workshops work

Share your thoughts about our conversation!Workplace training and learning can inspire some varied responses. For some, a roll of the eyes and a sense of wasted time. For others (usually those who work with Steph Clarke), a brightening and lightening as possibilities open ahead of them.Why is it that workplace learning is so variable across organisations? Steph can point to several root causes — and we spend this episode diagnosing the faults and suggesting their fixes.From applying facilitation skills in unusual ways to bringing groups on board as co-creators, Steph opens up a world of possibilities for a future in which workplace learning is consistently valuable, relevant, and engaging.Step into that future with us and enjoy Steph generously sharing her expertise!Find out about:Why delivering a pre-defined workshop or lecture is the worst way to engage a groupWhat changes when you use real examples from participants’ work in your trainingHow to design learning experiences with a collaborative heartWhy learning a client’s language can transform your communicationWhy a rigid plan encourages participants to check outHow you can design your training with, not for, participantsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksWatch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Steph’s business, 28 Thursdays.Connect to Steph:On LinkedInSupport 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!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!Emotions are messy — they’re big, powerful, and changeable. Facts and data are much more palatable — they’re truths and we can discuss our use of them.But if an organisation is so focused on cognitive culture, they end up neglecting emotional culture. And that’s a sure path towards burnout, resentment, and employee turnover.Cognitive culture is easy to default to, so how can organisations get comfortable with the discomfort of building a more emotional culture? Jeremy Dean has plenty of ideas — and a deck of cards to help any group navigate the process.Find out about:Why we need to be brave to share our emotions at work — and why it’s worth the riskHow prioritising simplicity helps people get in touch with their emotions in unfamiliar spacesWhat happens when we label our emotions with positive and negative language How to facilitate daring conversations at workWhy we should celebrate the person who makes the first moveWhat to do when you’re facilitating a game as a beginnerWhy it’s harmful that corporate culture prioritises cognitive culture over emotionalDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksWatch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.The Emotional Culture Deck.Riders & Elephants, Jeremy’s business.Connect to Jeremy:On LinkedInOn TwitterSupport 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!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!What makes some events better than others? Is it the host, the setting, the purpose, or something else?Jacques Martiquet is The Party Scientist — he’s experimented, tested, and explored the science of gathering and connecting for 10+ years — and he’s got some fantastic answers. Jacques has committed himself to the mission of spreading the health benefits of human connection. Creating more impactful events goes hand-in-hand with this.Explore the art and science of connection and apply the best of the science to your next event. It might just transform the experience — for you and your attendees! Find out about:How Jacques has spent the last 10 years learning and experimenting with connectionWhy the worst thing that can happen to a group is an uncomfortable facilitatorHow to reclaim social pressure and use it in a positive way to help groupsHow physical movement can unlock groups and make connection feel easierWhy not all prompts and props are made equally — and how you can select the right ones for the right momentWhat to do if you want to get more comfortable with rejection and role modellingDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksWatch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Episode 131 with Jacques.How facilitators can work with Jacques.Connect to Jacques:On LinkedInSupport 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!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!Self-Determination Theory posits that human motivation is driven by three central values: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.If we take SDT and apply it as a framework to facilitation, the parallels become apparent and abundant. Ib Ravn sees the opportunities here with great clarity and, as a result, has a lot of valuable insight to share about how we might use SDT in facilitation.In the context of SDT, we also discussed how facilitation can be used in social spaces and situations — and the challenges we are likely to come up against when we do so.Recording this episode was a delight. Ib is erudite, focused, and curious and our conversation unlocked new perspectives for me about facilitation in general and how I relate to it specifically. I hope it will prove to be as useful for you.Find out about:The natural connections between Self-Determination Theory and facilitationHow autonomy, competence, and relatedness fit into the heart of facilitationWhy more of our social spaces would benefit from facilitation and why it’s so hard to doInterrogating culturally acceptable facilitation and its past, present, and future limitsHow to facilitate with cultural and cross-cultural awarenessWhy acceptance of facilitation in social spaces has yet to catch up with professional spacesDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksWatch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Ib Ravn at the Danish School of Education.Connect to Ib:On LinkedInSupport 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!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!It’s never been more important to facilitate with an awareness of power dynamics, systemic imbalances, and inequity within groups.The progress we’ve made—collectively—towards awareness and understanding of inequalities has been enormous, but the next big step is to do deliberate work to counter it. We’ve got all the awareness we could dream of and the time has come for us to act on that knowledge, rather than treat it as an end in itself.Maha Bali’s explanations and exemplifications of Intentionally Equitable Hospitality will go a long way to helping you make equity a part of your work. IEH is a deliberate approach to facilitation that prioritises structural and environmental design to create accessible, sensitive, and inclusive spaces.It was eye-opening and joyful to speak with Maha. Find out about:What Intentionally Equitable Hospitality is and how it relates to our workWhat the four phases of Intentionally Equitable Hospitality areWhy focusing on micro imbalances can shift the macroCreating socially just education, information, and community spacesHow to plan, prepare, and resource more equitable workshopsHow to use technology to bring an IEH approach to hybrid conferences and workshopsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksWatch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Reflecting Allowed, Maha’s blog about education.MyFest website.Equity Unbound.Community Building Resources.Virtually Connecting website and YouTube.Connect to Maha:On LinkedInOn TwitterSupport 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!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!It’s the talk of the internet and business circles, the culmination of many years of research and training, and an amazing step forward into the next stage of technology enabled and enhanced life.ChatGPT, I’m amazed and amused to say, is this week’s guest.I put a series of questions, taken directly and adapted from previous episodes, to the conversational AI. What emerged was sometimes fascinating and sometimes mundane, sometimes enlightening and sometimes misguided. I took every answer as it arrived, not asking follow-up questions and not editing the information it gave me.What is most interesting is to see what the collected knowledge it’s been trained on can tell us about the current state of and view on facilitation.Find out about:Differentiating the skills needed and demands of online, in-person, and hybrid facilitationWhy AI cannot replace a human facilitatorChatGPT's reply on whether facilitation is the 21st century's most crucial leadership skillHow to learn facilitation and what distinguishes a good from a great facilitatorThe facilitators' biggest challenge and how to overcome itWhat the future of facilitation looks like — and how we might include AI in itDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.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!

