workshops work

Send us a textThere are a few questions that come up every week - no matter who the guest is, no matter what our topic of conversation is.One of them - and possibly my favourite - is:“What makes a workshop fail?”We learn so much more from our failures than our successes, which makes this section of the podcast a veritable goldmine of facilitation advice and learnings.It’s only sensible, then, to share answers of 20 of the most appreciated podcast episodes.Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.Answers to the Question00:48 (026) Gustavo Razzetti02:54 (027) Tenneson Woolf05:38 (030) Mireille Beumer06:20 (029) Bernhard Ferro 06:48 (042) Dave Mastronardi08:28 (002)Margreet Jacobs09:33 (037)Marjolijn de Graaf10:08 (058) Mary Alice Arthur11:38 (072) Laura Beckingham12: 38 (070)Elke Wiss13:59 (059) Nisaar Jagroep16:38 (054) Eugenio Moliní 18:38 (063) Laure Cohen van Delft20:36 (057) Coline Pannier22:51 (032) Matthew Kelly 24:13 (047) Tim Ferguson 25:05 (010) Dirk Verburg  25:13 (064) Bastian Küntzel 26:03 (060) Sara Huang 26:59 (049) SunShine Céline BenBelkacemSupport the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textA game is just a game - silly, playful, and only useful for breaking the ice, right?Not if you ask Sophia and Jed Lazar, who have designed a card game that helps participants share, listen, and connect in a deep way.Cozy Juicy Real has been tried everywhere from kitchen tables to corporate board rooms and its founding partners attest to the same results - strengthened connection and communication.So, how have they done it? What are the misconceptions about games that they’re proving wrong? And can a board game really hold space for people to share their true selves?Listen in for the answers to these questions - and many more! Find out about:Jed & Sophia’s journey into facilitation, facilitating together, and creating Cozy Juicy RealHow a game can be designed to hold space for a groupHow Jed and Sophia have learned to incentivise deep listeningWhy asking questions is a muscle we can grow, not an innate talentHow Jed and Sophia safeguard participants whilst creating space for deep, emotional connectionDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.Questions and Answers[01:21] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator – and do you?[03:56] What do a protest and a workshop have in common?[04:41] What’s the story behind Cozy Juicy Real and when did you first start facilitating together?[07:22] What’s one of your favourite questions in the game?[10:56] Can a game hold space for a group and what does it take?[15:03] How do you design a structure that incentivises deep listening and communication?[17:09] What are the mechanics behind creating cozy, juicy, and real questions and how do they come together to help people connect deeply?[19:51] What makes a good question? Is there one question in particular that gets people to connect?[23:18] Do you think people can learn to ask more meaningful questions by playing the game?[24:26] Can you learn to ask questions and, if so, how?[28:35] What’s your favourite question?[33:25] Do you have a question that turned into a gift for you?[36:30] What are your observations from playing the game with friends?[40:24] How do you manage judgement when it appears in a group?[42:00] How do you create a game that allows for people to communicate deeply without risking trauma triggers and offence?[45:56] What’s your role as the host – and could anyone do it?[47:39] How do you handle check-ins and check-outs? Do you have favourite exercises for each?[49:10] What makes a workshop fail?[53:33] Is there anything that you’d like to share with the audience that we haven’t covered yet?Connect to Jed & Sophia:Jed on LinkedInSophia on LinkedIn Support the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textA nickname like “The Box Guy” belies Jimbo Clark’s effervescence and brilliance. In fact, Jimbo has spent many years trying to help us open the boxes we put ourselves in (or put over ourselves).And this mindset shift sits at the heart of our conversation in this episode - understanding the boxes we operate in and under, exploring what it means to step outside of them, and seeing what changes when facilitators adopt an unboxing mindset.Jimbo is an exemplary facilitator and a wonderful podcast guest, bringing light and charm in abundance to accompany his razor-sharp expertise.Find out about:Why we need to look at, in, and around our own ‘box’ before we ask anyone to look at theirsThe importance of taking what’s on the inside and displaying it on the outsideHow to help a group visualise their own box and physically create it – so they can escape itThe many reasons why facilitators need to have an ongoing relationship with self-awareness and self-developmentWhy we can’t lose sight of the client’s purpose in a workshop – and how that can present difficultiesWhat facilitators have in common with midwives Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.  