Hi, I wanted to share some highlights I had yesterday. I co-facilitated a workshop called "Innovation day" with 21 persons as a full day. Even though they worked a lot and created a prioritized list of initiatives they will implement in the next 1,5 years and also created a storyboard for them with the steps they will follow and so on, they told me at 17:00 it is like 14:00 for them and they felt the day like a break. I was designing the day with my colleague filled up with games and mixed up with fun activities so they actually enjoy it and it feels like playing. It is fabulous feedback for me and wanted to share it here. @Rebecca Courtney in case of interest I offer to share the design and some highlights from the workshop, which may be useful for other persons as well. Below the poster created - I did the middle part before the workshop, then collected the thoughts of participants on sticky notes and after workshop, I clustered sticky notes and visualized them through drawing:)

Attention, dear members of the Facilitator Club! It's that special day of the year! Today, we gather in spirit, beneath the many portraits of Pierce Brosnan that adorn our office walls, to celebrate the birth of the man who not only spiced up our screens as James Bond, but also, allegedly, used his secret skills to master the art of facilitation right here at AJ&Smart back in 2012! We all know Pierce Brosnan as the suave, martini-drinking secret agent, but did you know that there's a rumor, whispered only in the most hallowed halls of our Berlin HQ that he was once our fearless leader, shuffling post-its and facilitating like a true pro! So, on this 16th day of May, let's toast the man who might have been behind some of our most beloved projects. Let's rejoice in the glow of this potentially unsung hero who made all of this possible. Here's to you, Pierce Brosnan!!!

As a community we should share with and celebrate each others successes and failures. So, in this thread I'm going to suggest we celebrate successes we have had, whether small or large. I'll start off. I'm celebrating the successful workshop I did with the Vietnamese subsidiary of a German company yesterday with the supervisory and management staff with a workshop I created for them "Hands-On Introduction to Creativity." I started off with my well-proven warm-up "Interview an Expert" and then went on to introduce 3 creativity exercises to help them think deeper about a particular problem, and to begin to generate ideas (5-Why's, Question Storming, Visual Stimuli). The second half of the workshop was exploring experimentation, risk, and failure with the Failure Toy. Something I learned from this is that factory workers don't appear to like expensive, high-end chocolate (I used Marou Chocolate, a high-end organic/pure Vietnamese chocolate brand for prizes).

This is nothing new... It's been mentioned before... But I've tried it and so I feel it's helpful to share with this club: Recently, I had a workshop planned but my client decided that instead of having everyone in the meeting at the same time, he decided to sparse everyone out in 30 minute increments. I didn't know what to do but I decided to continue with my original plan of running an LDJ workshop. So, I began each meeting with asking the other person what they liked about the company, what their challenges were, and then we focused in and drilled down into isolated challenges... We didn't get very far into the challenges, we weren't able to vote on the most pressing challenges, and we weren't able to generate solutions -- let alone create an action plan... But this sailboat exercise really provided a lot of insight into the company + lots of ideas. Most of all, it was a great ice breaker for acquainting myself with this company. What are some of your ice breaker hacks? Please share, as I'm on the lookout for my next one!

Recently, I gave a small presentation at a local tech meetup. After my 10-minute speech, I opened the floor for Q&A. Then, we all naturally transitioned into this one big round table discussion. But to break the silence and get everyone talking, people shouted ideas for going around the room and sharing something. So, I immediately blurted out: "Say your name, your first job, and what you learned from it." I needed to assist the first person and provide some hand-holding, but after that it caught on. After we went around the room, they wanted to do it again -- this time: "What's your current job and what are you looking for." They came up with that! Talk about iteration and innovation! It was a tremendous hit! The first person shared that he's soon concluding a BootCamp and is actively looking for an internship or job. What's your story with similar ice breakers?

I can't believe that "There is a Workshop for That" is this list and I just want to share. Why I want to share: - just because it all started with this WM community and with me bringing a mic, to record some of the workshops at the AJ&Smart retreat last year. - with suddenly the possibility for me to get an interview at this retreat with @Jonathan Courtney (yes I was like a groupie) , that I was following since 2018, listening to the podcast Jake & Jon each time I was doing my sport, they made me laugh, they made me curious (This podcast is also in the list- OMG 🤩) - and just because I JUST STARTED before I was ready !!! And this is here my message, once you make the step to start something, even if you are READY, and you stay constant (Linkedin, Workshops, Podcast, Career...whatever), you learn, you adjust, you see what works, what's not working and you adjust. While I am not the best to write articles on Substack and I admire a lot of you with that, I love to meet and chat with interesting, inspiring facilitators, Authors and corporates managers. I learn so much by doing that and I get so much connections through that. So find the thing you love to do and it will pay off. And when you struggles with doubts or Impostor Syndrome always look back every 2-3 months everything you've done or learned...THIS IS A LOT. I am super honored to be in this list with amazing other podcaster, and damn I am in a list with Jake and Jon !!! SO START and don't overthink everything. Here is the TOP 21 PODCAST https://www.butter.us/blog/21-podcast-picks-to-help-unleash-your-facilitation-superpowers

I got my first consulting check ($5k)! It was super exciting to open that envelope and see my business name on it. 🎉🥳🎉 Second payment ($20k) is due after June 1. 😳😳 Thankful for all the support I've gotten as I launch.

Hey Facilitators! We're excited to introduce a new category in our community called High Fives 🙌. This space is dedicated to celebrating all of our wins in Facilitation and workshopping! We believe that sharing our successes is an important part of building a supportive community. It not only allows us to recognize and celebrate each other's achievements, but it also inspires us to continue pushing ourselves and each other to do great work 👏 So, whether you just closed a big deal, ran a successful workshop, or helped a client achieve their goals, we want to hear about it! Don't be shy, share your wins with us in the High Fives 🙌 category, and let's cheer each other on. Remember, every win, no matter how big or small, deserves a high five!