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Accessibility — ensuring the spaces we create are open, welcoming, and easy for everyone to join — is a critical, but often neglected, issue in facilitation. It took the rise of online workshops to take accessibility from an afterthought to a main event.

But this increased focus on accessibility, long overdue as it was, has proven to be to everyone’s benefit. A rising tide lifts all boats and more accessible workshops help everybody feel included.

Marie Dubost has been shouting for accessibility in facilitated spaces for many years and it’s a joy to know that her voice is now being heard. In this episode, we focus on the specifics of how we can make our online workshops more accessible, whilst also touching on some broader reflections on facilitation and inclusivity.

Find out about:

• What percentage of internet users have access needs
• How much variation there is in access needs, from colour-blindness to traumas
• How to become a proactively inclusive facilitator
• Why accessibility starts long before the workshop begins
• The quick wins you can start practicing today to create greater accessibility in your workshops
• Why accessibility in workshops is more about mindfulness than deep expertise  

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

UX Facilitation Hub 

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Some of you who listen to this episode will not have been alive for 30 years, which gives Barb Pedersen the wonderful claim that she’s been facilitating since before you were born!

Not that she would boast in such a way; Barb’s approach is informed by humility, curiosity, and positivity (as you will quickly come to learn in this episode).

Those tenets have served her brilliantly in her three decades of facilitation and, you may not be surprised to hear, she has seen a lot of change in that time. This episode was our opportunity to zoom out and look at the macro changes in facilitation over the course of a working life — as well as the constants and evergreen skills.

Find out about:

• How facilitation has changed over the three decades of Barb’s practice
• The ever-increasing awareness of facilitation within organisations
• What online facilitation has changed about our work — and which parts remain the same
• How to empower groups to solve individual issues in a workshop
• Why great recording and note-taking is an art of synthesis, not verbatim writing
• Why prioritising your values and beliefs serves you better than perfecting a facilitation method

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Barb’s website

Connect to Barbara:

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If you're inspired by our podcast and crave similar conversations, consider joining Dr Myriam Hadnes' NeverDoneBefore Facilitation Community.
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If you're keen to master the art of facilitation, discover our expert-led live, online Facilitation Courses at the NDB Academy.
**
If you enjoy the show, consider a one-off donation and contribute to the ongoing costs of running the podcast.

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Some of you who listen to this episode will not have been alive for 30 years, which gives Barb Pedersen the wonderful claim that she’s been facilitating since before you were born!

Not that she would boast in such a way; Barb’s approach is informed by humility, curiosity, and positivity (as you will quickly come to learn in this episode).

Those tenets have served her brilliantly in her three decades of facilitation and, you may not be surprised to hear, she has seen a lot of change in that time. This episode was our opportunity to zoom out and look at the macro changes in facilitation over the course of a working life — as well as the constants and evergreen skills.

Find out about:

• How facilitation has changed over the three decades of Barb’s practice
• The ever-increasing awareness of facilitation within organisations
• What online facilitation has changed about our work — and which parts remain the same
• How to empower groups to solve individual issues in a workshop
• Why great recording and note-taking is an art of synthesis, not verbatim writing
• Why prioritising your values and beliefs serves you better than perfecting a facilitation method

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Barb’s website

Connect to Barbara:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter

On Instagram

Support the show

✨✨✨

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

✨✨✨

Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Some episodes of this podcast have an extremely tight focus — a specific topic, inspected under scrutiny. Some episodes are like walks through a beautiful park, stopping and admiring different beautiful moments and places.

My conversation with Francis Laleman — a trainer-of-trainers, a facilitation teacher, and an excellent facilitator in his own right — was most certainly one in the latter category. We spent an hour or so weaving our way through big questions and small curiosities. It was a joy and an opportunity for both of us to think more deeply about the fundamentals of our work.

Explore the depths of change, the art of not doing anything, and the hidden designs we create in our lives and work.

Find out about:

• Why change is the common goal that links facilitation, training, and coaching
• What Francis aims to achieve by hosting workshops with ‘provocative absence’ and invisibility
• Why the ‘you’ that facilitates a group is unique to each group
• How learning is a cooperative affair and, so, training is a matter of creating readiness for cooperation
• What ‘exformative’ learning and facilitation are
• Taking inspiration from acting and theatre
• Why our view of workshops as singular events can inhibit our effectiveness

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Visit Francis’ website.

Connect to Francis:

On LinkedIn

Support the show

✨✨✨

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

✨✨✨

Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Dance—especially improvised dance—is an arena for deep vulnerability, connection, and growth. It requires careful and considered facilitation, as you may have guessed!

Enter, Tom Goldhand! Tom helps participants understand themselves and each other through the power of dance and authentic movement. Perhaps most impressive is how Tom can apply his skills in business settings, offering unique workshops for groups and companies to move their way into new ways of thinking.

We had a lot to discuss, which might not surprise you, but we managed to fit so much into this episode. Step up to the stage and enjoy the rhythm of our conversation.

Find out about:

• What every workshop—from dance and improv to corporate clients—has in common
• Why creating a space to share knowledge is very different to teaching
• How emergent dynamics in dance workshops reflect wider truths of human connection
• What happens to individuals and groups when they improvise
• How to protect participants from a ‘vulnerability hangover’
• Why it can be beneficial to think about a ‘good enough’ outcome for your workshop
• How ‘movement with awareness’ can make dance feel more accessible

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Tom’s website

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Tom:

On LinkedIn

On Instagram

Support the Show.

