workshops work 161 - Workshops are the Conflict Playground for Real Life with Ez Bridgman
Intersectionality is a fundamental part of facilitation - and a common topic on this podcast - but, usually, we discuss it in relation to other professional disciplines.
It’s high time we looked at how facilitation can influence our personal lives, in our deepest and dearest relationships.
Ez Bridgman, creative experience designer and playful vitality proponent, joins this episode to discuss playfulness, vulnerability, and conflict. And, of course, how facilitation can be a guiding light through all those complexities in our relationships.
Find out about:
- How Ez has curated a “garden of life” and how it’s helped him and those around him
- Why play isn’t always laughing, exuberance, and high energy
- Why sticking with your plan and ignoring the energy in the room can be disastrous
- How to use conflict to strengthen your relationships, not harm them
- What it means to make an agreement and why it’s critical to prove you’ll stick to it
- How to use ‘Theoretical Speed Dating’ to prepare a group for collaboration
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Questions and Answers
Part one
[01:19]When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?
[03:53] What was your measure of success, that allowed you to feel comfortable with the label of facilitator?
[04:57] What would make a workshop fail?
[07:10] In corporate settings, does following energy, rather than a plan, feel like freedom? [10:08] How do you use play as a tool or method in facilitation?
[13:51] How do you create an environment in which people feel comfortable coming out of their shells?
[15:57] How do you encourage people in a corporate setting to open up when they fear being judged?
[22:47] How does clowning incorporate in your facilitation?
[24:16] Can you share your journey of 'interior expansion'?
[26:50] After your own journey of breaking out of your shell, do you find you have more empathy for hesitant or uncomfortable participants?
[30:01] How do you hold space to act in a facilitative way with your family? Is there a tension between facilitation and participation?
[35:09] What would be your advice to anyone who wants to try a 'family roasting', but wants to avoid it spiralling or becoming hurtful?
Links
Connect to Ez:
On LinkedIn
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You can now find the podcast on Substack, where your host Dr. Myriam Hadnes is building a club for you to find fellow listeners and peers: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/