Learning is an adventure
30 May 2015Training is on my mind at the moment. I’ve always believed in the importance of helping others learn to do what I do with facilitation, and more, rather than build a dependence. The next couple of weeks are chocker block full of creative facilitation training – one of my favourite things to be doing. So…
Creative Facilitation – New stuff. Yay!
23 April 2015How does a facilitator announce new stuff? A musician brings out a new song or album, an artist has an exhibition of their latest paintings, a writer releases a new book or poem – and a facilitator announces…”I have new stuff to share with you.” Sounds a bit lame really. Nonetheless, I DO have new…
Honor Among Thieves: A Review
23 March 2015Edges are interesting places. Unpredictable stuff happens there. Much of what many of us take for granted every day – belonging, security, understanding – can be missing, or at least fleeting. In his latest book, the second in a trilogy, J. explores these themes through the eyes and experiences of humanitarian workers and the people…
Language, please!
4 February 2015It’s not what you’re thinking. I have no problem with bad language, swearing, cussing. Fuck no. My friend Kay Scorah wrote a brilliant piece recently about all those words you probably shouldn’t be using. As they say, be warned, strong language – and now go read it. I’ll wait. Johnnie Moore found this gem too on…
Learn facilitation?
7 January 2015Facilitating is like rock balancing – you never know if you can do it until you try. Everyone’s offering training at this time of the year (let’s face it, everyone’s offering training all year round!) How do you choose? Not sure, but here’s my advice: PICK ME! PICK ME! You can read all the details…
Burlesque, red dust, sexual and mental health, fun, connection – and cocktails!
7 December 2014While I’m on about inspiring, how about this? The Channel Country Ladies Day. Also on ABC’s Landline. You can watch it here. Women who live and work in isolated communities and properties in rural Queensland come together for a girls’ weekend. There’s everything you’d expect from a girls’ weekend: pampering, cocktails, talking, eating, shopping – and…
The power in performance
7 December 2014Josh Arnold is a country music singer, songwriter and seemingly all-round good Aussie bloke. His story was featured on Landline – an ABC program that features stories of Australian agriculture, and rural life. You can watch it here. He brings music into classrooms – at all levels – helping kids connect to music, gain confidence,…
The meaning of words
3 December 2014Musing over the meaning of these words – play, playfulness, game, activity, ice-breaker and warm-up – I invited others to share their understanding. Even with a sample size of 14 responses*, there’s some interesting insights regarding word meanings and the use of language when facilitating. here’s what i discovered. Some people gave meanings for each word, others…
Where ‘YES!’ leads
18 November 2014Early mornings are not my best time. People I used to work with joked that no-one should talk to me before 10 am. Bit rough, I reckon. So you will understand that dragging myself out of bed at 5 am to attend breakfast meetings in Melbourne, was, well, a touch out of character (this included…
Birdwatching from my desk
18 November 2014Glancing just a little to my left of my computer screen, I can see, through my office window, one of the bird baths in our garden. It is an endless source of joy for me. This morning I saw four different species using the bath at the same time: Grey Fantails, Red-browed Finches, Brown Thornbills…