egardless of how many years you have been facilitating or leading groups, getting nervous is normal. In fact, it is helpful. Being a little nervous keeps us sharp and focused, has us check our assumptions, and ensures we don’t take too much for granted. However, there is such a thing as being too nervous – where our ability to perform well is hindered.
A good magician putting on a show and has the audience in awe as they perform their magic. Viewers delight in how it makes them feel and wonder at the mystery of how it all came to be. In reality, magic is the result of a well-planned and executed set of steps and techniques. It is a skillful combination of art and science, without which, there is no magic.
A great joy for me is knowing I will have access to a large blank wall in a training room during a multi-day training or gathering. What emerges from that blank wall is always surprising and often magical. With an intentional design in-hand, I walk a group back and forth from their tables to that space to add thoughts, move around ideas, build connections, and show interconnections and relationships with what is there. This common place to deconstruct and construct, play and illustrate, ques
An intentionally designed and facilitated learning experience – grounded in dialogue education principles, naturally – can be a thought-provoking and engaging opportunity. Until it isn’t, because sometimes too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing. As an educator once shared with me, “At a certain point, the sponge is full and students aren’t able to be present to learn.” The sponge is full, and when that happens, the learner struggles to focus on the content.
Most of us have a book or two full of energizers. I have many! They are full of page after page of short activities that are meant to be fun and funny. Sadly, in my experience they often make me feel silly and uncomfortable. Worse yet, they sometimes seem disrespectful. I’m left feeling, “Why are we doing this? When will the learning start.”
As a 30-year experiential education practitioner (think challenge course, ropes course, group initiatives, etc.), I have had numerous opportunities to dig into my experiential toolbox and select an activity to match my group’s energy or need. I say activity intentionally, as these tools are not learning tasks per se, but interjections into the group flow to enhance the learning experience.
These opportunities have taught me to be thoughtful and purposeful in my selection, as the right tool serves to either ease tension and anxiety, get the group ready to learn, or provide a brain-break away from the learning. The wrong tool – used in the wrong situation or at the wrong time – can negatively impact a group’s safety and ability to be present for the learning.
‘Take 15 minutes to walk with a partner outside to discuss this question…’ Those words can be music to learners’ ears when we have been sitting a lot or been in a multi-day event.
So, why don’t we see this technique used much? Why do we feel we need to stay in the training space and can only use other spaces during breaks and down time? Why do we keep people in their seats so much where we know they are getting tired and distracted?
If you’ve ever wondered, “can I apply my design or facilitation skills to my spouse’s graduation party?” Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering will help you confidently say, YES!
Transformative gatherings can happen anywhere – this book is not just about dinner parties. Whether learning is the primary goal or not, The Art of Gathering shares bold strategies for making any get-together – from a routine meeting to a funeral – into a space for meaningful connection.
Take a moment to think about a time when you attended a workshop and entered a room full of unfamiliar faces. What feelings did you experience? Anticipation, fear, maybe excitement. Rogers and Hammerstein’s famous song lyrics come to mind “Getting to know you, getting to feel free and easy. When I am with you, getting to know what to say.”
Have you ever been asked to breathe at the beginning of a meeting or at a moment when you feel stressed or anxious? You have thought, “I AM breathing!” While breathing is automatic function of the body, mindful breathing is an amazing tool to help calm your nervous system and/or to center or ground yourself in stressful or excited moments. People have been using
It’s taken time – you see I’m an extrovert – but I have learned to appreciate silence. Whether a learning event, meeting, working session, workshop or check in, I value time when no one is talking. I know it can feel uncomfortable for some and sometimes the seconds can feel like hours to others, but I have learned that this is time well spent.
Years ago, I was on a Board of Directors for a local charity. Another board member always brought her knitting to our meetings and when someone asked why she did this, she simply responded, “It helps me concentrate.” After 30 years of meetings, trainings, and other convenings — in the role of facilitator, teacher, participant, member, Chair, Secretary, leader, professor, or facilitator