The key to a good facilitation is to let the group discover the lesson that is appropriate. As the facilitator, do not manipulate or guide the discussion with leading questions to get the group to discover what YOU feel is important. Introduction: One thing to always remember as a facilitator: the quality of your closure […]
Facilitative behaviors used during a discussion to help people get back on track: Throw-Back: Team Member: “It is not possible get through this obstacle!” Facilitator: “If it was possible, what would need to happen?” [hr] Share Observations: Facilitator: “It is very quiet. What does the silence mean?” [hr] Review Group Agreements: Facilitator: “Remember the […]
Chris Argyris (1990) describes the progressive process of making observations, gathering information, making assumptions, and deciding action as being similar to climbing up on a “ladder of inference.” This concept was later used by Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Starting at the bottom of the […]
Chris Argyris Ladder of Inference describes the progressive process of making observations, gathering information, making assumptions, and deciding action as being similar to climbing up on a “ladder of inference.” This concept was later used by Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Starting at the bottom […]
The ‘Fimage Factor’ is Fear of IMAGE. If we were to summarize in a word why people wear masks, it would be FIMAGE. People spend thousands of dollars and hours every year to cultivate their personal image. This image defines them. People begin to develop this image in early adolescence and by the time they […]
Almost every one of us has a graduate degree from/in MSU – Making Stuff Up! I typically poke fun at myself and say, “I am not sure how many of you know, but I have a Ph.D. in MSU! Did you know that? Yeah, MSU – Making Stuff Up!“ We constantly make stuff up. With […]
A fun way to keep the debrief light is to start getting people to notice how often we use the non-specific noun ‘We’, which we all do frequently when really we mean ‘I’. It is one particular way to spread around the responsibility and not take accountability for our own actions, opinions, failures and successes. […]
Facilitators use these techniques to reflect verbiage back to participants. Do not judge their words, simply be a mirror for them to judge their own words. Be careful not to ‘throw’ the responses in their face and always be polite, saying “Excuse me” if you need to interrupt. [threecol_one][/threecol_one] [threecol_one]Person Uses:[/threecol_one] [threecol_one_last]Facilitator Responds:[/threecol_one_last] [threecol_one]Universals[/threecol_one] [threecol_one]All […]
This a powerful technique to check in with people and help them make better decisions. Join or Judge is similar to Help or Hinder, but is *just* different enough to merit providing this for you and this is better used by pulling a person aside for a moment. Many people would rather sit back and […]
Created by Don Miguel Ruiz, if you commit to living these agreements, it WILL change your life. It is also a great set of agreements for a group to agree to at the beginning of the day. You can use this as part of your Full Value Contract or as a standalone set of agreements. […]
Start-Up Techniques are facilitative behaviors that create, continue or re-start a safe environment for learning. In the beginning: Get agreement on the collective focus of the group/team. By saying, “What would this group like to create today?” [hr] Inform the group that they are responsible for how well the workshop goes. By saying, “Ask yourself and give yourself […]
This is a great parable to help participants make a conscious decision to actively participate. An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, […]
The Two Wolves Legend is a great parable to help participants make a conscious decision to actively participate. An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he […]
Questions During the Debrief The debrief is the most difficult aspect for non-facilitators because it feels SCARY! Look at FIMAGE and honestly assess yourself. But in truth, the debrief is the best part of the activity and what leads to a learning opportunity versus playing a silly game. Below is some basic information about […]
There are thousands of leadership quotes. These are among our favorites. “Experiential learning takes place when a person involved in an activity looks back and evaluates it, determines what was useful or important to remember, and uses this information to perform another activity.” John Dewey “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher […]
This is quite possibly the easiest method of participant buy-in you have in your arsenal. In front of the group simply ask: “Who feels they cannot improve <insert topic, i.e. communication> 10%?” 99.9% of the time, everyone will raise their hand. (This is not saying that the same people are not trying as hard as […]
Helping or Hindering what? The answer to this question is something that you need to answer in every area of your life. Once you have determined what it is you would like to create, you can then begin to see how what you are doing is contributing to or taking away from that dream. This […]
Key learnings for participants: It is important to be aware of assumptions, and recognize one is making them, though sometimes it will be necessary to make assumptions (due to urgency of decisions, lacking complete information) Dynamic tension between speed of decisions and cost of gathering complete information (it is not practical to have all facts before making decisions; assumptions are […]
A great video to show the Ripple Effect of seemingly harmless actions. Every action we take creates a ripple effect and most of the time we are unaware of what that impact looks like. Below is a simple example of one action: Be very careful of your actions, consider them and be mindful of […]
Here is a recent request from a person on our website looking for the right tool to collect, rate and assess problems: “James, in a nutshell, we know some issues exist and we know some have not yet been identified. Essentially, if everyone came prepared to discuss their perception of what issues exist, and we […]
By James Carter In this article, James discusses team building and some activities that are outside the norm. First there are a few examples of what we provide to create meaning in team building. Secondly, there are a couple of DIY activities you can do to create meaningful team building. Finally, James provides some thoughts […]
Wild Woosey is designed to help the group work dependently with a partner and trust one another completely. In order to achieve the goal of the activity, you both must cross the deep ‘V’ while maintaining contact your partner. Seems easy! It is absolutely not.
Participants walk through a course blindfolded and lead by a partner.
This is one of the most powerful and, ironically, one of the simplest events we offer. The Trust Walk is about leading, following and communication. Many leadership styles emerge during this event. Some find it difficult to be responsible for another person’s safety and others find it exhilarating.
To trust or give up control can be very hard for some people. Whatever the experience, the Trust Walk is a powerful learning opportunity.
This event is designed to get the group interacting, having fun and is traditionally an icebreaker.
Although a great icebreaker, there are great insights that are possible in the areas of:
leadership,
trust,
communication and
changing perspectives.
Any of these can be touched upon during discussion and connected back to work.
To complete the tasks the team will need to use teamwork, cooperation and creativity.
This event is also great way to get people touching each other without feeling threatened.
Walk across a series of planks as a group without falling off.
This is a great physical activity to challenge participants. Leadership, trust and problem solving are all outcomes from this activity.
Each group member to change the board they are standing on, so that they are not standing on a board with any original board members.
This activity will highlight the need for leadership, communication and interdependence.
All group members are to stand on the platform long enough to count to 10. Begin with the largest version of the platform and move to the smallest.
This is a group activity that involves increasing trust through proximity, dealing with dwindling / limiting resources and problem solving.
Like many activities, this has typical communication and leadership challenges. Best of all, it is actually fun too and can get the group laughing with each other.
Move the entire group through the center hole in the web, the ‘Hole in Space’ as quickly as possible.
This is a fine event for demonstrating to a group that they can improve their efficiency performance by discussing previous attempts and by working together as a team. Decrease in performance time can be dramatic.
For the entire group to travel from one side of the web to the other.
Teamwork and communication is essential for overall success. Once you begin to go through the web, you ‘lose all perspective’ and must be coached and helped to get through.
