When we are flooded with information and advice, we risk a kind of cognitive overload. AI hallucination goes beyond errors of fact; human thinking is of wholly different quality. When facilitating, more and more I want to sense the next move at my fingertips, it’s an embodied practice of giving moment-by-moment attention.

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This is part of the space we’ll be exploring on a workshop in Cambridge in September. Details here: https://creativefacilitation.com/cfcam26/

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If we think meetings are mostly about sharing ideas and information, we may be missing something simpler than creates an important sense of belonging. A game I learnt from the world of improv theatres brings this to life in a primal and often hilarious way.

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I found myself thinking about the play I studied as a teenager - and what it tells us about managing an uncertain world of performances we can’t trust.

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Managing anxiety is a familiar challenge for facilitators. Being able to meet the unexpected with calm is usually pretty helpful.

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I make short videos outdoors, and I always feel a flicker of performance anxiety just before I start — which is apt, because performance is exactly what I want to talk about. Facilitation is a performance, and I think we don’t pay enough attention to how we show up, beyond our favourite processes and techniques. I’m running a two-day workshop in Cambridge this September exploring just that. Get in touch if you’d like to join me.

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I’m hosting a two-day workshop this September. Last year about 13 people attended and I’m expecting a similar number this year.

We’ll spend two lively days exploring how to be a more responsive, engaging facilitator and how to find more satisfaction doing it. Although you will likely pick up some new techniques, the focus will be on your performance as a facilitator.

My own training in gestalt psychotherapy and improv theatre have shaped my practice. I believe it allows me to be more responsive to groups and to help them take more interesting risks and make more creative connections.

If you’re interested in attending, I’d be delighted to chat over Zoom or Teams. More details at the website: creativefacilitation.com/cfcam26 .

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I shot this in a single eight-minute take, which is in the spirit of an experience of Ralf Wetzel’s workshop, Leading from the Clown. Clown training is probably the deepest and most challenging work I’ve done. Enjoy.

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Meeting a friend in the pouring rain, I ended going with him to pub instead. An observation of how his eyes closed when thinking connected to a conversation about inside-out expression and the importance of expressing ourselves from within, rather than being swept along by external stimuli. The conversation left me operating in a slower, more internally-driven way—a mellow creativity that feels deeply satisfying and stands in contrast to AI's slippery shortcuts.

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I recently thanked an optician’s receptionist for making me feel welcome, and her tearful reaction made me realize how rarely she must be noticed. This stayed with me. Despite technology’s promises of personalization, we’re drowning in sales messages and surveys, leaving many of us feeling unseen.

In my team coaching work, I’ve noticed how presentation content can overwhelm personal connection—like pushing a giant ball of data that hides us. Simple gestures matter: waving before showing slides, using hand gestures, saying people’s names, ensuring everyone speaks. The real craft of facilitation lies in these small acts of personal noticing.

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