities and meaningful conversations - so if you have any questions about facilitating connections for your participants, send me a message 🙂 Since 2020 I have trained thousands of people to create highly inclusive, engaging and meaningful experiences when we can’t be in the same room together in my Virtual Facilitator Trainings. This is where the pandemic encouraged me to bring my 10+ years of video production to the way I facilitate on Zoom. So, feel free to ask me about: ✅ Anything Zoom related ✅ Setting up a professional home studio ✅ Using virtual engagement tools like Ecamm Live Recently, I relocated from Canada to Germany to be closer to family, but my work is mainly in English and most of my clients are still based in North America. So if you're near Stuttgart, Germany, let me know as I am building my local network of like-minded people. I hope you’ll join me on my mission to help people feel less alone and fuel the movement for deeper human connection and answer one of my favourite "ice melter" questions in the comments: "If we met 1 year from today, what are you celebrating?" Feel free to connect with me on social (links in my profile)

I'm asking what you as facilitators find most enjoyable because I'm curious. It is not necessary what your favorite or what you find most usable because the answer to that is probably "it depends" See this as an opportunity to reflect on what really gives you energy and why and you might gain insight into something that makes you a better facilitator.

In what situations would you say facilitation and workshops are the wrong answer and approach? One obvious to me is when the problem is well defined, solution is fairly known and it can be implemented by a handful of people. In other words, when there are low levels of uncertainty. What else? Let's hear your thoughts :)

Hi fellow facilitators 👋 Recently I have run some continued design sprints, which were building on the initial, more broad design sprint. Although I made some adaptations to the exercises and shortened particularly some of the first day (HMW, make a map), two of the participants gave me the feedback that they wished we could have just gone straight into the sketching. I gladly accepted the feedback and said I would consider this for future continued design sprints. My brief reasoning on why I did not get rid of these exercises was: - Since there were two new group members and the initial sprint week dated more than 2 months back, I felt it was necessary to reiterate our goals, our sprint questions and perform the HMW. - Also, I somehow feel this breaks people away from their initial thinking and opens the mindset for a different style of work. What are your experiences on continued design sprints? Do you tweak exercises and if yes, which? How would you respond to this feedback? Looking forward to the community exchange 😊🍿

Hello Facilitators 👋 Thank you so much for all your contributions and active participation so far. We are so appreciative of the value you are all providing within this community. But don’t worry, your contributions will not go unnoticed! A lot of questions have come in about the gamification aspect of this community. What I mean by that is, how you can be rewarded for providing value and actively engaging in this community! In Skool, there is a way you can earn points and level up. The likes, points, and levels system in Skool is a way for you to earn recognition for your contributions and engagement with the group. Here's how it works: 1. Likes: Members can "like" posts, comments, or other contributions made by other members. This serves as a way to show appreciation and support for their efforts. One like = one point. 2. Points: Points are a way to keep track of how much a person has participated in the community. Members can earn points by posting individual posts and commenting on other people’s contributions. 3. Levels: Levels are milestones that a member can reach by earning a certain number of points. These levels serve as recognition for their achievements within the community and come with perks such as access to exclusive AJ&Smart content, course previews, coaching calls and more…). The likes, points, and levels system is a way for us to incentivize and reward active and engaged members, creating a supportive and collaborative environment for everyone here. This Loom video I created will explain everything you need to know about this system and how to unlock rewards! HUGE thank you @Kerri Price, @Will Stammers, @Jeff Panning, @Joao Ribeiro, @David Finnegan, @Hassanein Ismail, @Akshay Chillal, @Nancy Lhoest-Squicciarini, @Sam Pettersson and @Andra Stefanescu (our top 10 members on the Leaderboard) who have provided so much value to this community already. We 💛 you!