A huge thank you must go to SessionLab, the sponsor of Workshops Work. Claim your free two months of SessionLab Pro now – this deal is exclusive to Workshops Work listeners!LinksJimbo’s Business: box.innogreat.com Connect to Jimbo:On LinkedIn Support the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textFrom reframing problems to taking tips from MacGyver, Thomas Lahnthaler is full of great advice for anyone who has to manage a crisis.And as our conversation in this episode revealed, facilitators are never far from a crisis – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.Thomas’ second time on the podcast brought just as much value as his first (episode 39), as we dive into the depths of crisis management, resourcefulness, reframing, creative activities, and why it’s so important to keep things person-centred rather than problem-centred.Enjoy this exploration of facilitation and crisis management, you might be surprised by how much is relevant to you and your work!Find out about:What we fatally misunderstand about the order of importance in our crisis managementWhy crises are, before anything else, a human issueHow to bring a group back from the brink of crisisWhy resourcefulness is the superpower of the crisis managerWhy knowing what the opposite of a crisis feels like will help us prevent future crisesHow we can use playful, creative activities to talk about difficult or personal issues Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork. LinksThomas’ company (Crisis Compass) blogThomas’ MediumConnect to Thomas:On LinkedInOn Twitter Support the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textSonja Hanau is the person 99% of working professionals have prayed for at one point or another.For Sonja is a Meeting Designer. In fact, Sonja is one of the best Meeting Designers you’ll ever meet.And she’s the guest on this week’s episode, bringing her startling wisdom and clarity to our conversation in a way that truly energised me.We discuss everything from the big picture of the future of work and how meetings work in it, to the minutiae of how she creates training sessions to empower companies to improve their meetings at scale. Find out about:Three key rules for creating better meetingsWhy companies have bad meetings and what they can do to change itWhat goes into Sonja’s corporate meeting design training sessions, from technical videos to experience designHow the changing world of work and our relationships with our jobs is changing how we meetWhy it’s essential to have both an online and offline facilitator in hybrid meetingsHow one question at the end of your next meeting could totally change your meeting cultureDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.Questions and Answers[01:08] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[02:58] What’s the story behind your role of Meeting Designer in a corporate setting?[06:24] Why do corporates have such bad meetings – and are there any quick fixes for them?[10:12] What does it take for managers and team leaders to embrace a new way of doing meetings?[15:00] What is something you have learned to implement after watching your son’s online classes?[16:38] How do you balance giving people the space to honour their feelings whilst also not wanting to disturb the flow of the wider group?[19:30] You’ve delivered training sessions to teach teams the art of designing, hosting, and facilitating better meetings at scale. How was this? What did you learn?[23:40] Which parts are best done independently, and which are best done together?[30:03] Is there a way that corporates can quantitatively measure the impact of learning to hold better meetings?[33:27] Would you say that, as meeting quality goes up, meeting quantity/frequency goes down?[35:09] Is the changing world of work – and our perspectives about being ‘busy’ – changing the nature of meetings?[39:57] What makes a meeting fail?[42:11] What are your thoughts on hybrid? Is it the future in corporate? What else might it be?[46:37] Do you have a favourite hybrid exercise?[49:35] Was there anything else that you wanted to bring to this conversation that we haven’t covered yet?[52:47] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?LinksSubscribe to her meeting inspiration (english) -  7 mistakes a meeting facilitator shouldn't do (substack.com)Subscribe to her meeting inspiration (german) -  Meetingschmiede | Einfach gute Meetings Connect to Sonja:On Support the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textFriday 19 November, 2021 marked the second NeverDoneBefore Festival.In keeping with the spirit of the day, I elected to do something unique and, admittedly, daunting: a live podcast recording with anyone and everyone who wished to participate. No agenda, no plans, no idea what we’d discuss. Eight wonderful conversations with eight wonderful facilitators from across the globe followed. Now we’ve brought those conversations together, turning them into micro-interviews and dividing them across three short episodes, to paint a picture of the NDB 2021 experience.Listen along to hear how these facilitators reflected their learnings against their own practice, assumptions, and plans for the future. It’s a NeverDoneBefore moment - captured in time, preserved in podcast form!In this part, hear from:How facilitation is a dance between order and chaos, with Patrick TiongsonWhy we need to learn to think in the