First Time Facilitator

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 important to our leaders.  It’s an essential skill for a facilitator to remain present in their training/group workshop environment, and to not think about what’s going on in the outside world; or worry about what’s ahead.  It’s about listening, staying focused and tuning in to the non-verbal ‘clues’ in the room.

In this episode you’ll learn

* The definition of mindfulness (Tip: It’s not about having a blank mind)

* Why mindfulness isn’t just hippy, fluffy stuff

* How you can start gaining the benefits from mindulness after 15 minutes

* Why businesses who want to be more agile need to start developing agile minds

* Why mindfulness and neuro-agility is a key skill set in navigating a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world

About our guest

Rachel has first class honours degree in psychology and over 10-years experience in researching, understanding and working with individuals and organisations to change human behaviour.  She’s paired her formal training and work experience in psychology and leadership coaching, with a long stint working on permaculture and commercial organic farms.

She has worked with individuals privately and with leaders in organisations from across the public, private, higher education and healthcare sectors. In amongst all of that, she has strung together serious training in meditation and now has 20-years experience on the path, a daily personal practice and the scientific literacy to know that the benefits of mindfulness is not just hippy-fluff.  It’s an evidence-based skills with an unbeatable capacity for transforming people, their work and organisational impact.

Resources

* Rachel Grace

* Article: Leadership that gets result by Daniel Goleman

Transcript

Click here to view the full First Time Facilitator transcript with Rachel Grace.

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 important to our leaders.  It’s an essential skill for a facilitator to remain present in their training/group workshop environment, and to not think about what’s going on in the outside world; or worry about what’s ahead.  It’s about listening, staying focused and tuning in to the non-verbal ‘clues’ in the room.

In this episode you’ll learn

* The definition of mindfulness (Tip: It’s not about having a blank mind)

* Why mindfulness isn’t just hippy, fluffy stuff

* How you can start gaining the benefits from mindulness after 15 minutes

* Why businesses who want to be more agile need to start developing agile minds

* Why mindfulness and neuro-agility is a key skill set in navigating a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world

About our guest

Rachel has first class honours degree in psychology and over 10-years experience in researching, understanding and working with individuals and organisations to change human behaviour.  She’s paired her formal training and work experience in psychology and leadership coaching, with a long stint working on permaculture and commercial organic farms.

She has worked with individuals privately and with leaders in organisations from across the public, private, higher education and healthcare sectors. In amongst all of that, she has strung together serious training in meditation and now has 20-years experience on the path, a daily personal practice and the scientific literacy to know that the benefits of mindfulness is not just hippy-fluff.  It’s an evidence-based skills with an unbeatable capacity for transforming people, their work and organisational impact.

Resources

* Rachel Grace

* Article: Leadership that gets result by Daniel Goleman

Transcript

Click here to view the full First Time Facilitator transcript with Rachel Grace.

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In this First Time Facilitator episode, we hear from Humor Engineer, Andrew Tarvin on how he crafts and embeds comedy into his presentations and work life. Andrew provides simple, actionable tips on how to do this; and why it’s important to brings laughter into the workplace. In this episode you’ll learn: Simple hacks you can […]

The post How to use humour to deliver x-factor presentations (and laughs) with Andrew Tarvin (Episode 5) appeared first on First Time Facilitator.

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In this First Time Facilitator episode, we hear from Humor Engineer, Andrew Tarvin on how he crafts and embeds comedy into his presentations and work life. Andrew provides simple, actionable tips on how to do this; and why it’s important to brings laughter into the workplace.

In this episode you’ll learn:

* Simple hacks you can use to add humour in your workplace

* Why using humour consistently can change behaviours (people start to perceive meetings differently and creates engagement in the long-term)

* How to start introducing humour by trying one or two things with your emails

* How Andrew developed and rehearsed his TEDx speech

* Why he suggests first time facilitators should take improv classes

About our guest

Andrew Tarvin is the world’s first Humor Engineer, teaching people how to get better results while having more fun. He has worked with thousands of people at 200+ organizations, including P&G, GE, and Microsoft. Combining his background as a project manager at Procter & Gamble with his experience as an international comedian, Andrew’s program are engaging, entertaining, and most important, effective. He is a best-selling author, has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and TEDx, and has delivered programs in 50 states, 18 countries, and 3 continents. He loves the color orange and is obsessed with chocolate.

References

* Humor That Works

* Andrew Tarvin – speaker page

* WTF with Marc Maron podcast

* Comedy Bang Bang podcast

* Andrew’s TEDx speech at Ohio University 

* Andrew’s TEDx speech at TAMU

Transcript

Click here to view the full First Time Facilitator interview transcript with Andrew Tarvin.

In this First Time Facilitator episode, we hear from Humor Engineer, Andrew Tarvin on how he crafts and embeds comedy into his presentations and work life. Andrew provides simple, actionable tips on how to do this; and why it’s important to brings laughter into the workplace.

