In this episode, I talk to Rein Sevenstern, a facilitator, coach and managing partner of Experiential Learning, a consulting firm that designs and facilitates experiences for people to leave their comfort zone in a safe environment, to unleash learning. 

Since Rein has lived and worked in many different countries, such as India, Malaysia, US, Belgium and the Netherlands, we talk about the impact of cultural differences on workshop preparation and facilitation. 

The core of our conversation is the question of how we can create experiences in various workshop contexts and how we can take participants out of their comfort zone while protecting the safe space. We also speak about ego and about trust and what it takes to transform groups of colleagues into teams. 

Don’t miss the part when Rein guides us through the beautiful workshop experience “The valuable object” that gave me goose bombs from just listening. 

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Questions and Answers

[1:31] If you were a hashtag, what would it be?

[3:58] What have you learned from the cultural differences while living and working aboard?

[5:32] Would you adjust your facilitation style to the different cultures where you conduct workshops?

[9:25] What would be your warm-up exercises depending on cultural differences? 

[13:47] What is “experiential learning”?

[18:40] What makes the difference between a group of colleagues and a team?

[21:40] How important is it for the team building that each person discloses their own agenda?

[25:16] Do you build a ritual around the exchange of the “valuable object”?

[31:23] How do you bridge the gap between taking participants out of their comfort zone while still creating the safe space in which they can connect?

[41:58] In our briefing you shared about a leadership program of yours where you bring team members to a developing country to collaborate with NGOs. Can you tell us more about that? 

[49:58] How do you assure the sustainability of the experience once managers come back to daily work? 

[52:57] What makes workshops fail? 

[54:30] What shall the listener remember from the show? 

Related links you may want to check out:

• Rein’s business page: https://experientiallearning.biz/
• The “trust equation” by David Maister 
• Our sponsor Session Lab (affiliate link) 

Connect to Rein on:

 LinkedIn 

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Support the show

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Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:
https://workshops.work/podcast

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