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Click here to navigate through all episodes via this interactive podcast map.
**
If you're inspired by our podcast and crave similar conversations, consider joining Dr Myriam Hadnes' NeverDoneBefore Facilitation Community.
**
If you're keen to master the art of facilitation, discover our expert-led live, online Facilitation Courses at the NDB Academy.
**
If you enjoy the show, consider a one-off donation and contribute to the ongoing costs of running the podcast.

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Dance—especially improvised dance—is an arena for deep vulnerability, connection, and growth. It requires careful and considered facilitation, as you may have guessed!

Enter, Tom Goldhand! Tom helps participants understand themselves and each other through the power of dance and authentic movement. Perhaps most impressive is how Tom can apply his skills in business settings, offering unique workshops for groups and companies to move their way into new ways of thinking.

We had a lot to discuss, which might not surprise you, but we managed to fit so much into this episode. Step up to the stage and enjoy the rhythm of our conversation.

Find out about:

• What every workshop—from dance and improv to corporate clients—has in common
• Why creating a space to share knowledge is very different to teaching
• How emergent dynamics in dance workshops reflect wider truths of human connection
• What happens to individuals and groups when they improvise
• How to protect participants from a ‘vulnerability hangover’
• Why it can be beneficial to think about a ‘good enough’ outcome for your workshop
• How ‘movement with awareness’ can make dance feel more accessible

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Tom’s website

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Tom:

On LinkedIn

On Instagram

Support the show

✨✨✨

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

✨✨✨

Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Ask a group of leaders about heart connections in their organisations and you will likely be met with raised eyebrows and doubtful looks. Their loss—and Breeze Dong’s gain, as a veritable expert in heart connections in the context of organisational development.

Breeze joins me in this episode to unravel the concept of heart connections—explaining what the phrase really means, how companies benefit from encouraging heart connections, and how they’re more important than ever in an age of uncertainty. It’s a fascinating insight into deep truths that might otherwise be dismissed as ‘woowoo’ when taken by name alone.

Learn about facilitating inner, outer, and networked connections from a place of meaning in this episode.

Find out about:

• What heart connections are and how we can facilitate them in different environments
• Why heart connections, grounding, and emotionality need to be flexible in organisations
• Why rational solutions aren’t a cure-all in times of uncertainty
• Why having time and space for self-work is a precursor to forming heart connections
• How to move groups from being in their heads to being in their bodies
• What system thinking has to do with heart connections
• How to balance the needs of a system with the needs of its individual constituents

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Breeze:

On LinkedIn

Support the Show.

**
Click here to navigate through all episodes via this interactive podcast map.
**
If you're inspired by our podcast and crave similar conversations, consider joining Dr Myriam Hadnes' NeverDoneBefore Facilitation Community.
**
If you're keen to master the art of facilitation, discover our expert-led live, online Facilitation Courses at the NDB Academy.
**
If you enjoy the show, consider a one-off donation and contribute to the ongoing costs of running the podcast.

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Ask a group of leaders about heart connections in their organisations and you will likely be met with raised eyebrows and doubtful looks. Their loss—and Breeze Dong’s gain, as a veritable expert in heart connections in the context of organisational development.

Breeze joins me in this episode to unravel the concept of heart connections—explaining what the phrase really means, how companies benefit from encouraging heart connections, and how they’re more important than ever in an age of uncertainty. It’s a fascinating insight into deep truths that might otherwise be dismissed as ‘woowoo’ when taken by name alone.

Learn about facilitating inner, outer, and networked connections from a place of meaning in this episode.

Find out about:

• What heart connections are and how we can facilitate them in different environments
• Why heart connections, grounding, and emotionality need to be flexible in organisations
• Why rational solutions aren’t a cure-all in times of uncertainty
• Why having time and space for self-work is a precursor to forming heart connections
• How to move groups from being in their heads to being in their bodies
• What system thinking has to do with heart connections
• How to balance the needs of a system with the needs of its individual constituents

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Connect to Breeze:

On LinkedIn

Support the show

✨✨✨

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

✨✨✨

Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

We’ve had plenty of opportunities to practice online facilitation since 2020, but have we reached a plateau? Has complacency crept in?

John Chen has been hosting (and training others to host) engaging virtual meetings for longer than many of us have even thought about them! He’s the perfect candidate to discuss this topic.

John joins me in this episode to discuss the magic ingredients of online facilitation — and why an overemphasis on tech and tools has led to us abandoning deeper personal and interpersonal engagement.

Find out about:

• What happens in the first minute of virtual events
• Why John is wary about making tech the main focus of virtual events
• Why forced-on-camera participants are worse than off-camera participants
• Why engagement is platform-, tool-, and activity-agnostic
• How to facilitate tangential conversations — and how to know when to redirect them
• Why the chat function in online events is a sacred space of simultaneity
• Bridging the gap between well-run and transformational online events

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Links

Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.

Author of Engaging Virtual Meetings, published by Wiley and Sons

click for a FREE ticket to my Engaging Virtual Meetings Conference, every October.

Connect to John:

On LinkedIn

On Facebook

On YouTube

On Twitter

On Instagram

Support the show

✨✨✨

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

✨✨✨

Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!