First Time Facilitator

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In this First Time Facilitator podcast episode, facilitator, entrepreneur and inventor Cherelle Witney shares how a diverse career spanning legal, health and tourism has helped her confidently deliver workshops to thousands of participants. In this episode you’ll learn: How to create a safe environment (hint: It’s all about being yourself) Why you only have three […]

The post The three minute rule of group facilitation with Cherelle Witney (Episode 9) appeared first on First Time Facilitator.

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In this First Time Facilitator podcast episode, facilitator, entrepreneur and inventor Cherelle Witney shares how a diverse career spanning legal, health and tourism has helped her confidently deliver workshops to thousands of participants.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How to create a safe environment (hint: It’s all about being yourself)

Why you only have three minutes to create a trusting space with your group

Why it’s important to set ground rules for the workshop

Why you need a Mary Poppins bag full of stuff

The #1 nightmare of all facilitators (and how to manage it)

About our guest

Cherelle Witney is the Founder of LIFT Performance Solutions, Leadership trainer and coach.

She believes that being curious to learn and willing to welcome shared learning keeps us positively energised & connected throughout our work and our life.  Her aim is to be a facilitator that inspires her participants with diverse real experience & insights that makes learning practical and fun!

On the Belbin profile she’s a Specialist, Plant, Shaper which means she likes detail, to be up to date with facts, theories and practices. loves ideas, innovative thinking and “what if….” questions.

Over the last 18+ years, her career has included work as a senior manager & leader, internal trainer/facilitator and professional coach in a variety of private and public organisations with 7 years in public health and 6 years in law.

Her facilitation work uses a variety of tools from brainstorming to framing to open space and journey maps to assist strategic planning processes, creation of organisational learning & development plans, effective process improvement pathways and change engagement strategies in organisations of 12 to 1200 people.

Resources

Cherelle’s company Lift Performance Solutions

* Belbin profiles

Tricky Treats

Books:

The Other “F” Word: How Smart Leaders, Teams, and Entrepreneurs Put Failure to Work

Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams: How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

The Zen Of Groups

Ordinary Meetings DON’T Interest Me!: What is Facilitation? (Creative Group Leadership Book 1)

Transcript

Read the full

In this First Time Facilitator podcast episode, facilitator, entrepreneur and inventor Cherelle Witney shares how a diverse career spanning legal, health and tourism has helped her confidently deliver workshops to thousands of participants.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How to create a safe environment (hint: It’s all about being yourself)

Why you only have three minutes to create a trusting space with your group

Why it’s important to set ground rules for the workshop

Why you need a Mary Poppins bag full of stuff

The #1 nightmare of all facilitators (and how to manage it)

About our guest

Cherelle Witney is the Founder of LIFT Performance Solutions, Leadership trainer and coach.

She believes that being curious to learn and willing to welcome shared learning keeps us positively energised & connected throughout our work and our life.  Her aim is to be a facilitator that inspires her participants with diverse real experience & insights that makes learning practical and fun!

On the Belbin profile she’s a Specialist, Plant, Shaper which means she likes detail, to be up to date with facts, theories and practices. loves ideas, innovative thinking and “what if….” questions.

Over the last 18+ years, her career has included work as a senior manager & leader, internal trainer/facilitator and professional coach in a variety of private and public organisations with 7 years in public health and 6 years in law.

Her facilitation work uses a variety of tools from brainstorming to framing to open space and journey maps to assist strategic planning processes, creation of organisational learning & development plans, effective process improvement pathways and change engagement strategies in organisations of 12 to 1200 people.

Resources

Cherelle’s company Lift Performance Solutions

* Belbin profiles

Tricky Treats

Books:

The Other “F” Word: How Smart Leaders, Teams, and Entrepreneurs Put Failure to Work

Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams: How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

The Zen Of Groups

Ordinary Meetings DON’T Interest Me!: What is Facilitation? (Creative Group Leadership Book 1)

Transcript

Read the full

Send Leanne a message

In this First Time Facilitator episode, 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 techniques he uses to engage his audience, whether they’re […]

The post Storytelling works! (Because no one’s ever asked to see a Powerpoint presentation twice) (Episode 8) appeared first on First Time Facilitator.

Your name can feature on Leanne's Wall of Work Fame.

Just pre-order her book by 30 Sep 2026; and follow the details to claim your star.

Also, there are a ton of bulk order incentives as well!

Support the show

In this First Time Facilitator episode, 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 techniques he uses to engage his audience, whether they’re 10 year old kids, or politicians.

In this episode you’ll learn:

What a story is (and what it isn’t)

The details you should leave in your story and more importantly; the details you can leave out

How you can become more memorable by sharing things that are vulnerable, amusing or embarrassing

That it’s important to assume that no one wants to listen to anything you have to say

How to start collecting your own stories by reflecting on everyday moments

About our guest

Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, and the upcoming Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide.

When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand.

Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 5-time GrandSLAM champion. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others.  Heis also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England.  Matthew is the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes. 

Resources

Matthew Dicks

* Grab his new book! Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling

*

Video: Life lessons learned while pole vaulting told by Matthew Dicks

* Video: Homework for Life by Matthew Dicks

Transcript

Read the full First Time Facilitator transcript with Matthew Dicks.

Thoughts on the episode? Share your comments below!

