Behaving differently

Les Posen is a presentation guru, that’s when he’s not doing his ‘real’ work as a psychologist. I was cruising his various web sites and blogs looking for references and ideas about the emotional aspect of presenting when I came across this description of treating a patient with a dog phobia:

Asked if what occurred in today’s session was what they expected or if they surprised by today’s session content (a question I often ask new patients), the patient said, “Yes!”Why? Because I thought it would be just talking… I didn’t expect so much activity and learning!”

And this is my point. Behaviours can only be changed by behaving differently. Just talking about new behaviours will get you only so far, just like reading a self-help book.

Exactly. This is the point of disruptive facilitation – providing opportunities for participants in a workshop to behave differently, with each other and in relationship to their work. To simply provide information or to reproduce the circumstances they experience at work is a lost opportunity.