Send Leanne a message This episode comes with a warning: If you’re not interested in being inspired, then don’t tune in! This week, we have a special guest on the show, who I met during my 20 week consulting gig last year. I was lucky enough to be placed in a team with him, and I say that because when you talk to him it feels like you’re sitting in the front row of a TED talk - meaning, you instantly feel inspired during conversations with him. Daniel Kerr from Exceptional Self Coaching is a a physiotherapist turned high performance coach and he’ll share that transition story with you on this show. Early in this interview, you’ll hear a watershed moment for Dan that steered him towards the work that he does know. And I’d love you to reflect on that word, too. If you do want to reflect on where you’re at, your mindset, your habits, and committing to growth this year, you’ll love this show. About our Guest: Daniel Kerr Daniel Kerr is High Performance Certified Coach trained by Brendon Burchard , Certified Mental Performance Mastery Coach, Certified Wellness Coach and a Physiotherapist. In this episode you will learn: What it takes to show up as your best self Having an action plan as a way to make the shift in 2021 Reflecting and planning your next goal Finding your authenticity and niche to make yourself better and grow Fear of not being good enough makes you start making excuses Make your audience visualize the message you’re sending across What Dan values when he prepares to run a workshop Resources mentioned in this episode: Reach out and connect with Dan Kerr on LinkedIn Follow Dan Kerr on Instagram Tweet & say hi to Leanne to let her know you’ve listened to this episode Continue the conversation when the show is over: Join a community of over 1200 facilitators arounEvery day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageWhat’s the role of a facilitator? I think we’re there to stimulate CHANGE. So what better time to talk about making changes than at the start of a new year? As world leading body language Mark Bowden (also previous guest of 2 x First Time Facilitator episodes) says, “As facilitators, we are the leading signal in the room. People look to us to decide how they should act, think, and feel.” I think then, that if we want our participants to change, we need to be great at making positive changes in our own lives, too. In this episode, I’m looking in the mirror and sharing tools and ideas on how we can create change for ourselves. I’ve latched onto a phrase called: Constructive Delusion. I think we can use this as a force for good, to propel our ambitions, think big, and inspire our participants to do the same. I reflect on my 2020kms running challenge (which I completed on 30 Dec, yass) as fuel for this episode, and also share plans on my 2021 writing challenge. I love harnessing the power of groups for my own habit change! Click here for show notes Complete the FTF Listener Survey (January 2021 only) Join our free community on Facebook called The Flipchart  Support Leanne’s daily idea generation and buy her a coffee! Connect with Leanne Hughes on LinkedIn Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageGuess what? You can become that amazing storytelling you secretly want to be! In this First Time Facilitator re-run of Episode 8, internationally bestselling author Matthew Dicks shares why storytelling so important, and how telling stories is not simply sharing a series of events; it’s the manipulation of emotions. It’s a skill that can be taught and he shares some of the techniques he uses to engage his audience, whether they're 10 year old kids, or politicians. So many cool things happened after this podcast was released on 8 April, 2020: I met Kate Norris and Thomas Krafft from Presentation Boss (we basically caught up and just spoke about how great Matthew was!) They started their own podcast, Presentation Boss, and then a live storytelling event in Brisbane called Life Out Loud (based on Matthew’s event in the US called Speak Up Storytelling). Earlier this year, I shared a story during the virtual Life Out Loud event and guess who was the surprise guest story-sharer… you guessed it, Matthew Dicks! Stop binging shows on Netflix and start binging Matthew Dicks’ stories on YouTube. They’re brilliant, and always stir an emotional response - ranging between laughter, or goose-bumps. In this episode you’ll learn: What a story is (and what it isn’t) The details you should leave in your story and more importantly; the details you can leave out How you can become more memorable by sharing things that are vulnerable, amusing or embarrassing The power of assuming that no one wants to listen to anything you have to say How you can start collecting your own stories by reflecting on everyday moments (Homework for Life!) About today’s guest: Matthew Dicks Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, and the upcoming Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide. His new novel, “The Other Mother” is set for release in January 2021. You can join the live book launch by signing up here. When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 5-time GrandSLAM champion. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others.Heis also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England.Matthew is the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes.  Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageI thought I’d bring you a festive episode this week! Host of the Workshops Work podcast, Dr Myriam Hadnes put a call out to previous guests on her show and invited us to facilitate a #neverdonebefore virtual workshop experience for the #neverdonebefore 24 hour, global festival. The idea I landed on for my workshop was this: What would it be like, to run a serendipitous group podcast interview, where I had no idea who would show up? I’ve never done a group interview before, and never not prepped before an interview!  This episode is only edited lightly, I wanted you to hear what it was like on the call: My participants (who were now podcast guests) had different audio levels, different internet speeds, different voices and ideas. What I loved when I re-listened to this, was hearing how much more comfortable we are in the conversation, as it continues along. My guests today are: Anna from Sweden, Stefan from Luxembourg, Shayne from Sydney (living in Amsterdam), Anna Maria from Germany (who dialled in from Romania), Grace from Hong Kong, Kaushiek from India and Lily from France! We riff on all things related to delivering a successful workshop, how to manage your energy (which leads to a deep conversation on what you put into your body), challenging workshop experiences and dream mentors. It was awesome having such a diverse guest list on today’s episode. Click here for show notes Join The Flipchart facilitator community on Facebook Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageI’m taking inspiration from Oprah’s Favourite Things to bring you the Ultimate Facilitator Holiday Wish list! You may want