I once attended a mandatory three-day teambuilding workshop as a staff member in an organization seeking to resolve a rift between staff and management. I arrived at the session with a mixture of excitement and cynicism. I was cynical because prior initiatives had been unsuccessful. Still, I was hopeful that we might actually resolve some of our issues in this session. The chosen facilitator created this workshop specifically for our group and was known for his expertise in conflict resolution.

To open the workshop, the facilitator asked each person to share what they hoped to get out of our work together. After each introductory comment, the facilitator said, “Thank you so and so” and rephrased what was offered to validate their response. When he came to me, he didn’t ask my name. When he asked me what I hoped to get out of the session, I said something to the effect that I was just open to whatever develops, to which he tersely responded, “That will just make everyone negative. Next person.”

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. It took all the control I could muster not to cry, and I vowed from that moment on that I would never volunteer another piece of information unless I was required to. I did get something out of the session in spite of the fact that this interchange essentially shut me down for the next three days. This happened over 15 years ago and to this day when I hear this facilitator’s name mentioned in connection with a workshop, regardless of how I feel about the subject material, I immediately write it off. –Kim Stewart–

So, those first 30-60 minutes of an event set the tone for the entire event. If we get people energized and involved early, we begin to condition engagement as a habit for the remainder of the event. If we insult them, the remainder of the event is clouded over. If we lecture for the first hour while our participants sit passively listening (or sleeping with their eyes open), it will be tougher to get them to open up later.

So what can we do to create spicy openings for our events. I’ve listed several ideas below. Send me yours and I’ll add them to this list and include in this article that I file into the
archives.

APPLICATION

Whatever activity you kick off with, make sure it relates in some way to the content or purpose of the workshop. This is especially critical in the business world. In other words, don’t engage in an activity just to get people talking and connecting. Get them talking and connecting about the topic of the workshop, their learning objectives, or event outcomes desired.

Pre-Meeting Preparation. Get feedback about participants backgrounds, interests, and objectives before the event to fine tune your workshop.

Self Explanatory Logistics. Include pictures in your handouts to illustrate basic housekeeping stuff so time isn’t wasted discussing mundane logistical matters. For example, pictures of phone and cigarette with a red line through it; a picture of a toilet and a map or location instructions.

Group Mingle. After a very brief kickoff I almost always do a group mingle. This accomplishes several very important things. First, it gets EVERYONE engaged early, setting the tone for full participation; it raises the energy of the group; it gets people thinking and verbalizing their reason for being there; and finally, in the debrief, gives you real time feedback from participants about where they are and what they expect from your workshop. Click on this link for an explanation of this activity. http://tinyurl.com/yjd29br

Engaging Behavior. Do something within the first ten minutes to make them laugh. It helps the ease any tension and builds instant rapport. Make sure nobody feels bore or neglected.

Personal Sharing. Have participants introduce themselves by sharing their name and an adjective that describes them that starts with the same letter as their first name. This may start slow but usually picks up to where answers get quite innovative and humorous. A variation on this is to have the adjective pertain to their learning objective or desired outcome of the event.

Peer Introductions. Have participants introduce someone else offering a very brief description that includes name, and location, then some form of information that pertains to the workshop. For example, in my virtual facilitation teleclass, I ask people to tell me one attribute of the best virtual meeting or teleclass they ever attended. This builds a list of ideal behaviors and processes that this group of virtual attendees value.

Peer Rapport. Use the first 15 minutes to get the participants building a rapport by starting a conversation with the person sitting next to them that has something to do with the course content. For example, in a leadership course, they could share one of their role models or a key aspect of leadership they want to develop.

Address Initial Commitment. Ask for a show of hands of those who have been forced, required, or otherwise coerced into attending this event by their superior. This often services to lessen the hostility and often raises a laugh.

Ask Four Powerful Questions. Ask participants to reflect on, answer, and share the following four powerful questions offered in Peter Block’s book, Flawless Consulting Skills. Answering these questions causes people to consider their commitment and ownership of the event.

On a scale of 1-7, with 7 being the highest, answer the following questions.

1. How valuable do you plan this workshop to be?
2. How participative do you plan to be?
3. How much risk do you plan to take?
4. To what extent do you plan to be invested in the learning and well being of the whole group?

ACTION

What do you do to effectively kick off your group events? Any ideas you’d like to add? Any of the above you plan to try? Add Your Comments below to share your questions, feedback, or experience on this topic.

In this week’s article, Your Presence is Your Present to Your Group we explore what I mean by being present, why it’s important to facilitators and group leaders, and some tips to practice this skill with your groups. I also developed a short seven-minute video related to this subject called, How to Stay Present as a Group Leader. View it below.

It’s easy when we’re trying to present something new, particularly in a training environment, to be overwhelmed by all there is to know and say on the subject. In fact, I’m often asked by trainers, “How do I cover all the information I have to share in the limited time I have?” In this week’s article, Dethroning the God of Content, we explore how to put engaged learning ahead of content delivery.

I’ve also included a short five minute video below that covers virtually same “content” in another way. It talks about how to manage fitting all the content you need to teach into the time you have. This short lesson looks at both practical tips and shifts in your attitude about content that will help you with this dilemma.

I wrote the Ten Steps to Facilitating Major Life Change a few years ago after making a couple very large changes in my own life. Review this to support you in your own life changes and use it as a handout for your clients who may be stuck or hesitant, but serious about making a change in either their professional or personal lives. I look forward to hearing how this works for you and your groups.

