Posts
Facilitator Economics: Your Top Money Questions Answered
The most common question I get from clients and facilitator colleagues is, “How much do you charge?” Most of us do not like to give a straightforward answer to this question. That is because it is a rather complicated mix of formulas, values, and needs. Our blog below is going to take the format of…
Mistrust: It Doesn’t Get Any Worse Than This – But You CAN Change It
This blog is about trust. How to build it with the groups you are leading and how to help others regain trust when all seems hopeless. Trust is a word we toss around lightly. Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Amanda Marshall all wrote songs about trust. Most of their titles were like, “Trust Me”, yet it…
Year 2000: The Most Powerful Vision of My Life
Almost 15 years ago, December 5, 2000, I had the most powerful vision of my life in the Chicago airport. I had an 8 hour layover due to snow storms. I was just coming back from Mexico having had a wonderful visit with my sister, and I had all kinds of ideas about how my…
Walking the Path of a Mindful Facilitator
I had an insight the other day. It was, “It doesn’t matter what you practice, just practice!” I have more to say on this but first let me give you the context for what I’m talking about. In this blog, I share three reflections/insights as they apply to process facilitation that came to me in my personal…
The Motherload (Ultimate) of All Interview Techniques
Last week, I co-faciltiated a large group event where I did not use any of my usual tools. We designed something that was completely different from anything I’ve done in my last 20 years. It was so much fun. I think it is a good practice every once in a while to challenge yourself to try different…
Mind Mapping Made Easy
During a recent conference session, all my fellow participants wanted to take photos of my mind mapping notes! I did not think I was doing anything unusual since I have been using this technique regularly to take notes, design sessions, and to think about a specific topic for almost two decades. With groups, I occasionally use…
Magical Experiences in Mumbai! Highlights of IAF Asia 2015
Scenes from our pre conference led by Lilian Wang, Yvonne Yam and me with 23 people from India, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and possibly Taiwan, and me from USA. Food was consistently amazing. Best vegetarian food I know of plus some amazing meat dishes. One night we restaurant hopped to the best Biriyani, best…
Raise the Bar on Meeting Participation – The Art of Visuals
No one remembers what went on in your meeting. No one knows what to do. People look blank when you ask them a question in your meeting. People repeat themselves over and over in the same meeting or from meeting to meeting. People are literally falling asleep in the meeting. These may be signs that…
Sweat the Small Stuff
Think Like an Astronaut…Oops, Like a Facilitator (Part 2) In our second video series, learn how thinking like an astronaut can help you prepare and execute a facilitation “mission”. This video provides specific, on-the-job tips. 4. Sweat the Small Stuff – Everything Counts. In contrast to the famous book, “Don’t sweat the small stuff”, our…
Think Like An Astronaut…Oops, Like a Facilitator (Part 1)
Think like an astronaut – what are we talking about? I read a cool book of that name by Chris Hadfield who was the first Canadian man to walk in space. It seems like he has a lot of great lessons for us in general as earthlings but also for us as meeting facilitators. I…
