What are your expectations? Were they met?
3 April 2013The larger roads in northern India have lane markings. They appear to be indicative, as is the direction of traffic. Cars and motor bikes jostle with rickshaws, trucks (so many trucks!), buses, bicycles, camels, donkeys, cows and dogs. And people. Crossing a road, on foot or in any vehicle is a case of trusting the…
Let the music begin
28 February 2013I’m really keen to bring music to my workshops, and having no talent whatsoever with any form of instrument or voice, I have to rely on technology. Thank goodness for those devices, I say. With the help of social networks I’ve been collating a bunch of songs suitable for all sorts of situations that arise…
Creative Facilitation – the Book!
9 January 2013Exactly two years ago, I spent six weeks with my ankle in plaster after an operation. With nothing better to do, I wrote a book. This week, we’re releasing it into the wild. Johnnie Moore wrote significant parts that I’d forgotten, edited my clumsy words, challenged my thinking and was there throughout the whole process,…
The essence of every new day
1 January 2013It feels a bit like pressing the restart button, this first day of January. An opportunity for new beginnings. It’s both a relief, and a little sad, to say farewell to another year, and also exciting to anticipate a new year. It captures the essence of every new day – to carry forward what we…
Start before you’re ready
27 December 2012Some people like to set goals. I’m not one of them. I find goals too restricting, they don’t allow for serendipity and can blind me to opportunities that might arise while I have my sights set on achieving those goals. There’s also a thing called goal displacement, where means to the goal becomes the goal…
Phew! We’re back
21 December 2012So I came home last night from playing improv games to find the content of my blog gone! Kaput. Was it a sign of the Mayan apocalypse? I still don’t know what caused it but it was a bit disconcerting to lose all that personal history from the last six years. I use this blog…
How to get there
4 December 2012This cartoon by Michael Leunig tells you all you need to know about how to get there. I think it’s brilliant. Sometimes people ask me how I got to be doing what I’m now doing (I think they mean the work, and not sitting here at a computer writing a blog post). Sometimes I ask…
Facilitation tips for improvisers
27 September 2012One of the ongoing themes around applied improvisation is the use of language, and recognising that improvisation has its own jargon. This jargon may sometimes be unhelpful when introducing people to the principles and practices of improvisation. I’m forever grateful to friends such as Izzy Gesell, and Simo Routarinne who helped school me in the…
An unexpected moment
26 September 2012Over many months I’d planned to attend this year’s Applied Improvisation Network Conference in San Francisco. I’d booked early to get the best price, organised flights and accommodation. Yet it was something completely unplanned, surprising, spontaneous and lucky that gave me goose bumps. This reminds me to notice what’s going on around me. And to…