Blog
Facilitation
Virtual Facilitation: What works well online?
What works well online is not simply a matter of taking what works well offline and hoping for the best.
It’s not a bad idea for starters, as many principles are directly transferable. But you also need to be aware of what is possible and what’s not in each medium. As the context changes, so do the interactions..
How to build the skills and confidence of your learners
Whether you are teaching online or off, there’s a crucial difference between building skills and pointing out people’s deficiencies..
Facilitation: 10 tips on how to make the space safer
During a recent webinar on facilitation trends, I asked a group of practitioners for their tips on making space safer. Here are our top ten..
Your problem with group brainstorming isn’t creativity…
How many of us have been part of a bad brainstorm?
But what if it’s not about the group but about how ‘bursty’ it is? And how can improvisation create burstiness? Creativity comes in bursts. Well, that’s according to the Adam Grant podcast ‘WorkLife’, in which he visited Trevor Noah and ‘The Daily Show’…
Facilitation trends for the 2020s
Demand for facilitation is rising. There’s clear value in a range of applications, from meetings, through to group sessions and entire conferences.
As leaders in organisations grow aware of this, it creates opportunities for facilitators to aid more constructive conversations and reach better (and often faster) outcomes..
Three tips to increase beautiful layering in meetings, workshops and conferences
Layering is the idea of having more than one thing going on at one time in a meeting, workshop or conference. For example, displaying posters on the wall is an example of a layer beyond people simply talking to each other. Each extra layer added to a meeting, workshop or conference also provides an opportunity for the layers to be combined in new activities.
Transports of Delight
My colleague was inspired to invent a new introductory game for our London improvisation group session the other night. She saw a new electric scooter hire service and fancied giving it a try. So, at the beginning of the workshop, she asked everyone to describe to a partner how they had got to the session that evening and what way they would have liked to have arrived.
What if communication goes right?
A fellow facilitator described how he had worked with a high-performing team and tested the team with an activity with which some of you may be familiar.
It’s called ‘Telephone’ and it involves each player in the team passing a mimed
Changing the innovation agenda
When developing an agenda for a government-backed think-tank event on innovation, in climate risk insurance practices, we were wondering what would make for stimulating activities between facilitating heavy rounds of technical discussions.
Breaking up proceedings with a ‘two-minute chat-to-your-neighbour’ break seemed ideal, but we had to make a careful choice of topics.
Hopes and fears? Don’t invite fears into the room!
Hopes and fears? Don't invite fears into the room! A lot of training sessions, courses, even conferences begin by asking their participants to consider their hopes and fears. It's a good idea to hear what people want (their hopes), and better to have those expressed...
How many words does a picture prompt?
How many words does a picture prompt? I've seen this technique used recently a few times to stimulate participants' thinking on the topic of the day. The facilitator shows an interesting picture - on a screen - and asks the audience to express their thoughts on what...
Playing with time when facilitating a session
Playing with time when facilitating a session When facilitating a session, time is often the dimension that gets away from us and is the undoing of an otherwise wonderful event. You are facilitating a session It’s an important topic - that’s why it’s on the agenda and...
The Inspirational Facilitator *OFFLINE* Programme – for the course you can start today!
Applied Improvisation Online Course
Paul Jackson Associates Limited. A registered company in England and Wales. Company Number 09564618. VAT Number GB 213 379812. Registered Address 10 Greville House, Lower Road, Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, HA2 0HB. Postal Address 34a Clarence Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 4NG Telephone 01727 843 820 Mobile 07973 953 586
© 2009-2018 Paul Jackson Associates / The Improvisation Academy - All Rights Reserved