long-term again, with Saar Ben-AttarHow to intentionally design a workshop for slow thinking, with Jeremy AkersDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Exclusive offer from Facilitator Cards for workshops.work listeners you can get 15% off your entire purchase at shop.facilitator.cards by using code workshopswork.Support the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textUsing “yes-and”, following the flow, and focusing on the process as much as the outcomes… Is this improv or facilitation?The two share a lot in common! When we combine them, we can create amazing, immersive workshops.And that’s exactly what I discuss with Shannon Hughes in this week’s episode. Shannon dedicates her work to generating ‘aliveness’ – helping leaders come alive and bringing confidence, connection, and creativity to teams.Now, she’s sharing the lessons she’s learned from bringing applied improv into corporate spaces – and how facilitators can bring a little more improv and play into workshops to amazing effect.Find out about:How beneficial it can be to remember that facilitators are guides, not teachersThe multiple skills we – as communicators, colleagues, and people – learn from improvisationHow to apply improvisation for conscious leadership (with a helpful acronym)Why absence has a bigger impact than presence – especially when it comes to leadersHow we can become better listeners and help others to do the sameThe tools you might already be using in your workshops that you can apply to improvDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Questions and AnswersPart one[01:15] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator – if you do?[04:34] If you call yourself an experiential facilitator, what is the opposite?[07:34] What brought you to imrpov and facilitation? And which came first?[14:20] What is the mindset of improv that we see in facilitation, and how do you apply improv in facilitation?[15:48] How do you bring this mindset into the room – do people pick it up or do you have to explicitly explain it?[21:02] Are there building blocks for psychological safety in improv? And what does the concept really mean in improv?[27:18] Where do you see the risk of applying improv – and especially the “yes and” principle?[31:43] Exploring – and practicing – Shannon’s favourite exercise: The Pride Rant.LinksShannon’s website: www.enlivenedstudios.com Connect to Shannon:On LinkedInOn Instagram Support the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textThe building blocks of facilitation can be considered as quite practical, tangible things: workshops, agendas, exercises, timing, and tools. Underpinning these facilitation essentials, though, are intricate psychological and behavioural phenomena.This week’s episode is the perfect testament to that truth.Karen Schmidt – the founder of the international innovation community, ‘Over the Fence’ – joins me in this episode to discuss decision-making.In many organisations, decision-making can be more of a routine than a process. Stakeholders might be left out, partners might be disenfranchised, and the best decision might not be made. Easing the friction in and reliance on management routines to improve decision-making is Karen’s fascination.There can’t be many workshops work listeners who don’t feel the same way!Find out about:Exploring the integral role of alignment in any decision-making processHow to democratise our language and create alignment and unityWhy established routines can harm decision-makingHow to identify and understand what decision-making ‘role’ we are occupyingWhy it’s healthy to flex decision-making between detail-orientation and bigger picture ideasWhy decision-making, leadership, and ownership all tie in to the idea of taking and making spaceDon’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.  Questions and Answers[01:13] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[02:20] What got you into facilitation in the first place?[04:37] What’s the story behind Over the Fence?[06:27] What can project managers learn from facilitators?[08:13] What is the mindset shift between being a project manager and a facilitator?[10:33] What do you think most people get wrong about the process of managing a project?[12:41] When you talk about breaking management routines, what do you mean?[14:55] What makes it so hard for project managers to empathise with and speak the language of their teams?[16:03] An example of catching unclear language and adapting a workshop accordingly.[21:58] What makes a workshop fail?[26:34] Who needs to be in the small group that makes a decision?[29:21] Why do humans find it so difficult to make decisions?[31:50] The three leadership roles, as illustrated in Over the Fence’s Decisions Hats card set.[37:19] Exploring the Decision Canvas.[44:17] Is there an organisational equivalent of ‘subsidiarity’?