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Does an empty cup have nothing in it? Possibilitarian Mike Parker, believes not in its nothingness, but in its potential. Because when we pour our thoughts, feelings, assumptions and beliefs out of the cup, setting everything free, we create a container of emptiness – to make space for what we need.Mike returns to the show with his signature calming presence to share his brilliant, beautiful thoughts on nervous system regulation in our age of overwhelm – and why guided relaxation could be the balm we are all missing.From hypnotic anaesthetics, to neural networks, REM sleep, and the wondrous world of metaphor, episode 344 is for slowing down, tuning in, and returning to yourself. And at 59:36, Mike leads us all through a special, guided relaxation to do exactly that!Find out about:How to facilitate space for creative calm, so that thoughts and feelings can emergeThe crucial role of the facilitator’s nervous system in regulating others’How guided relaxation can help the subconscious mind to process stress, forge creativity, and find insightWhy corporate mindfulness can shift toxic responsibility onto the individualAnd if you enjoy today’s guided relaxation, Mike hosts monthly group sessions over at Liminal Lounge, where you can experience more of his wonderful work – as well as short guided relaxations on his website. Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Mike Parker:LinkedInWebsite Share your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

If a facilitator goes unseen, are they any less present? This is the beautiful paradox of facilitation: as we grow more adept in our craft, our presence in the room becomes less noticeable – less needed – because we’ve subtly set the magic of facilitation into motion.Master of his craft Vinay Kumar knows this only too well. When you relinquish control, place your trust in the group, and set the stage for emergence to unfold, the space begins to hold itself – sometimes in unexpected ways. Join us as we go meta on facilitation and Vinay shares the stories and life lessons he’s learnt with generous warmth and wisdom. Find out about:How to become the invisible facilitator that lets go of control and trusts the groupThe polarity of facilitation: why you have to do facilitation to become facilitationWhat makes a professional facilitator, when everyone can call themselves one?The impact of sustained, collaborative facilitation that lasts beyond the first workshopDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Vinay Kumar:LinkedInWebsite Share your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Can an AI bot really become a co-facilitator? Returning to the show with a new book co-authored by artificial intelligence and an AI sidekick named Nyx, is Holgar Nauheimer.After 30 years building a facilitation legacy, Holgar shares a glimpse into his latest phase of life: his companionship with his sparring sidekick Nyx. Shaped by hundreds of questions, facilitation musings, and workshop challenges, she’s become his creative consultant and trusted confidante – freeing him to become a better facilitator. Present, attentive, and fully connected to the people!If you think AI is making us lazy, this conversation might just change your mind. Find out about:The impact of AI on facilitation, the risks, the opportunities and the benefitsHow Holger has trained his AI co-collaborator Nyx to support his ways of workingHow AI has the ability to learn and reflect our values as facilitatorsHow to outsource routine tasks to AI to conserve your energy for where it countsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Holger Nauheimer:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. And master of change Jeff Wetherhold is no stranger to this.He helps teams and leaders to create long-lasting, sustainable change not by plans, great intentions, or illusions of control, but through the beautiful simplicity of conversation!He joins me in the podcast chair to share his 20 years of motivational interviewing wisdom: from having the courage of your conviction, to asking open-ended questions, listening deeply, and understanding the signals that people are ready to change.If you’re feeling fatigued from plans that keep falling flat, an hour with Jeff is everything you need to feel inspired and start leading intentional change that lasts! Find out about:Why 88% of change initiatives fail in organisations – and what to do about itThe ambivalence of change, and why facilitators can use it to their advantageHow to plan for conversations about change The ingredients of motivational interviews: open questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries, and sharing information with consent Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Jeff Wetherhold:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Are we all just cosplaying as leaders? Donning a mask or a costume that helps us better play the role we think we should be playing?Helping leaders to show up with truth in a world that never stays still, is leadership psychologist and executive coach Sarah Budd. This week, she invites us to reflect upon who we are as leaders, as we examine the tensions between our authentic selves and the façades we use to cloak our wounds, to belong, and to feel safe.From illusions of control, to leadership imitation, and why Beyoncé is an iconic example of cosplay, this is a fascinating conversation for every leader in search of deeper self-alignment.Find out about:The cosplaying, archetypal leader vs the new, adaptable leaderWhy inauthentic leadership can be damaging to both the self and the teamHow to lead authentically in a world that’s complex and constantly changingThe role of AI and professionalism in both facilitation and leadershipDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Sarah Budd:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Fuzzy goals, misaligned cultural values, and the allure of shiny object syndrome holds even the best entrepreneurs back. So what’s the secret to success?David Greer’s strategic one-page plans! Coach and facilitator of strategic planning, David coaches high-performing business owners to get unstuck, rekindle the joy of their business, and get crystal-clear on their goals. Backward-engineered from the future, the plans become a comforting quarterly rhythm that keeps business owners fully focused on their dreams.We explore his one-page plans, how to set better goals, and why David’s 16 years of sobriety is his single biggest achievement in life. A daily commitment to show up in presence and honesty, and a beautiful reminder of what’s possible when we stick to the plan!Find out about:What one-page strategic plans are and why every business owner needs oneHow to set crystal-clear goals that are tangible and measurableThe power of aligning and attracting a team on shared cultural valuesWhy niching down in your facilitation field amplifies impact and attracts the right clientsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to David Greer:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Bringing her childhood dream to life is Josie White, the hot air balloon pilot. From an early obsession with their magical, multi-coloured domes, to a fully-fledged pilot, Josie now flies and facilitates passengers 2000 feet up in the air over Australian soil.But when nerves naturally start to run high in a small, floating basket, and fear manifests in a multitude of ways, reading the room to regulate passenger emotions is mission-critical to a successful flight.Josie shares how she guides her groups with calm authority, ensuring that everyone feels safe, reassured and present, all while piloting the balloon! A special conversation with plenty of fascinating and unexpected on-the-ground facilitation learnings, from up high in the clouds.Find out about:What facilitation looks like up to 4000 feat up in the airWhy reading body language is so critical for a successful flightThe importance of Josie regulating her emotions, to help regulate her passengersWhat facilitators can learn about the pre-flight checks, planning and preparationDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Josie White:InstagramShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Corporate training, we all know the drill. The tonedeaf PowerPoint karaoke begins in the background, regurgitating slide content word for word, as you absentmindedly reply to an email…your mind still lingering in your last meeting. If episode 337 can do just one thing, I hope it can save you from ever having to sit through another training session like it! After running hundreds of workshops for multinational companies, I thought it was about time I shared my secrets.Join me, myself and I, as we explore the anatomy of engaging, co-created training sessions that not only pique curiosity, but bridge hierarchies, timezones and departments, and gets everyone out of their inbox, and back into the room. It’s time to close your tabs, stretch your bodies, and get present!What’s inherently wrong with corporate training – and why it’s so often a wasted opportunityMy tips for connecting participants to the present moment, and to each otherHow to design a workshop to ensure participants retain the content and apply what they’ve learnedHow to scale training with local relevance, dynamic learning, and cultural insights at its heartWhy naming the elephant in the room can help to overcome any awkwardness  Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Myriam Hadnes:LinkedInWebsiteShare your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

