First Time Facilitator

Send Leanne a message This week we’re focusing on two of my favourite things, that I mention on this podcast over and over again (aren’t you lucky!):  Unpredictability and Contrast.  My guest today, Johnny Quinn from Audience Alive, epitomises both. This is a masterclass episode in how to do things differently in your workshops.  I’m not saying that lightly either, literally, there are at least 10...

Send Leanne a message My guest today threw a crazy stat at me in this conversation: 99% of employees want feedback, however 75% of managers don’t like giving feedback . I feel like if you could talk about some of the challenges that are faced in organisations today, you could relate it back to this one statistic. Toady we’re talking about feedback and I’m joined by Beth Wonson from NCDsolution.com...

Send Leanne a message Today, you’ll hear from a guest with tremendous presence (and a matching tremendous voice!). We all know stories are important, but what’s the best way of eliciting those stories from our workshop participants?  My guest today is David Pullan, co-founder of The Story Spotters. In this conversation, David shares pragmatic details on questions and x-factor activities we can use...

Send Leanne a message Ooh - how’s this for a first time? It’s the first time we’ve had an  L&D detective  on the show and he’s here to answer the #1 question that plays on all of our (and our clients’ minds):  “How can we measure the results, and the ROI of our workshops?”   Known in the global learning and development (L&D) community as “the L&D detective,” Kevin M. Yates answers the...

Send Leanne a message Your workshops are amazing: So amazing that you’ve been asked to share your expertise in a keynote presentation! How do you convert your interactive group content, to something that can be delivered from the stage in front of hundreds of people? That’s the topic I explore today, where I share actionable tips on how I prepare for a keynote speech. Spoiler alert: The first thin...

Send Leanne a message Energy is the most important thing when it comes to your workshops, and I discovered this nice and early when I geeked out on an energetic conversation with today’s guest, Dana James-Edwards. This is a #bestof episode - I spoke to Dana back in 2018, when she called herself “Dana the Trainer”. Through a series of pivots and discovering her passion, she is now known as “Diversi...

Send Leanne a message Wouldn't it be cool if you could say to your client: "We'll practise those skills at Sir Elton John's Oscars party!". Today's guest has done that :)  Here's one of my #bestof episodes! I'm in deep work mode, working up a new program and busy attempting to pick my own brain.  My guest today is Steve Sims and he runs the coolest workshops...

Send Leanne a message You’ll often hear how facilitation is used in the context of workshops and meetings on this podcast. However, today’s guest, demonstrates how it’s an incredibly handy skill for life in general, to. In fact, she used the tool of facilitation alone to build an entire Learning and Development department at the company she worked at. She’s a tremendous example of how you can defi...

Send Leanne a message Here’s the scenario: You’re working with some new clients, and they haven’t used Zoom before. You pull together some slides, videos and helpful pointers and send them these beforehand. During the session, you dedicate the first few minutes to sharing features, and getting them to feel comfortable using Zoom. You’re happy with what you’ve created but then, BAM, Zoom delivers a...

Send Leanne a message “It’s mandatory” - I hear those words, and I involuntarily shudder. Is that what we want our participants feeling before they arrive to our workshops? No! We really can’t control whether someone decides to come along to our workshop, or not, however we can absolutely do our best to influence whether someone wants to come along, and how they feel about joining our session. In...

Send Leanne a message When did I realise I loved talking about group dynamics? When I was 16, at a netball camp, we did a team-building high ropes course together. Btw - I hate high ropes, but I loved the debriefing part afterwards! The reason I share this, is because this week’s guest Phil Brown works for an adventure company called High 5 Adventure, and he joined the High 5 team as a lead traine...

Send Leanne a message Things that are easier said than done: “Just be yourself!” Why is this so hard? Here are a couple of reasons: It’s sometimes hard to see the label when we’re inside the bottle and this creates so We’re scared to share who we really are with the world, in case we get rejected... My guest this week, Leslie Ehm helps people discover their uniqueness and release it into the world...

