One of my most favourite activities as a professional corporate facilitator was and is the design of an engaging, impactful workshop. There is both science and art involved in designing a workshop that leads to extraordinary levels of engagement by participants, and leaves them feeling and thinking differently and inspired to change their behaviour long after the workshop is over.
Workshops are journeys, and the workshop participants are the people taking that journey. Workshops are not lectures, and they are not presentations. They have a flavor and life of their own, and it’s important that the facilitator understand this.
Here’s what Lyndon Constable, the Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand for VETOQUINOL Australia Pty Ltd had to say:
“Thank you for an excellent team day and program. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and the team gained so much from it, the discussions are still continuing – always a good sign. I value your knowledge and expertise in this area, and appreciate all your efforts, support, encouragement and understanding. You read the team well and engaged them well. It was a pleasure to share the day.”
The role of the workshop facilitator is to create a space and place for a worthwhile journey to be taken. I am so stimulated by the challenge of creating such a journey and the feedback I have received from both workshop participants and co-facilitators is that I have a gift when it comes to designing workshops – both the overarching journey and the sub-components within a workshop.
Here’s what one of my long-term clients, Jayson Bricknell of BT Financial Group (previously of Macquarie Group) had to say about my workshop design and delivery talents:
“Jill is a fantastic facilitator. I’m always happy to recommend Jill to anyone because she has facilitated many successful sessions for me. By example, she facilitated a Team Behaviours Day that was a great success and in particular, the team loved the positive reinforcement activity Jill ran at the end of the session – they still refer to this as one of the best team days they have participated in and Jill’s facilitation on the day is the primary reason for this.”
One of these sub-components is the crafting of an impactful exercise or activity, including the end-to-end process of making such an interactive experience meaningful and applicable to the participants (working) life, outside of the workshop.
This is where the science and art form come into play – understanding activity design including the all-important but often overlooked debriefing of the activity. Without adequate debriefing of an activity, the participants are left wondering what happened, why they did the activity and what it all means.
Powerful debriefing is a skill, one that results in participants feeling empowered and inspired to apply the individually-identified implications of the activity for them.
I can design and deliver an innovative and impactful workshop, event or set of programs for your team or organisation. We start the process with a conversation around what you want the event or program to do, the outcomes you wish to achieve and who is going to be involved. From there, we work up a thorough scope for the workshop, event or program and I start the process of designing the program/workshop to meet those needs.
What makes these events so powerful is the combination of a strong design and an exceptional delivery. Which is where my facilitation and training skills come into play.
Here’s what Geoff Wilson, the Chief Operating Officer for KPMG Asia Pacific had to say about a one-day strategic facilitation day I designed and delivered for the Asia Pacific regional leadership team in Vietnam:
“We posed a challenging situation to Jill and a lot to achieve in one day. She took the time to learn about us, to meet with individuals beforehand, she created a connection with virtually everyone in the room. She gained the trust of the group quickly. Her framework worked for us. We achieved some very good tangible and intangible outcomes in a short space of time. Jill was extremely professional and approachable. She clearly cares about her work which showed. I would be happy to work with Jill again.”
I can also support you and your team in developing outstanding workshop design and delivery skills. These types of skills don’t develop overnight, but they can be honed and I can help you do it.
Contact me today to discuss your workshop, event or programs or to arrange your customized program in workshop design and delivery!