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How to fast track your facilitation skills
Here's an easy way to fast track your facilitation skills Remember what it was like when you were learning to drive? For me it was an often nerve-racking experience (and probably more so for the person sitting next to me!). There was the mechanics of operating the car, knowing the...

Five ways to improve your facilitation skills
Here are five easy ways to improve your facilitations skills in May. Using facilitation in your role? Want to vastly improve your facilitation skills in just three days? Here’s the chance to immerse yourself in three days of practical skill development, connecting with people who ‘get what you do’, enabling...

Four tips for planning workshop sessions
Here are my 'go to' essentials for planning workshop sessions Planning workshop sessions can be challenging. Having core elements to use, along with a tried and tested template will get you off and running. 1. Be very clear of the outcomes that need to be achieved Before the workshop, when...

Challenges in stakeholder engagement – six tips to help
Challenges in stakeholder engagement - six tips to help you in your next project Here are my Top Six tips for managing challenges in stakeholder engagement. These are largely based on a stakeholder engagement program with community members. This project focused on the redevelopment of a local park to include residential...

Connecting with workshop participants
Connecting with workshop participants - sometimes hard to do; and simple to address Connecting with workshop participants is not always easy. It requires effort and sometimes a perceived degree of discomfort. In this article I use an everyday example that you'll probably identify with... And that you can adapt in...

What is the role of a facilitator?
What is a facilitator? What is their role? These can be tough questions for the uninitiated. Try answering this at your next dinner party or barbeque! My take is 'I help teams and group to work together and make decisions that stick.' Recently I was put under the griller by...

Developing Rock Solid Public Participation Processes
Top tips on planning your public participation processes Getting the design of your public participation processes right is vitally important. In this article you’ll tap into the expertise of one of Australia’s most experienced local government practitioners, Leanne Hartill. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to interview Leanne....

The importance of client feedback
How client feedback can help protect your organisation Now that many of us are getting back into flying again, I reflected on a pre-covid experience that taught me a lot about the importance of client feedback. Flying seems to trigger odd behaviours in many of us. It can also induce...

Ideas for icebreakers in meetings or workshops
If you need ideas for icebreakers for your next meeting or workshop, you’re in the right place. This compilation of ideas for icebreakers has been put together in partnership with my long-time colleagues Will Bessen and Margo O’Byrne. Activities for new groups Quick disclosure Ask participants for either a: Description...

Facilitating meetings with colleagues – managing challenges
Facilitating meetings with colleagues should ideally be a productive and straight-forward task. When this task involves people, challenges can arise… In talking with other facilitators and clients, several are finding common challenges emerging in their workplace: There are often polarised views around the table, with people feeling a bit threatened...

Planning effective meetings
Here’s a short guide to help you in planning effective meetings in your workplace. Facilitator and author Sam Kaner believes that there are three building blocks for planning effective meetings. Topics Outcomes Processes In Kaner’s model each topic is viewed as a separate segment of a meeting. The desired outcome...

Participant introductions in workshops
If you need some help with participant introductions in workshops, here are some practical tips to get you started. We'll also cover some ideas on ground rules to maintain full participation in your workshop. Before you start participant introductions in workshops The first session of a workshop is all about...

The value of using stories in facilitating training
Many hard-core facilitators work on the mantra that you always need to have a neutral position in relation to the topic or issue that you’re working with a group on. This is certainly the case with stakeholder work, but is not necessarily the case when it comes to facilitating training....

A facilitation conference is being designed for you!
Looking for the facilitation conference in 2023? If you use facilitation in your role we have an early Christmas present just for you! And we think it’s totally fine to start unwrapping this one early… Picture a place where you can: Become 500% confident in your facilitation skills Know where...

Team Awareness
As you know, it’s vital that your team members have a strong self-awareness along with a good understanding of each other. The CLICK! colours toolkit is a simple tool that produces fantastic results for your team. Andrew is an accredited CLICK! Facilitator and has used the toolkit to work with...

How to get traction on your project or strategic plan
Being able to get traction on your project or strategic plan can be the fuel that keeps you moving I’m here with a ‘good’ interrupt, to give you some tools to review progress on any project or strategic plan that you may have been involved in over the last 12...

The future of meetings
I'm 500% looking forward to this International Association of Facilitators (IAF) Oceania workshop "Exploring the Future of Meetings" on 22 September from 5-6pm AEST. Join the moderator Allison Hornery and the dynamic panel of Vanessa Moss, Elizabeth Tasker and Viveka Weiley 🦉 as they take a fun and rapid fire...

NOT another improving teamwork article
Let’s deal with the improving teamwork blister right now At last count there’s 12 zillion, 301 blogs on improving teamwork and stuff that you can get moving with. I could include a list of links to each, but your IT peeps would be even less cheerful than usual… To get...