Consider your typical social conversation. Do they always go as smoothly as you’d like? Or what about those small group roundtables you’re involved in at luncheons, community gatherings, or at workshops? On these occasions, some basic group process skills come in very handy. In this week’s article, Five Ways to Facilitate Group Conversations, we review a few basic skills anyone can employ in small groups to make the conversation flow. Use them yourself and pass them on to your friends and clients who may be less familiar with these skills than you.

So what can you do to engage and empower your audience without surrendering your strengths as a presenter? Here are six tips to help you with that.

1. Connect to Yourself to Connect With Your Audience. We often feel that we need to hurry up and spill the goods to keep people interested and engaged so that they’ll feel their time is well spent. It’s easy to default to the McDonald’s version of presenting: quantity over quality and image over substance. While we all suffer from information obesity, most of us are starving for quality, depth, and connection. Slowing down and connecting with yourself is the first step to making a connection with your audience and delivering something fresh and alive.

Connecting with your body is a great tool for connecting to yourself. Your body is always in the present moment. It can’t be elsewhere. So you can use your body as a centering aid. There are several ways to do this as you move through your presentation. You can notice any tension in your neck and shoulders. When you notice these areas, you can relax them. You can gently bring awareness to your breath or feel your feet on ground. When you notice a stray thought or a sensation of any kind, let your attention go to your neck, shoulders, or to your breath. Or if you’re standing in front of a room, you can fold your hands in front of you or let your attention be with them. Again, your body has no choice but to be present. When you bring your attention to it, you are present once again.

2. View Your Audience as Participants. An accomplished public speaker came to me recently for coaching on how to be more facilitative in her workshops and presentations. During the course of our work, I asked her this question: What behaviors do you exhibit as a presenter to satisfy what you believe your participants expect?

She believed that her audience expected her to: entertain, give lots of explanation, talk fast to keep everyone’s attention, avoid long silences, maintain control of the group, focus most of her attention on how she’s coming across to her audience, and to view comments from her audience as threatening versus shedding light on their views and desires.

She had painted her audience into a corner with regard to participation. Once she came to view her listeners as her participants instead of her audience, her role shifted as well. Now she sees her participants expecting: invitations to share their inputs with the group, occasional silence as opportunities to share, her focus on them rather than on herself, and a slower more conversational speaking pace.

3. Make Experiences, Not Speeches. Though many people process information predominately through their audio channel, not everyone does. People learn, engage, and change by actually participating in some behavior that engages their multiple senses. Providing your participants with an experience that engages multiple senses is far more powerful than anything a mere speech or lecture can provide.

For example, once I was asked to speak at a local chapter of the Habitat for Humanity. The request was to help them understand how to better support candidates to receive assistance from their organization. Now I could have just given them my advice on the subject as an expert on human behavior. They might have heard some of it, but most likely would have quickly forgotten most of it. Instead, I facilitated an experience that got them feeling, hearing, and seeing from their client’s perspective. I split them into pairs and asked them to imagine a time in their lives when they needed some kind of help. Perhaps when they were children struggling to ride a bike for the first time; or when they left home and had difficulty finding or affording a place to live; or when they lost a job and weeks went by before they could find another, etc. I then asked them to share with each other what it was like going through this experience, what they most needed to hear, and how they needed to be supported. After the partners shared with each other, I asked them to share their insights with the group. This exercise gave them a “real-life” experience of working with people like their clients, and now they could feel it in their bones!

4. Show First, Tell Later. It’s far easier for humans to relate to experience than concepts. Sharing your experience in the form of a story, allegory, or metaphor, that relates in some way with your learning objective, helps people feel what you’re trying to share with them. When you impact people with a physical or emotional experience, they’ll have something of themselves to share.

For example, do you remember what it was like the first time you tried to ride a bicycle or drive a car? Doesn’t this question inspire a rush of feeling packed memories? Don’t you want to share them with someone? When you’ve stimulated your audience with a story, an experience, or a provocative question, ask them to share their experience with one another or with the group.

5. Don’t Give “Speeches” Anymore. When I’m asked to give a speech on a topic I feel comfortable with, I accept. But when I’m introduced as a speaker, I love to change that perception by saying, “Well, I am going to stand in front of the room today, but I don’t plan to be your speaker. Instead, I hope to serve you better by being your listener.” The rebel in me revels in this!

So how can you be more of a listener than a speaker? Here are some ideas:

a. Check in with your participants periodically and see what they have to say about what you’re saying. Are they getting it? Do they have questions? Do they have something to add that can amplify or validate your point?

b. Get Participants Talking to One Another. Offer participants opportunities to talk to each other about their experiences, what they’re learning, what they want, etc. This brings more energy and attention to the group and brings new perspectives when shared with the larger group, creating a far more dynamic experience for everyone.

6. Give up Your Need to Look Good…and You Will. One of the greatest gifts we give to one another is the sharing of our honest thoughts and feelings. In a society overly concerned about “political correctness,” hearing someone share the truth of their experience is quite a gift. You can make a profound impact on your participants by transparently sharing your inner experience with them. This doesn’t mean that you necessarily share your every inkling, sensation, and observation. What and when we share should always be informed by the question, “Will what I share further the group’s goals and support my intention?”

I used to worry about looking good in my classes and in my workshops. I’ve since learned that my mistakes often offer the greatest lessons for my participants. On a recent teleclass I lead, the technology went awry in a big way. Things went so bad in fact that half of the hour-long class was “wasted,” or so I thought. Throughout the process, I was transparent about my concerns and decision-making process. Later, participants noted that if I could be ok with things coming unraveled, they could be too. My transparency gave them confidence that they could handle one of their biggest fears around leading teleclasses. Being transparent and human makes you approachable and has the potential of teaching real world lessons you couldn’t have planned. Being real builds trust. Building an image does not.