Manal Sayid is a fascinating person, speaker, and podcast guest - as she proves in this episode of workshops.work! Her experience ranges from the suicide prevention helpline of Distress Centres Toronto, to all manner of corporate and third sector facilitation roles.

And she’s achieved it all without an obvious role model or well-trodden footsteps to follow.

We bring all of this together in this episode, discussing the vital lessons in facilitation she has learned in unexpected places and what it’s like to sit in workshops in which nobody looks like ‘you’.

The conversation is smooth, surprisingly light despite its sometimes-heavy content, and utterly enriching.

Enjoy this standout episode!

Find out about:

• Why fear is so powerful and how we can harness it to help us connect, communicate, and grow
• How inclusive facilitation creates a ripple effect
• How to hold uncomfortable conversations about diversity and inclusion
• What happens when we work with our anxieties, rather than against them
• Why we really don’t need to “do” much to help others to step into vulnerability
• How to create workshops and environments that are more inclusive

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

Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.

Connect to Manal:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter
 

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

Being a facilitator is one thing, but Stephen Berkeley is on a mission to live a facilitative life.

This idea is incredibly intriguing - can it be done? How do we walk the line between staying curious and ‘coaching’ our relationships? Is it possible to use silence as a tool in our day-to-day lives?

Stephen joins me in this episode to explore all of the above and much more. We wind our way through the edges of facilitation and find ourselves at the heart of what it means to be human, to hold space for others, and to be present in every situation we encounter.

Find out about:

• Understanding the difference between facilitating and being facilitative
• The special things that happen when you start a workshop in silence
• The three-question process Stephen follows to reflect on his workshops
• Why a ‘bad’ or ‘failed’ workshop is a matter of perspective
• How to nurture our natural curiosity so it easily extends into all facets of our lives
• Stephen’s advice to anyone who is curious about living a more facilitative life

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

A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners!

Questions and Answers

[01:16] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?

[03:51] What is the difference between being facilitative and being a facilitator?

[07:02] How can we detect our innate facilitative skill?

[11:37] What does it mean, to you, to live a facilitative life?

[13:02] How can we avoid ‘overfacilitating’ non-workshop situations and creating friction?

[18:32] Is there a possibility that having experienced such high-intensity crises, you risk underestimating crises in a workshop?

[21:47] What three questions do you answer to help you reflect on a workshop you’ve delivered?

[24:52] Have you ever come to the conclusion that a workshop failed?

[32:38] Do you use silence in other areas of your life or work?

[37:08] What happens if we apply more silence in our daily conversations?

[43:12] As facilitators, we listen and reflect all day. Does our capacity to listen outside of our work diminish as a result?

[46:07] How can we nurture our facilitative nature so that asking questions, being curious, and listening come naturally to us and don’t require us to put our ‘facilitator hat’ on?

[51:01] If someone in the audience would like to start living a more facilitative life, what would be your advice to them?

Links

Link to the book including Stephen’s chapter

Connect to Stephen:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter
 

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

There are a few questions that come up every week - no matter who the guest is, no matter what our topic of conversation is.

One of them - and possibly my favourite - is:

“What makes a workshop fail?”

We learn so much more from our failures than our successes, which makes this section of the podcast a veritable goldmine of facilitation advice and learnings.

It’s only sensible, then, to share answers of 20 of the most appreciated podcast episodes.

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

Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.

Answers to the Question

• 00:48 (026) Gustavo Razzetti
• 02:54 (027) Tenneson Woolf
• 05:38 (030) Mireille Beumer
• 06:20 (029) Bernhard Ferro 
• 06:48 (042) Dave Mastronardi
• 08:28 (002)Margreet Jacobs
• 09:33 (037)Marjolijn de Graaf
• 10:08 (058) Mary Alice Arthur
• 11:38 (072) Laura Beckingham
• 12: 38 (070)Elke Wiss
• 13:59 (059) Nisaar Jagroep
• 16:38 (054) Eugenio Moliní 
• 18:38 (063) Laure Cohen van Delft
• 20:36 (057) Coline Pannier
• 22:51 (032) Matthew Kelly 
• 24:13 (047) Tim Ferguson 
• 25:05 (010) Dirk Verburg 
•  25:13 (064) Bastian Küntzel
•  26:03 (060) Sara Huang
•  26:59 (049) SunShine Céline BenBelkacem

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

A game is just a game - silly, playful, and only useful for breaking the ice, right?

Not if you ask Sophia and Jed Lazar, who have designed a card game that helps participants share, listen, and connect in a deep way.

Cozy Juicy Real has been tried everywhere from kitchen tables to corporate board rooms and its founding partners attest to the same results - strengthened connection and communication.

So, how have they done it? What are the misconceptions about games that they’re proving wrong? And can a board game really hold space for people to share their true selves?

Listen in for the answers to these questions - and many more!

Find out about:

• Jed & Sophia’s journey into facilitation, facilitating together, and creating Cozy Juicy Real
• How a game can be designed to hold space for a group
• How Jed and Sophia have learned to incentivise deep listening
• Why asking questions is a muscle we can grow, not an innate talent
• How Jed and Sophia safeguard participants whilst creating space for deep, emotional connection

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

Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.

Questions and Answers

[01:21] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator – and do you?

[03:56] What do a protest and a workshop have in common?

[04:41] What’s the story behind Cozy Juicy Real and when did you first start facilitating together?

[07:22] What’s one of your favourite questions in the game?

[10:56] Can a game hold space for a group and what does it take?