[45:59] Announcing the free of charge card games – and the conditions for using them![48:15] Is there anything else you wanted to share that we haven’t discussed yet?LinksOver the Fence’s Creative Commons toolsOver the Fence’s BooksDecision Hats introductory video Over the Fence’s ManifestoConnect to Karen:On LinkedIn  Support the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textUrban planning is the discipline of creating shared, public spaces. It could easily be mistaken for large-scale facilitation by design!Peter Munthe-Kaas can speak confidently for both disciplines, as a seasoned urban planner turned facilitator. He has such a unique perspective on what it means to create a beautiful, shared space and the missteps we can take in designing collaborative, communal experiences. I am so grateful that he was willing to share this perspective with me and the workshops work audience.In our conversation, we explored the friction between safety and vulnerability, trust and openness, and design and environment. In an episode that was full of opposites and challenges, Peter navigated the discussion with balance, curiosity, and insight. Find out about:Why Peter has gradually come to depend more on depth and space, than tools and processesHow ‘naming’ our current state gives us permission to be present, rather than looking aheadThe parallels between urban planning and facilitation – two disciplines that are about people, before anything elseWhat it means to practice ‘invitation’ in a workshop and how we can lead the group by exampleWhy stepping back from a group in flow is an act of true facilitationHow Peter harnesses curiosity to bring his groups together Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Questions and Answers[01:02] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[01:57] What key skills have crystallised for you over the last 20 years?[03:20] What do you mean when you talk about tools and environments?[05:25] Can you share a little about your previous life in urban planning – and how it impacts your work now?[08:41] What can you do to break the atmosphere in a room and replace it with an inviting or experiential one?[10:40] Are there differences between urban spaces and the room in which a workshop is held?[15:53] Is it enough to just create a beautiful space, or do we need to commit to improving the conditions within that space?[19:31] How do you translate your expertise in urban planning into the facilitation work you do today?[23:06] Is there a risk in showing too much vulnerability – can it break trust in your authority?[25:57] How can we move past the illusion of agreement?[30:06] What can ‘naming the current state’ bring up in a group?[32:17] How do you know if/when to go deeper with a group?[36:35] Can you ask a positive, free-flowing group to consider what friction or discomfort sits in the environment?[41:18] What makes a workshop fail?[48:09] Do you have a favourite exercise or process?[58:39] Is there anything you wanted to bring to this conversation that we haven’t yet discussed?[01:01:44] How could the community support you with your mission?LinksPeter’s websiteExperimental CitiesRelational SpacesConnect to Peter:On LinkedInSupport the show✨✨✨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/

Send us a textCircles are everywhere: in nature, our biology, our art. There’s something sacred and special about them. So what happens when we introduce them to our facilitation practice?This week, I dive into ‘circle’ facilitation with Jonathan Hefter, the Head of Experience Design, Facilitation, & Training at Circl.es.We start by setting a mutual understanding of great facilitation; before diving into the complexities of holding judgements, learning to listen and centre others, and the physical and metaphysical power of gathering in circles; before coming full circle to the tools and tricks great facilitators can use to explore circle workshops.We cover a lot of deep and challenging topics, but Jonathan has a way with words that makes the entire conversation feel easy and accessible. It’s no wonder he’s finding so much success with Circl.es!Find out about:Defining facilitation and what best practice looks like in circle workshops What it means to measure and balance energy and flow in a workshopHow to help participants own their experiences rather than framing their best-guesses as informed adviceWhy circles – as a physical arrangement and a facilitation practice – can be so effective at unlocking deep connection and conversationThe impact technology can have on our conversations without us realising What the difference is between vulnerability and openness Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Questions and Answers[Part 1][01:14] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?[02:11] What’s the difference between a facilitator, a moderator, a consultant, and a guide?[06:29] What are the key skills that make a good facilitator?[08:29] How do you distinguish “energy” and “flow”?[16:45] How can we work on ourselves to avoid judging the group for, say, a lack of creativity?[21:45] Why people struggle to take the risk of making conversations not about themselves.[26:08] How can we address and reframe unwarranted advice-giving?[30:20] What was it about your first wilderness experience that changed you as a listener?[33:17] Learning to step out of thinking there are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ things to share.LinksVideo Platform Circl.es Support the show✨✨✨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/