In this episode you’ll learn:

* Simple hacks you can use to add humour in your workplace

* Why using humour consistently can change behaviours (people start to perceive meetings differently and creates engagement in the long-term)

* How to start introducing humour by trying one or two things with your emails

* How Andrew developed and rehearsed his TEDx speech

* Why he suggests first time facilitators should take improv classes

About our guest

Andrew Tarvin is the world’s first Humor Engineer, teaching people how to get better results while having more fun. He has worked with thousands of people at 200+ organizations, including P&G, GE, and Microsoft. Combining his background as a project manager at Procter & Gamble with his experience as an international comedian, Andrew’s program are engaging, entertaining, and most important, effective. He is a best-selling author, has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and TEDx, and has delivered programs in 50 states, 18 countries, and 3 continents. He loves the color orange and is obsessed with chocolate.

References

* Humor That Works

* Andrew Tarvin – speaker page

* WTF with Marc Maron podcast

* Comedy Bang Bang podcast

* Andrew’s TEDx speech at Ohio University 

* Andrew’s TEDx speech at TAMU

Transcript

Click here to view the full First Time Facilitator interview transcript with Andrew Tarvin.

Send Leanne a message

In this episode you’ll learn: How drawing for others shows participants that you value their time Why drawing on a flip-chart is more authentic and human and invites feedback, over a pre-prepared powerpoint presentation The four-step system they teach, so that anyone can walk out of their two day workshop with the skills for visual facilitation […]

The post Why drawing together can help solve complex problems (and change the world) with Marcel Van Hove (Episode 4) 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 episode you’ll learn:

How drawing for others shows participants that you value their time

Why drawing on a flip-chart is more authentic and human and invites feedback, over a pre-prepared powerpoint presentation

The four-step system they teach, so that anyone can walk out of their two day workshop with the skills for visual facilitation

About our guest

Marcel combines agile team coaching with visual thinking. Marcel believes that a group of people drawing together on a whiteboard can change the world. He loves high-performing teams and therefore coaches teams everyday. He likes to share his experience in his trainings, as a speaker at conferences and as the host of a user group. He produced several videos explaining agile practices, principles and lean thinking using visual facilitation techniques. When he is not drawing he loves to meditate and travels around the world.

References

* Visual Friends

* Bikablo Academy

* Marcel’s Linkedin Article “Why start drawing today when you can become a visual facilitator tomorrow?”

Show transcript

Leanne : I’d like to introduce you to our guest, who believes that a group of people drawing together on a whiteboard can solve complex problems and change the world. He’s on a secret mission to bring visual thinking, visual facilitation, and story-telling back to every human on earth. He’s the co-founder, visual facilitator, and agile coach at Visual Friends and he is on the line all the way from Germany. Welcome to the show, Marcel van Hove. How are you going?

Marcel Van Hove: Thank you very much. I’m going very well, thanks for having me.

Leanne : Thanks for joining us.

Marcel: What a great introduction, thanks for that.

Leanne : The introduction works really well because your mission is really unique; believing that people drawing together can change the world. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up in the world of not only facilitation but visual facilitation.

Marcel: Going back a couple of years, I worked in a– well, maybe go even one step further, I have been a geek, a software guy, my whole career. I’ve studied information, technology, and all those things. Then over time, I learned that I really prefer to work with people and to facilitate meetings.

With the agile movement, I got exposed to in 2003. I became an agile trainer very soon, Scrum master and agile coach in 2008. One day, it was one of our tuning days, which is like a get-together of the whole company in Hamburg, one of the co-founders came back from a training and– That was a training at Neuland with the Bikablo academy, which we train today in Australia.

We just looked at him, he explained Scrum to us in a stick-figure drawing. We just couldn’t believe what we were seeing because we would never expect that this normal guy could surprisingly draw like a pro. That was amazing.

Leanne : That is amazing. I guess a lot of people, maybe your colleagues as well in that room, would have seen it and been pretty stunned and surprised by how amazing this technique was. What lead you to then pursue it further and say, “I actually want to learn this and I want to teach other people?” Did you know straight away? Or did you have to go think about it, or did it come back a few years later? How did that all work?

Marcel: From the minute I saw it, I knew that this would be the thing that I want to do going forward. It was so amazing because one of the principles in agile way of working,

In this episode you’ll learn:

How drawing for others shows participants that you value their time

Why drawing on a flip-chart is more authentic and human and invites feedback, over a pre-prepared powerpoint presentation

The four-step system they teach, so that anyone can walk out of their two day workshop with the skills for visual facilitation

About our guest

Marcel combines agile team coaching with visual thinking. Marcel believes that a group of people drawing together on a whiteboard can change the world. He loves high-performing teams and therefore coaches teams everyday. He likes to share his experience in his trainings, as a speaker at conferences and as the host of a user group. He produced several videos explaining agile practices, principles and lean thinking using visual facilitation techniques. When he is not drawing he loves to meditate and travels around the world.

References

* Visual Friends

* Bikablo Academy

* Marcel’s Linkedin Article “Why start drawing today when you can become a visual facilitator tomorrow?”