Send Leanne a message Do you rely on your colleagues to provides input and decisions to move a project forward? Do you find that you're constantly chasing people to get things done, and finding it hard to build relationships because you can't catch up with people in person? Then, this episode is for you. When we used to do things face to face, and I had to chase a colleague for informati...

Send Leanne a message Digital transformation is so hot right now! And isn’t it amazing that  my guest today suggests that our superpower of facilitation can help create this transformation in organisations?! Mike Knapp believes there is a better way for business owners and leaders to build their businesses and achieve their big goals. In this conversation, he shares how he transitioned from the IT...

Send Leanne a message Move over virtual workshops, let’s talk about virtual marathons - more specifically, online events that can span over a couple of days. It’s a different game, with longer interaction, so how do you maintain your energy, and keep your participants wanting more, too? This week’s guest is the perfect person to answer this question because she’s been running online events since 2...

Send Leanne a message In case you can’t tell, I love conversations. If my life could involve having morning coffees with interesting people, then chatting with other cool people over an afternoon champagne by the water, rinse and repeat every day x 5 days, my life would be complete. What’s interesting is that I’m really not the best (or interested?) in small talk. I don’t love going to the dog par...

Send Leanne a message This episode comes with a warning: If you’re not interested in being inspired, then don’t tune in! This week, we have a special guest on the show, who I met during my 20 week consulting gig last year. I was lucky enough to be placed in a team with him, and I say that because when you talk to him it feels like you’re sitting in the front row of a TED talk - meaning, you instan...

Send Leanne a message What’s the role of a facilitator? I think we’re there to stimulate CHANGE. So what better time to talk about making changes than at the start of a new year? As world leading body language Mark Bowden (also previous guest of 2 x First Time Facilitator episodes) says, “ As facilitators, we are the leading signal in the room. People look to us to decide how they should act, thin...

Send Leanne a message Guess what? You can become that amazing storytelling you secretly want to be! In this First Time Facilitator re-run of Episode 8, internationally bestselling author  Matthew Dicks shares why storytelling so important, and how telling stories is not simply sharing a series of events; it’s the manipulation of emotions. It’s a skill that can be taught and he shares some of the t...

Send Leanne a message I thought I’d bring you a festive episode this week! Host of the Workshops Work podcast, Dr Myriam Hadnes put a call out to previous guests on her show and invited us to facilitate a #neverdonebefore virtual workshop experience for the #neverdonebefore 24 hour, global festival. The idea I landed on for my workshop was this: What would it be like, to run a serendipitous group...

Send Leanne a message I’m taking inspiration from Oprah’s Favourite Things to bring you the Ultimate Facilitator Holiday Wish list! You may want to share this episode with a loved one, if they want some last minute stocking-filler ideas, or x-factor gift ideas to ramp up your facilitation game. Many of the suggestions here focus on the virtual facilitation world and span across tech tools, tech up...

Send Leanne a message Wow, Episode 150. How did we get here? In this solo episode, I wanted to reflect on the last 50 weeks (and 50 episodes) and what I’ve learnt both from podcast episodes, from business and also from, well, LIFE in 2020. Hasn’t this year been a great teacher for us all?! I weave between random topics, all linked through some lessons learnt on the show, and how that’s played out...

Send Leanne a message This week, we're talking about the value of tactile objects in your workshop and how they can help unlock great ideas, real conversations and so much more (oh and yes, this can  work virtually, too).  I’m talking about Lego® Serious Play®. Today's guest, Michael Fearne is all about sharing the Lego® Serious Play® love with the world, and he’s even written a book abo...

Send Leanne a message Can you use space to create contrast, even in a virtual call? Today’s guest proves that you can! We have an absolute world-leader in the field of nonverbal communication joining us on the show, Michael Grinder. Michael Grinder has over 40 years of experience training thousands of groups. Known as the pioneer of nonverbal communication, Michael helps executives and educators a...

Send Leanne a message My experience with 80% of the university lectures I attended? BORING.   This week, I’m talking to someone who has a similar mission as me, but her audience is the higher ed sector!   Dr Barbi Honeycutt is my guest and she works with professors, instructors, faculty development professionals, instructional designers, graduate students, postdocs, and entrepreneurs who want to d...