This workshop was an opportunity offered by the Leadership and Design team to explore the habits, mindsets and skill-sets of transformative facilitators through hands-on practice. The experience was immersive and powerful and the most memorable part of it was actually going to a nearby independent school and facilitating a meeting, applying the tools and techniques we had gained during the training. There were 3 parts to the focus of skills:

Planning + Preparing: Learning tools and frameworks used to create expert experience design.

Facilitating Best Practices: Learning and practicing a variety of different frameworks to build capacity, create conversations and make connections through meetings. Working with People: Practicing and learning about skills and tools to help you pivot, flex and be responsive to participants.

One of the biggest takeaways is that the role of the facilitator is to help, rather than solve. This mindset allows a facilitator to guide and ask questions rather than tell and expect certain outcomes. I also enjoyed the opportunities we had to put in place what we were learning. I learned that with a very short amount of prep time, you can create a meaningful meeting segment given the proper tools, techniques, and a clear goal and sense of purpose. Lastly, I learned a lot about visual thinking and ways to use pictures and icons to support and capture the content of a shared time with others. The components of a meeting that address both the task and maintenance needs of the group can be made visual with some of the graphic notetaking and idea storming we did. I have many resources from this workshop that I am happy to pass along and feel free to reach out if you'd like to learn more about facilitation or what I learned.

PS. We did some Improv as part of the training and there are great resources on this website for you to use with students or adults.