Difficult Conversations
17 July 2007Yesterday I revisited Difficult Conversations in preparation for a workshop I was running – and also because at a family gathering my sisters-in-law had been talking about difficulties they were having raising issues with their bosses. There’s a lot to Difficult Conversations, even though the book itself is easy to read, the application is a…
More on ‘What is a facilitator?’
14 July 2007Hmmmm…. It must be the cold, wet and miserable weather that’s making me a mite introspective at the moment. *gazes out the window at the rain* Inspired by ‘Ideas that Stick’ and a question from an artist about ‘what is a facilitator?’ I’ve been trying to establish for myself what is the core of facilitation.…
The world needs more facilitators – AND improvisers!
13 July 2007I was checking out Dave Pollard’s prolific blog and came across this. He’s describing 12 of the most important areas of expert consensus about the next pandemic: Resilience, practice and improvisation skills are more critical than good planning in a pandemic: Redundant systems, people who have been through emergency situations or rehearsals, excellent, evidence-based decision-making…
An erasable business plan
13 July 2007Brett Hollis of Big Stick Adventures was speaking about how his business, located in Torquay, has grown over the last 18 months. Banker, turned adventurer, Hollis said his business plan is on a small whiteboard in his office. He erases it and rewrites it every three months. My sort of business plan!
“What’s a facilitator?”
13 July 2007I’ve just returned from a networking lunch where someone asked ‘What’s a facilitator?’ Someone else (not me) said “Anyone who needs a facilitator knows what a facilitator is – for everybody else, it doesn’t matter.” Hmmmmmm. What do you think? BTW – my response was ‘facilitators help groups make better decisions’ – still trying to…
Help!
12 July 2007OK – I give up! If there’s anyone out there reading this (and I know there’s ways of knowing that but I don’t know how) who’s willing to help me with how to upload videos and pictures on to my blog I’ll be eternally grateful. Really, I will. My helpful and clever web designer and…
More on facilitator language
12 July 2007I’ve just returned from New Zealand where I did some work with Anne Pattillo and her team. We revisited our paper on facilitator language and summarised the findings as follows: Language is a window on facilitator behaviour and effectiveness. Evidence suggests that polite, effective facilitators use communication skills to reduce the force of negative behaviours.…
What’s the core of facilitation?
11 July 2007I’ve been reading ‘Made to Stick’ by Chip and Dan Heath. Their premise is that ideas that last ie are sticky, are ones that are understandable, memorable and effective in changing thought or behaviour. They explore six principles that underpin ‘stickiness’: – Find the core – Get attention/surprise/unexpected then hold attention/interest – Make concrete: help…