Viren Thakrar, founder of In The Game, specializes in using games to enhance team development and collaboration. He discusses how play can revitalize learning and foster genuine connections in the workplace. Viren explains the mechanics behind engaging games and how they can facilitate deeper team dynamics, avoiding 'forced fun.' He also emphasizes the importance of understanding individual personalities and aligning team goals for success. His approach proves that joy and purposeful fun can coexist, creating a thriving team culture.

Share your thoughts about our conversation!Does pricing make you prickle with anxiety? Imagine what it would be like to feel confident and calm about valuing your services… and now meet Jenny Millar, who can make that imagination a reality.Learn all about positioning, discounting, strategy, and communication in the context of pricing in this standout episodeJenny’s expertise in pricing will be invaluable to any facilitator or coach, as service businesses are notoriously difficult to price. And, as the founder of Untapped Pricing—a highly regarded pricing strategy consultancy—her advice is certainly of the highest value.Enjoy a free taster of her expertise in this episode!Find out about:Strategies for pricing coaching and facilitation servicesThe relationship between pricing, and positioning and how to get confident with bothJenny’s three rules for discounting and how to discount without devaluing yourselfWhat communication has to do with pricing and why it can make or break your choiceThe three facets to consider to determine what your services are ‘worth’How tiered, rather than bespoke or binary, pricing makes life easier for you and your prospectsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksWatch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Bitesize pricing tactics - a collection of 2min videos.Downloadable PDF guides - to take you through the fundamentals of pricing strategy that works for your customers and for you.Untapped’s Pricing Scorecard - our free tool to evaluate the health of your pricing in minutes. Learn how to improve it with a personalised 22-page report.Connect to Jenny:On LinkedInBook a call with JennySupport 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!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!Things—found objects, ephemera from the discarded world, are everywhere. A marble, a spoon, a coil of string. They’re forgettable and ignorable and they’re the magic ingredient that makes Jules Gilleland’s workshops work.Jules developed Things as a problem-solving tool, informed by design thinking, to help people connect the dots and capture their problems in a physical form. It’s a context-neutral learning through play, a way to tap into ourselves when we can’t rely on language, and a means of overcoming the challenges that refuse to budge.Learn all about Things, Jules’ story, and how a bit more visual thinking can make your workshops work even better. Find out about:What Jules’ Things are and why they can be so magical in workshop settingsHow the four principles of Collect, Connect, Capture and Communicate appear in Thinking with ThingsWhy participants behaving like children is not such a bad situationHow to get out of your head and improve your hosting by focusing on engaged participantsHow to turn a disparate pile of found objects into a problem-solving powerhouseWhy Jules prioritises a remarkable ending to her workshopsDon’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksWatch the video recording of this episode on YouTube.Think With Things websiteConnect to Jules:On LinkedInOn InstagramOn FacebookSupport 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!

Share your thoughts about our conversation!The latest milestone for the workshops work podcast—200 episodes! 200!To celebrate the occasion, I’ve produced a special episode. Instead of speaking to a guest, I spoke to you.And what better way to source my inspiration for episode 200 than to turn to the community that has grown and flourished around the show? I turned to my community to gather their questions—big and small, serious and silly—about the podcast, what I’ve learned, and my thoughts on facilitation at large.Michelle Howard, previous guest on the show, asked the questions on your behalf.  Find out about:My own misconceptions about facilitation that the podcast has revealed over timeWhat I would say, if I could travel back in time, to the Myriam who was about to record episode oneWhy I’m always, at least partly, pursuing constructive ignorance in my interviewsHow my focus has shifted from what my guests ‘do’ and where it rests nowWhat has changed in my professional facilitate practice since hosting the showLessons and points of interest from building the NDB communityBig thanks to Patrick Cowden, Yvonne Chin Irving,  Lily Gros, Mirjam Leunissen, Vitalij Malahov, Zoha Sharifyazdi and Dov Tsal for contributing questions! Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.LinksLearn more about NeverDoneBeforeConnect to Myriam:On LinkedInSupport 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!