Show transcript

Leanne : I’d like to introduce you to our guest, who believes that a group of people drawing together on a whiteboard can solve complex problems and change the world. He’s on a secret mission to bring visual thinking, visual facilitation, and story-telling back to every human on earth. He’s the co-founder, visual facilitator, and agile coach at Visual Friends and he is on the line all the way from Germany. Welcome to the show, Marcel van Hove. How are you going?

Marcel Van Hove: Thank you very much. I’m going very well, thanks for having me.

Leanne : Thanks for joining us.

Marcel: What a great introduction, thanks for that.

Leanne : The introduction works really well because your mission is really unique; believing that people drawing together can change the world. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up in the world of not only facilitation but visual facilitation.

Marcel: Going back a couple of years, I worked in a– well, maybe go even one step further, I have been a geek, a software guy, my whole career. I’ve studied information, technology, and all those things. Then over time, I learned that I really prefer to work with people and to facilitate meetings.

With the agile movement, I got exposed to in 2003. I became an agile trainer very soon, Scrum master and agile coach in 2008. One day, it was one of our tuning days, which is like a get-together of the whole company in Hamburg, one of the co-founders came back from a training and– That was a training at Neuland with the Bikablo academy, which we train today in Australia.

We just looked at him, he explained Scrum to us in a stick-figure drawing. We just couldn’t believe what we were seeing because we would never expect that this normal guy could surprisingly draw like a pro. That was amazing.

Leanne : That is amazing. I guess a lot of people, maybe your colleagues as well in that room, would have seen it and been pretty stunned and surprised by how amazing this technique was. What lead you to then pursue it further and say, “I actually want to learn this and I want to teach other people?” Did you know straight away? Or did you have to go think about it, or did it come back a few years later? How did that all work?

Marcel: From the minute I saw it, I knew that this would be the thing that I want to do going forward. It was so amazing because one of the principles in agile way of working,

Send Leanne a message

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL FIND OUT ABOUT: How she used to throw up before speaking in public and how she overcame that fear How she manages the participants (and her own) energy levels over a five-day workshop. Why it’s important to shut the world off (and your phone) when you’re in a learning environment Why […]

The post Conquering your fear of public speaking with expert trainer and facilitator, Nikki McMurray (Episode 3) 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 EPISODE YOU’LL FIND OUT ABOUT:

* How she used to throw up before speaking in public and how she overcame that fear

* How she manages the participants (and her own) energy levels over a five-day workshop.

* Why it’s important to shut the world off (and your phone) when you’re in a learning environment

* Why you need a sense of humour when working on the road

* Her strategies for ensuring introverts are heard in a group workshop

* Her simple hack that ensures participants grasp the instructions of a group activity

* The two things she would do differently if she had to start her business again

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Nikki McMurray has over 25 years experience in the adult education industry.  Her roles ranged from managing registered training organizations, managing the training function within organizations and facilitating.

Her facilitation style is respectful to the adult learner’s past experience and qualifications with a hands-on, highly interactive approach with a focus of connecting theory with practice.

Clients comment that programs and personal coaching conducted by Nikki are high quality, very practical and personally challenging.

She has a diverse background that includes consulting in a training and on the job coaching capacity to Mining open cut and underground (coal and hard rock), Rail, Water, Gas, Manufacturing, State and Federal Government industries as well as many others.

REFERENCE

* Corporate Learning Partners

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Leanne: I’d like to introduce you to our guest today. She has over 25 years experience in the adult education industry. And as a facilitator, she’s terrific at really honing in, and evaluating the dynamics of a group. She ensures that all of her sessions are hands on, and interactive with the focus on connecting theory with practice. Her background expands consulting, training, and coaching for industries for a company called ‘Corporate Learning Partners’. And she’s worked in open cut and underground mining, rail, water, gas, manufacturing, and government. Welcome to the podcast, Nikki McMurray.

Nikki: Thanks Leanne

Leanne: Nikki, 25 years is a long time to be working in education and learning in development. Have you ever had a career outside of that industry?

Nikki: Yes, in the very early days, I was in IT and then I went into Marketing. And I happened to get a job in the world of corporate adult education, fell in love with it, and haven’t left it since.

Leanne: So do you think some of the IT, and marketing skills helped you where you are today?

Nikki: I think absolutely, absolutely. And you know even though you’re in the industry of adult education, you’re actually in everyone else’s industry. It’s not just adult education in its purest form like a university. You’re in and out of different industries, and that’s what makes it interesting and exciting.

Leanne: How did you actually get into the world of facilitation and education?

Nikki: I took on a job as a coordinator of P&O and it was in their training and education area.  I really enjoyed the vibe, and the excitement, and the enthusiasm, and the fact that when you partake in skills or knowledge there’s a certain amount of excitement for the participants, and sometimes even nervousness.

From there, I went to uni at night, and then studied adult education. And I was actually not a facilitator for a very long time. I stayed in Administration, and I worked my way up to being a site manager for a computer training firm that concentrated only on corporate. And about 12 years ago, I walked away from corporate, and started my own business. And that was the first time I ever facilitated full time.