by John Brooker | Sep 2, 2015 | Collaborate, Develop Opportunities, Facilitate meetings, Overcome Challenges
“I saw the crescent. You saw the whole of the moon.” The Waterboys. Lyrics from “The Whole of the Moon.” Here are five tips to help you bring out the full potential of a group in a workshop. Imagine the moon represents the potential of a group of people in a workshop. When you facilitate correctly, you are able to see the whole of the moon. If not, you see just a sliver. I worked in Asia for a couple of weeks and co-facilitated four groups. It gave me time to reflect on what a facilitator can do to help groups fulfill their potential and to create a Yes! And blog. The metaphor arose from listening to the “Waterboys” whilst slaving in the hotel gym after one workshop. I wondered what the metaphor in the lyrics meant and gradually my mind wandered to the potential of groups. Now that you can appreciate the randomness of my brain patterns, let me share my insights with you about how you can have groups work better together in workshops and so enhance the potential for creative thinking. Prepare and issue a brief I have said it before and… you should issue a participant brief for any workshop you run, stating at the very least, the purpose, the outcomes and the output. I always include a detailed agenda and map but that is not essential. In the workshop, you should repeat what you have said in the brief. It takes five minutes and gives people a focus and clarity. If you don’t brief you risk people: Being confused or uncertain Interrupting the...
by John Brooker | Jan 11, 2012 | Facilitate meetings, Innovate
YES! AND… Facilitate, Innovate, Transform – Creative Gorilla # 11 Here are five principles to help you design meetings with more impact… “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity” Ascribed to Dorothy Parker, Novelist Do you want your meetings to have more impact? Hi! It’s a beautiful sunny day here in London, glorious spring weather. I am just back from a two hour bike ride and I feel great. I did some exploring, ventured down some new “secret” paths that I had not noticed before, saw stunning scenery and even met a number of people who replied to my, “Good morning”. I was whipped by stinging nettles, shaken to bits on bridleways (horse tracks) and stuck in mud in a hoof hole, but I came back energised, uplifted and so raring to go, I am writing this in my cycle shorts. You know that feeling? Like when you come out of meetings? Energised, uplifted, motivated! Or maybe not. More likely you come out bored, listless and seeking caffeine to change your state. It doesn’t have to be that way. Meetings are something I have thought about a lot this week as I redesigned my “Training with More Impact” course and designed a couple of workshops for clients. The course is based on five principles, which I have adapted over the years from various aspects of accelerated learning and brain friendly (see www.kaizentraining.com) training. Whilst cycling, I reflected that meetings are about learning too, at least they should be. Therefore, it would be useful to share these principles with creative leaders like you, so...
