I am wondering what others primarily do while in-person participants are working? Do you look off into the distance? Look around at the participants with a pleasant expression? Look at your notes and plan for the next activity? Walk around like an overseer/proctor? Doodle? 😂 I am just wondering how to be neither distracting nor awkward when the focus is not on me. 🤔
I usually walk round the room to listen in to the groups discussions but never for long, just so participants know I’m there if they have any questions. Otherwise I spend the time reviewing how the session is going and any changes I need to make to the next section. Most importantly though, I use the time to check in on myself, take a bit of a mental break and preserve my own energy levels. Facilitation can be draining and so looking after your own wellbeing is paramount
Imagine that you are doing a workshop, you generate some ideas, you vote on the top 5 and now it is time to identify "who" will be in charge for taking care of each key idea ??? any idea to do this ? any exercice we can do ?
I would first clarify that taking an action means that person is responsible for either progressing the idea, or for delegating the action to someone else after the workshop. Where you have multiple actions, I usually ask each participant in turn which action they want to take. In the event that no one volunteers then I would take it up with the workshop instigator after the session
I think that empathy and emotional intelligence are crucial to be able to read the room and pick up on how participants are feeling. Active listening skills, and flexibility to change things on the fly are also crucial
@Amanda Witman if I’m feeling nervous during a session, I usually try one of: Calling a quick break, or putting participants into groups to discuss a topic so that I can take some time to re-centre myself Take 3 or 4 ‘square’ breaths…inhale for a few seconds, hold for a few seconds, exhale for a few seconds, hold for a few seconds. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system which calms the body down Focus on one or two things I’m grateful for, apparently the human brain cannot experience gratitude and anxiety simultaneously Everyone finds different tactics which work for them over time. The important thing to remember is that whilst it is your role to manage the energy levels of participants, managing your own energy levels is even more important
Hello everyone! I'm going to facilitate a workshop for a team to help then turn their visions which have been set into agreed actions. Does anyone have relevant experiences? What was the agenda like? I will be very glad to exchange ideas and explore new/innovative ways to do this! 😁 Thanks in advance!
Whenever I’m running a workshop which involves defining actions I first get participants to generate a long list of potential actions, then use an Effort / Impact matrix to help them prioritise. Then, they select the actions they want to proceed with and write them up in a grid which breaks each one down into timeframes, allowing them to capture what they’ll do in a few days, in a few weeks and finally in a few months. I hope that helps!
@Julie C I use something like the attached, so each action can be expressed in terms of short, medium and long term deliverables, as well as the owner and any specific needs they have to help them complete them
You’re looking for an activity to kick off your meeting, workshop or training, but you’re tired of the same old icebreaker activities you’ve seen on every list? You’re in the right place! 😊 I believe that most #icebreaker activities are not effective for most groups. So, in this first post of my #FixMyIcebreaker series, I will explain why they don't work and provide alternative activities that work so much better (including facilitator tips). If you’re looking for fresh and new activities, check out my full post here: https://www.jankeck.com/best-icebreakers-alternatives-1/ In today's post, I am fixing: · Fun Facts 🤪 · Two Truths & One Lie 🤥 · Never Have I Ever 🙅♂️ And here are some comments the first few readers have left already: "I've bookmarked your article!" "💡I had a great “aha” moment with his analysis of “Two Truths and One Lie.” I have used this one in the past, but he made me rethink it, and I’m taking it out of my repertoire." "Great ideas! I like how you can adapt Show Yourself to the session content by changing the questions." If you like this type of content, let me know what other icebreaker activities I should fix next 👇
I feel that too many facilitators use the concepts of ‘icebreakers’ and ‘energizers’ interchangeably, when they actually serve different purposes. And the best ones need to be designed to be relevant to the topic of the workshop, otherwise they can come across as being random or gimmicky. They need to help participants feel relaxed, not put them on the spot which is why some of the ones you are proposing to fix need fixing!