Cognitive biases in decision-making
30 September 2014Wow. Who knew there were so many cognitive biases?. This article summarises them nicely. Cognitive biases are tendencies to think in a certain way. Raises lots of questions about working with groups, don’t you think?
What are your interests?
24 September 2014Let’s overlook the fact that the question seemed irrelevant, it nonetheless brought my flow of answers to a screaming halt. It was a simple question, but where to even begin answering it? Reading. Travelling. Nature. Nah, too generic. Kinetic type. Interpretations of culture in science-fiction movies. Astronomical photography. Nah, too obscure. Feminism, politics, mental health,…
The games we play
10 July 2014It’s no secret that I’m a fan of games, play and movement. Recently I attended a MASHLM Humanitarian Summer School in Lugana, Switzerland. It was three days exploring games for humanitarian and development work led by Pablo Saurez from the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre and Eric Gordon from the Harvard University Engagement Game Lab.…
Who me? Yes. You are your own best resource
16 May 2014Over the years I have learnt and collected lots of processes, activities, a few frameworks, ideas and games. When facilitating, I draw on these choosing what I think might be best for this group at this time to do this task. Here’s the question I get asked most often: “How do you choose?” The answer,…
It doesn’t take much
24 March 2014It doesn’t take much to do things differently. It doesn’t take much to influence others. And it doesn’t take much to break out of entrenched habits. It just takes a nudge. Forget advice. Forget complicated instructions and planning. Just nudge, yourself, or others, to try something a little different. Here’s a few for you to…
But what would you do instead?
19 February 2014That hoary (yes, I like to use archaic words sometimes, it sets the scene for the post I’m writing) old saying (and yes, I know hoary and old mean the same thing and so this is a tautology – it’s about emphasis) , “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is often used as an…
Passive or active?
10 February 2014I used to edit other people’s writing. I remember one time editing a rather long, scientific article. The author came back to me and said I hadn’t done my job. Nothing had changed. I had changed a lot, he just hadn’t noticed because I hadn’t changed the meaning, or his message in any way. I…
Looks good on paper
20 January 2014Turned over to the Australian Open tennis after watching a documentary on the expanding universe (my head hurts!) to watch some of what was touted by those who are supposed to know (commentators) as the ‘match of the tournament’ between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. The reality is quite different. It’s a bit of a…
Better meetings
9 December 2013As I write this, it’s Monday morning in my part of the world. Have a look at your diary for this week. How many meetings are scheduled? Are they all necessary? Are you looking forward to them? Will they be worthwhile? Do your meetings look somewhat like this picture? Maybe you can cancel just one…
So you want to be a facilitator? Advice for the uninitiated.
11 November 2013Occasionally, someone will ask me how I became a facilitator (by surprise, is the answer) and what they need to do to become a facilitator (do facilitation, is the answer). Sometimes they’ll press me for a little more (helpful) information. Here it is – thanks to the wonderful people on the Facilitating With Confidence LinkedIn…