to share this episode with a loved one, if they want some last minute stocking-filler ideas, or x-factor gift ideas to ramp up your facilitation game. Many of the suggestions here focus on the virtual facilitation world and span across tech tools, tech upgrades, workshop design tools, and more! I’d like to thank members of our free Facebook group, The Flipchart, for sharing their facilitation wish list items, too! Click here for show notes  Join our free group on Facebook called The Flipchart Subscribe to The Flipchart newsletter Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageWow, Episode 150. How did we get here? In this solo episode, I wanted to reflect on the last 50 weeks (and 50 episodes) and what I’ve learnt both from podcast episodes, from business and also from, well, LIFE in 2020. Hasn’t this year been a great teacher for us all?! I weave between random topics, all linked through some lessons learnt on the show, and how that’s played out in my life and the way that I show up to workshop experiences and clients. What’s been your biggest facilitation lesson in 2020? Click here for show notes Join our free community on Flipchart called The Flipchart Sign up for The Flipchart fortnightly newsletter! Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageThis week, we're talking about the value of tactile objects in your workshop and how they can help unlock great ideas, real conversations and so much more (oh and yes, this can  work virtually, too).  I’m talking about Lego® Serious Play®. Today's guest, Michael Fearne is all about sharing the Lego® Serious Play® love with the world, and he’s even written a book about it - a book that makes it more accessible for all of us to start digging into the world of LSP. Michael helps clients to break out of the “business as usual” dynamic and be more innovative using the awesome power of Lego® Serious Play®. That’s right Lego + Work = A More Innovative Business. As the founder of Pivotal Play, Michael uses his experience as a professional facilitator and expertise with LEGO Serious Play to help teams to think more creatively, communicate more effectively and deliver more innovative results. He also empowers people to use this technique themselves by coaching and guiding them, giving them the tools and the benefit of his experience so they can get the most out of their meetings. In this conversation, Michael shares how all of us can use lego effectively during our workshops and awesome ideas on how to do so.  He describes how using something tactical can really help boost the use of metaphor, and story-sharing, and the value of having a solid routine to start each workshop. His book, The LSP Method is also out right now! I love the practicality of the book, and how Michael even shares how you should setup the room, how to open up using the six bricks activity, so good. Curious? Listen in! Click here for show notes Join The Flipchart, a free community on Facebook Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageCan you use space to create contrast, even in a virtual call? Today’s guest proves that you can! We have an absolute world-leader in the field of nonverbal communication joining us on the show, Michael Grinder. Michael Grinder has over 40 years of experience training thousands of groups. Known as the pioneer of nonverbal communication, Michael helps executives and educators assess people more accurately, connect with others more deeply, and build their charisma. During this conversation, I picked up so many incredibly nuanced things you can do to boost the clarity of my communication in both virtual and face-to-face workshop environments. The beauty of this conversation is how Michael talks about the large and the small, the micro and the macro, the philosophy around what you do, and then the micro: what type of chair you need, in order to do that. We also delve into using space, and how to segment space within our environments: Yes! You can actually use space and non-verbals effectively, even over a Zoom call!   There are so many incredible techniques shared in this one. I’d love to thank my co-hosts: Maree Burgess, Leanne Elliot and Mark Howarth for joining in and asking questions, contributing, keeping the conversation flowing beautifully. Click here for show notes Watch the video interview Learn more about The House of Communication Join the Flipchart community on Facebook Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a message My experience with 80% of the university lectures I attended? BORING.   This week, I’m talking to someone who has a similar mission as me, but her audience is the higher ed sector!   Dr Barbi Honeycutt is my guest and she works with professors, instructors, faculty development professionals, instructional designers, graduate students, postdocs, and entrepreneurs who want to design engaging learning experiences.   It's challenging to come up with new, creative ways to engage your students. Every day, when you arrive (or log in) to your classroom, you are responsible for creating a space for students to learn from you and from each other.   Barbi provides the structure, strategies, and support you need to engage students and improve learning. When you are successful, your students will be successful. And, that's why she focus’ her energy on supporting you!   In this conversation, Barbi shares her experience with teaching others how to create engaging lectures and learning experiences, how she created a virtual summit which drew hundreds of people - we dive into great detail on this one, as well as how she built her facilitation business and gained exposure through one blog article!   Click here for show notes. Join our free Facebook group: The Flipchart! Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show

Send Leanne a messageI spend TOO many time designing workshops, making sure every activity, every piece of content is fit for purpose! Wouldn't it be great if planning a workshop was as easy as shuffling some cards around? Today's guest thought so, too! Meg Bolger is a facilitator working to create a more beautiful and just world. She's the co-developer of Facilitator Cards, a deck of 60 processing tools for facilitators.  Meg is also the co-author of Unlocking the Magic of Facilitation and the co-creator of The Safe Zone Project, a free online resource for creating powerful, effective LGBTQ+ awareness and training workshops.  In this conversation, we talk about how Meg found her feet in facilitation, how she became clever at structuring her facilitation activities and process, and how she can pretty much, create a workshop from thin air, using a cool tactical tool - her deck of Facilitator Cards. We also explore the role of facilitator and how we can often wear many hats.  View the show notes for Episode 146 Join our free Facebook group for facilitator called The Flipchart Every day in 2025, Leanne is podcasting on her new show, Leanne on Demand.Tune in over here!(Otherwise, enjoy the back catalogue of First Time Facilitator episodes).Support the show