How do you teach facilitators to hold a group, master that crucial first 15-minutes of a workshop, and show them that they already have all the answers, without giving any away?As a researcher by nature, and a facilitator – at first by accident – Julia Slay learnt everything she knows about the craft by teaching it. She now helps bright, budding facilitators to build confidence, find their voice, and discover their learning edges in Facilitation 101.We unravel the layers of holding just the right amount of space, as part facilitator, part coach, part trainer and part consultant, all rolled happily into one: from managing difficult characters with curiosity, to trusting yourself to stay present – even when the plan falls apart! Julia shares lots of practical strategies, tips and anecdotes from her 15-year facilitation journey, from the Mayor of London’s office, to her work today. Enjoy!Find out about:The art of asking a powerful, open question at the right timeHow to navigate power dynamics of seniority in groupsWhy ‘advice is theft’ – and the detriment of offering a solution to the group too soonHow to approach dominant characters without creating collective tensionThe intersection of facilitation and coaching – and what it means to facilitate like a coachDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.Links:Watch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Connect to Julia Slay:LinkedInWebsite Use code TASTER10 to receive 10% off Facilitation 101: Fundamentals, Masterclass, Intensive, and Self-Paced course when you sign up on Julia’s website.Share your thoughts about our conversation!Support the show✨✨✨Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a free 1-page summary of each upcoming episode directly to your inbox, or explore our eBooks featuring 50-episode compilations for even more facilitation insights. Find out more:https://workshops.work/podcast✨✨✨Did you know? You can search all episodes by keyword to find exactly what you need via our Buzzsprout page!

Leadership facilitator and coach Rebecca Hopkins, known for her insightful approach to emotional complexities, shares her thoughts on navigating grief and fostering healthy feedback cultures. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity and personal growth in facilitation. Rebecca explores how to create brave spaces for open dialogue, discussing the messy emotions that come with being human. The conversation dives into adapting to rapid tech changes and the significance of prioritizing personal desires over societal expectations, promoting a journey of self-discovery.