[15:03] How do you design a structure that incentivises deep listening and communication?

[17:09] What are the mechanics behind creating cozy, juicy, and real questions and how do they come together to help people connect deeply?

[19:51] What makes a good question? Is there one question in particular that gets people to connect?

[23:18] Do you think people can learn to ask more meaningful questions by playing the game?

[24:26] Can you learn to ask questions and, if so, how?

[28:35] What’s your favourite question?

[33:25] Do you have a question that turned into a gift for you?

[36:30] What are your observations from playing the game with friends?

[40:24] How do you manage judgement when it appears in a group?

[42:00] How do you create a game that allows for people to communicate deeply without risking trauma triggers and offence?

[45:56] What’s your role as the host – and could anyone do it?

[47:39] How do you handle check-ins and check-outs? Do you have favourite exercises for each?

[49:10] What makes a workshop fail?

[53:33] Is there anything that you’d like to share with the audience that we haven’t covered yet?

Connect to Jed & Sophia:

Jed on LinkedIn

Sophia on LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

A nickname like “The Box Guy” belies Jimbo Clark’s effervescence and brilliance. In fact, Jimbo has spent many years trying to help us open the boxes we put ourselves in (or put over ourselves).

And this mindset shift sits at the heart of our conversation in this episode - understanding the boxes we operate in and under, exploring what it means to step outside of them, and seeing what changes when facilitators adopt an unboxing mindset.

Jimbo is an exemplary facilitator and a wonderful podcast guest, bringing light and charm in abundance to accompany his razor-sharp expertise.

Find out about:

• Why we need to look at, in, and around our own ‘box’ before we ask anyone to look at theirs
• The importance of taking what’s on the inside and displaying it on the outside
• How to help a group visualise their own box and physically create it – so they can escape it
• The many reasons why facilitators need to have an ongoing relationship with self-awareness and self-development
• Why we can’t lose sight of the client’s purpose in a workshop – and how that can present difficulties
• What facilitators have in common with midwives

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

A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners!

Links

Jimbo’s Business: box.innogreat.com 

Connect to Jimbo:

On LinkedIn
 

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

From reframing problems to taking tips from MacGyver, Thomas Lahnthaler is full of great advice for anyone who has to manage a crisis.

And as our conversation in this episode revealed, facilitators are never far from a crisis – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Thomas’ second time on the podcast brought just as much value as his first (episode 39), as we dive into the depths of crisis management, resourcefulness, reframing, creative activities, and why it’s so important to keep things person-centred rather than problem-centred.

Enjoy this exploration of facilitation and crisis management, you might be surprised by how much is relevant to you and your work!

Find out about:

• What we fatally misunderstand about the order of importance in our crisis management
• Why crises are, before anything else, a human issue
• How to bring a group back from the brink of crisis
• Why resourcefulness is the superpower of the crisis manager
• Why knowing what the opposite of a crisis feels like will help us prevent future crises
• How we can use playful, creative activities to talk about difficult or personal issues

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

Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.

Links

Thomas’ company (Crisis Compass) blog

Thomas’ Medium

Connect to Thomas:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter 

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈 

Sonja Hanau is the person 99% of working professionals have prayed for at one point or another.

For Sonja is a Meeting Designer. In fact, Sonja is one of the best Meeting Designers you’ll ever meet.

And she’s the guest on this week’s episode, bringing her startling wisdom and clarity to our conversation in a way that truly energised me.

We discuss everything from the big picture of the future of work and how meetings work in it, to the minutiae of how she creates training sessions to empower companies to improve their meetings at scale.

Find out about:

• Three key rules for creating better meetings
• Why companies have bad meetings and what they can do to change it
• What goes into Sonja’s corporate meeting design training sessions, from technical videos to experience design
• How the changing world of work and our relationships with our jobs is changing how we meet
• Why it’s essential to have both an online and offline facilitator in hybrid meetings
• How one question at the end of your next meeting could totally change your meeting culture

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

Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.

Questions and Answers

[01:08] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?

[02:58] What’s the story behind your role of Meeting Designer in a corporate setting?

[06:24] Why do corporates have such bad meetings – and are there any quick fixes for them?

[10:12] What does it take for managers and team leaders to embrace a new way of doing meetings?

[15:00] What is something you have learned to implement after watching your son’s online classes?

[16:38] How do you balance giving people the space to honour their feelings whilst also not wanting to disturb the flow of the wider group?

[19:30] You’ve delivered training sessions to teach teams the art of designing, hosting, and facilitating better meetings at scale. How was this? What did you learn?

[23:40] Which parts are best done independently, and which are best done together?

[30:03] Is there a way that corporates can quantitatively measure the impact of learning to hold better meetings?

[33:27] Would you say that, as meeting quality goes up, meeting quantity/frequency goes down?

[35:09] Is the changing world of work – and our perspectives about being ‘busy’ – changing the nature of meetings?

[39:57] What makes a meeting fail?

[42:11] What are your thoughts on hybrid? Is it the future in corporate? What else might it be?

[46:37] Do you have a favourite hybrid exercise?

[49:35] Was there anything else that you wanted to bring to this conversation that we haven’t covered yet?

[52:47] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?

Links

Subscribe to her meeting inspiration (english) -  7 mistakes a meeting facilitator shouldn't do (substack.com)

Subscribe to her meeting inspiration (german) -  Meetingschmiede | Einfach gute Meetings

Connect to Sonja:

On LinkedIn

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

Support the show

👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