In this First Time Facilitator episode, 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 techniques he uses to engage his audience, whether they’re 10 year old kids, or politicians.

In this episode you’ll learn:

What a story is (and what it isn’t)

The details you should leave in your story and more importantly; the details you can leave out

How you can become more memorable by sharing things that are vulnerable, amusing or embarrassing

That it’s important to assume that no one wants to listen to anything you have to say

How to start collecting your own stories by reflecting on everyday moments

About our guest

Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, and the upcoming Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide.

When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand.

Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 5-time GrandSLAM champion. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others.  Heis also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England.  Matthew is the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes. 

Resources

Matthew Dicks

* Grab his new book! Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling

*

Video: Life lessons learned while pole vaulting told by Matthew Dicks

* Video: Homework for Life by Matthew Dicks

Transcript

Read the full First Time Facilitator transcript with Matthew Dicks.

Thoughts on the episode? Share your comments below!

Send Leanne a message

In this First Time Facilitator episode, Sue Johnston from the Artemis Group shares practical facilitation advice from an introvert’s perspective. She talks about how she ‘accidentally’ wound up as a facilitator after working on strategies to make weekly teleconferences more effective.  Sue also emphasises the importance of preparation, and why it’s critical to revisit and […]

The post Preparation: It’s the security blanket for facilitators with Sue Johnston (Episode 7) appeared first on First Time Facilitator.

Your name can feature on Leanne's Wall of Work Fame.

Just pre-order her book by 30 Sep 2026; and follow the details to claim your star.

Also, there are a ton of bulk order incentives as well!

Support the show

In this First Time Facilitator episode, Sue Johnston from the Artemis Group shares practical facilitation advice from an introvert’s perspective. She talks about how she ‘accidentally’ wound up as a facilitator after working on strategies to make weekly teleconferences more effective.  Sue also emphasises the importance of preparation, and why it’s critical to revisit and communicate the purpose of a workshop.

In this episode you’ll learn

An introvert’s perspective on how it takes courage to step up in the room

Why it’s important to ‘call out’ behaviour in the moment and reinforce the purpose of your workshop

Why preparation is critical and how it works as a security blanket, particularly for first time facilitators.

Why you need to bring your authentic self to your facilitation

How to incorporate SCARF, a neuro-leaderhsip tool to engage your participants.

About our guest

Sue Johnston founded Artemis Group in 2000 as a vehicle for her professional services work with clients and entrepreneurial adventures.  She’s a registered nurse, public sector advisor, health sector strategist, manager, entrepreneur, and now an advisor, facilitator and leadership coach.

Her clients include public sector organisations, private sector businesses, non-government organisations, and individual leaders and entrepreneurs.  She’s a certified Daring Way Facilitator Candidate, a Results Based Coach with The Neuro Leadership Institute and a member of the International Coach Federation.

Resources

Artemis Group 

The two page template Sue uses for every client brief

The SCARF self assessment 

Link up with Sue on LinkedIn 

* Sue’s book recommendation: The secrets of facilitation by Michael Wilkinson

Transcript

Click here to view the full First Time Facilitator transcript with Sue Johnston.

In this First Time Facilitator episode, Sue Johnston from the Artemis Group shares practical facilitation advice from an introvert’s perspective. She talks about how she ‘accidentally’ wound up as a facilitator after working on strategies to make weekly teleconferences more effective.  Sue also emphasises the importance of preparation, and why it’s critical to revisit and communicate the purpose of a workshop.

In this episode you’ll learn

An introvert’s perspective on how it takes courage to step up in the room

Why it’s important to ‘call out’ behaviour in the moment and reinforce the purpose of your workshop

Why preparation is critical and how it works as a security blanket, particularly for first time facilitators.

Why you need to bring your authentic self to your facilitation

How to incorporate SCARF, a neuro-leaderhsip tool to engage your participants.

About our guest

Sue Johnston founded Artemis Group in 2000 as a vehicle for her professional services work with clients and entrepreneurial adventures.  She’s a registered nurse, public sector advisor, health sector strategist, manager, entrepreneur, and now an advisor, facilitator and leadership coach.

Her clients include public sector organisations, private sector businesses, non-government organisations, and individual leaders and entrepreneurs.  She’s a certified Daring Way Facilitator Candidate, a Results Based Coach with The Neuro Leadership Institute and a member of the International Coach Federation.

Resources

Artemis Group 

The two page template Sue uses for every client brief

The SCARF self assessment 

Link up with Sue on LinkedIn 

* Sue’s book recommendation: The secrets of facilitation by Michael Wilkinson

Transcript

Click here to view the full First Time Facilitator transcript with Sue Johnston.

Send Leanne a message

In this First Time Facilitator episode, we hear from consultant, Rachel Grace, on how she facilitates and leads mindfulness workshops; and coaches people to adapt to the rapid change of modern day work-life and society. Rachel believe the world needs more mindful leaders and they need them right now. The skill of mindfulness isn’t only […]

The post We need more mindful leaders (and we need them right now) with Rachel Grace (Episode 6) appeared first on First Time Facilitator.

Your name can feature on Leanne's Wall of Work Fame.

Just pre-order her book by 30 Sep 2026; and follow the details to claim your star.

Also, there are a ton of bulk order incentives as well!

Support the show