Posts Tagged: facilitation - (80 found)

Facilitating an inclusive (indigenous, feminist) Q&A session

Replicating here a useful Twitter thread from @tuckeve 

1/ Ever since I was in graduate school, I thought I hated giving public talks. But I soon realized it’s not the presentation, but the Q & A that can feel so awful. Academic audiences can be arrogant, hostile, and self-absorbed.

2/ People don’t always bring their best selves to the Q & A—people can act out their own discomfort about the approach or the topic of the talk. We need to do better. I believe in heavily mediated Q & A sessions.

3/ Before I give a talk, I ask my host to please find someone to facilitate the Q & A. It is better for someone who knows the people in the audience to choose who gets to ask questions in public, because they know who is a bully, who to avoid, who will derail a conversation.

4/ The tips in this thread are both what I do after my own talks, and what I do when I am chairing a session. I especially do this for graduate students and early career scholars.

5/ I make it clear that it is the audience’s responsibility to help craft a positive public speaking experience for graduate students and early career scholars. I tell the audience to help keep the good experience going and tell them not to ask violent questions.

6/ Right after I am finished talking or all the panelists have shared their papers, I invite the audience to take 5-10 minutes to talk to each other. After 45-70 minutes of listening, people are bursting to talk,

7/ and taking the time to turn to talk to a neighbor keeps the first question from being from a person who just felt the urgency to talk. Also, I often need a breather and a moment to drink water or even step out to use the washroom.

8/ So, I give the audience 5-10 minutes to talk to a neighbor. I suggest that they use the time to peer review their questions.

9/ I say that this is a time for them to share a question they are considering posing in the q and a, and that they should a) make sure it is really a question; b) make sure they aren’t actually trying to say that THEY should have given the paper;

10/ c) figure out if the question needs to be posed and answered in front of everyone; d) I remind the audience that the speaker has just done a lot of work, so they should figure out if their question is asking the speaker to do work that really the question-asker should do.

11/ Then, after 5-10 mins, I will sometimes ask for the first question to come from particular people in the room— Indigenous graduate students, etc. Or, if opening it up for anyone to begin, I will ask, “did you peer review your question?” before the person takes the mic.

12/ People kind of laugh it off, but once they realize that I am serious–that the expectation is that they are thoughtful about the quality of their question and whether it really needs to be asked–it often helps to make the conversation much more satisfying.

13/ People kind of laugh it off, but once they realize that I am serious–that the expectation is that they are thoughtful about the quality of their question and whether it really needs to be asked–it often helps to make the conversation much more satisfying.

Visit Link

Wise Democracy Card Decks

Printed card decks for the Wise Democracy Pattern Language (version 2.0) are now available for purchase in boxed sets with 96 pattern cards and educational inserts. They are backed up by an encyclopedic wise democracy website packed with methods and practical advice as well as big-picture theory, vision and questions to deepen one’s understanding. The cards are designed for individual use or for group exercises for:

  • identifying key focus areas for generating collective wisdom
  • evaluating collective wisdom potential in initiatives, methodologies and systems – past, present and future and
  • deep learning in a vital emerging field of study and practice.

For anyone seeking to better address the complexity of our time, this tool provides insightful principles and practical methodologies. Over the next few months there will be a number of educational, networking and consultative activities. To stay informed, subscribe to the Wise Democracy newsletter.

Visit Link

Our Wise Democracy Pattern Language

This is exciting. Tom Atlee and the Co-Intelligence Institute team have developed a terrific collection of 96 patterns they describe as… “features or design principles that we believe would show up repeatedly in a democracy characterized by collective wisdom, as manifested in collective decisions and behaviors that generate long term broad benefits and healthy living systems, both human and natural.” Wow.

The patterns are available as a beautiful set of 96 cards, along with suggested activities to help your group explore how these patterns speak to their group life – current or hoped for. “Some activities are about using the patterns to analyze real or hypothetical situations or democratic examples.  Some are more focused on self-improvement and building community among students and practitioners, or spreading the word to invite others into this wise democracy adventure.  And some stimulate us to be creative about wise democracy ideas.” You can also download a facilitators guide and other resources.

If you use these resources in your work, we’d love to hear your experience. I know Tom values feedback.

 

Visit Link

How to create a time-saving meeting agenda

An effective meeting starts with a meeting agenda. An agenda serves as the outline of important meeting information, and what will be covered. It provides clear direction for meetings and can save you several hours per month. If you want to learn what makes a meeting agenda effective, this resource is for you. We’ll break down the most important elements of an agenda, go over the steps you should follow when creating one, and end with some samples and a free agenda template.

Visit Link

C4C Fundraising and communication fellowship | Jan-May 2019, Melbourne

Climate for Change are looking for a new group of up to 25 committed volunteers to join in 2019.

You will learn and work with a small, hard-working team to design and implement an ambitious real-life fundraising project in a fun and supportive environment. This is a great opportunity for someone wanting first-hand experience in the not-for-profit sector, while gaining fundamental skills needed for fundraising, communications and community organising.

The first part of the fellowship will involve weekly sessions covering everything from fundraising strategy to values-based communication delivered by industry experts, while the second part will focus on project work. To ensure you have the skills and knowledge needed to successfully complete these projects, you will be trained and supported by experts in a range of fundraising and communication fields.

Visit Link

Foundations of a healthy group culture

Creative, empowering and diverse processes can be used to work with a group to establish their personal and group needs, values, principles and ethics then come to shared understandings and agreements. The analogy of the seed is part of a meta process Robin is developing called ‘The Vision Tree Process’. The next stage is to explore the Group Vision and the things that help the seed to grow.

The whole process will be detailed in Dynamic Teaching and Facilitation – The Foundations which is mini book one of the series Robin is writing and due out by the middle of the year.

Visit Link

Groupwork Institute of Australia’s collaborative leadership short course | various dates in 2018

As a leader, you need to both identify and make the most of the wisdom and experience in your organisation or team. With so many operational issues to address and negotiate, however, the emotional content is often overlooked. The advantage of an emotionally resilient leader is having the skills and awareness to build a stronger, more successful organisation. We provide a comprehensive container to develop the practical skills and confidence you require for collaborative management. You will learn more about yourself as a manager. This provides a strong and practical foundation for enhancing your management skills.

Extended leadership skills: building emotional resilience to handle ‘tricky’ encounters;  the micro skills for good management; being conscious of your personal motivations; your leadership style and its impact; how you can change your practices to better match your values; your capacity to effect change and influence values; and taking care of yourself.

How we affect each other:  Understanding the unconscious dynamics at work in a team; Organisational dynamics and our role; The unspoken components of organisational culture; and Role theory – roles people play in teams and how we can avoid getting stuck.

Working with your group or organisation: Facilitating collaborative teamwork; Increasing confidence in risk taking in being genuine; Understanding our organisation’s values and beliefs

Full details and registration > 

Visit Link

Advanced Diploma of Group Facilitation 2018

Working well with groups to harness the wisdom of everyone present, for the best outcome, requires more than experience in the role of running a meeting or leading a team. Development of effective communication and leadership skills, self-awareness and actively applying compassion are all required for to be a good facilitator. 

The most practical and comprehensive facilitation qualification available in Australia, this hallmark course equips you with leadership, management, community and life skills.

Enrolments now open

Visit Link