Episode 161: Connecting, empowering and leading groups in the outdoors with Phil Brown
Phil's work passions are centered around challenge course facilitation and group dynamics with an emphasis on training others. He loves to witness the powerful change that adventure and experiential education can inspire in both individuals and groups.
Phil currently works as a Lead Trainer and Program Designer at High 5 Adventure Learning Center based out of Brattleboro, VT. Phil is one of the authors of the book "Tinker: Building Purposeful Experiences from Classic Adventure Activities" and the host and producer High 5's Podcast - "Vertical Playpen".
When did I realise I loved talking about group dynamics? When I was 16, at a netball camp, we did a team-building high ropes course together.
Btw - I hate high ropes, but I loved the debriefing part afterwards!
The reason I share this, is because this week’s guest Phil Brown works for an adventure company called High 5 Adventure, and he joined the High 5 team as a lead trainer in 2015.
Phil will get you thinking about a lot of things:
What happens when we graduate from being a first time facilitator, where’s the career progression?
How do we define what we do to people who are outside our industry?
He also shares a really great way of explaining work related to teams, and breaking these into three categories: Team bonding, team building and team development. Clever!
Originally from England, Phil first came to the US in 2008 working as an Outdoor Educator and Challenge Course Coordinator at the New York YMCA Camp. It was here that his love for the Adventure Education field was ignited, discovering the joy and rewards playing and teaching inside and out alongside such a varied range of people, all who benefit from the experience.
His work in the realms of summer camp, outdoor education, and physical education give him an invaluable perspective for working with of High 5’s varied clientele.
Phil believes that each experience with every group member is a learning opportunity for him, no matter who he’s working with. He also has a podcast called Vertical Playpen, sharing tips on adventure and experiential learning.
About today’s guest: Phil Brown
Phil's work passions are centered around challenge course facilitation and group dynamics with an emphasis on training others. He loves to witness the powerful change that adventure and experiential education can inspire in both individuals and groups.
Phil currently works as a Lead Trainer and Program Designer at High 5 Adventure Learning Center based out of Brattleboro, VT. Phil is one of the authors of the book "Tinker: Building Purposeful Experiences from Classic Adventure Activities" and the host and producer of High 5's Podcast - "Vertical Playpen".
In this episode you will learn:
How to guide people in the discovery of knowledge
How to connect, empower, lead and be an example
The difference between team building, team development and team bonding
How to connect and bringing people together in the virtual world
Questions Leanne asked Phil Brown during the interview
Can you share with me how you work with teams, how they come to High 5 and to you and what outcomes are they after, and how can you help facilitate that discovery?
Have you seen a shift on what people think of the phrase, “team building”?
How have you adapted to virtual workshops?
Do you have a favourite ice breaker / golden activity?
Quotes from the episode:
Facilitating is not just imparting knowledge, this is guiding people in the discovery of knowledge.
Connect, empower, lead and be an example.
Resources mentioned
Email Phil at pbrown@high5adventure.org
Visit High 5’s website
Listen to Phil’s podcast - Vertical Play Pen
Watch this episode now!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)
Episode 160: Leslie Ehm: First Time Facilitator Podcast Interview
Leslie Ehm will reach into your soul, pull out your most powerful authentic self, and help release your badass swagger into the waiting world.
Former TV host and advertising Creative Director turned training guru, Leslie Ehm has spent decades travelling the globe with her award-winning company Combustion, working with executives and teams from top organizations like Google, Disney, Pepsico, TD Bank, Uber, HBO, Lenovo, and more. She’s turned technologists into creative forces, bankers into storytellers, and has brought a serious dose of badass-ness to boardrooms everywhere.
Things that are easier said than done: “Just be yourself!”
Why is this so hard?
Here are a couple of reasons:
It’s sometimes hard to see the label when we’re inside the bottle and this creates so
We’re scared to share who we realy are with the world, in case we get rejected..
My guest this week, Leslie Ehm helps people discover their uniqueness and release it into the world (and their workshops!)
As a Former TV host and advertising Creative Director turned training guru, Leslie Ehm has spent decades travelling the globe with her award-winning company Combustion, working with executives and teams from top organizations like Google, Disney, Pepsico, TD Bank, Uber, HBO, Lenovo, and more.
She’s turned technologists into creative forces, bankers into storytellers, and has brought a serious dose of badass-ness to boardrooms everywhere.
P.s. Oh and that other easier-said-than-done-phrase, “Fake it ‘til you make it?” Leslie thinks that’s baloney!
About our guest: Leslie Ehm
Leslie Ehm will reach into your soul, pull out your most powerful authentic self, and help release your badass swagger into the waiting world.
Fuelled by her unrelenting passion for developing human potential, Leslie is now a Swagger Coach, author of Swagger – Unleash Everything You Are and Become Everything You Want, and a keynote speaker. She’s been called “better than therapy”, “a rock star”, “ass-kicking”, “a force of nature” and even “a witch”.
In this episode, you will learn how to:
See people’s truth to help them to manifest who they really are
The difference between self-belief and confidence
Fundamental drivers of swagger and how you can apply this in your workshop
How to discover your own swagger
Here are some questions I asked Leslie during the show?
Do you believe in the phrase ‘fake it ‘til you make it’?
Where do people start in building their self-belief?
What are your tips in discovering the real you?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Leslie’s new book, coming out May 2021 Swagger: Unleash everything you are and become everything you want
Visit Leslie Ehm’s website
Connect with Leslie on LinkedIn
Tweet Leslie to let her know you watched this episode!
Follow Leslie on Facebook
Watch this episode now!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)
Episode 159: How to win friends and influence your online colleagues with Leanne Hughes
Do you rely on your colleagues to provides input and decisions to move a project forward? Do you find that you're constantly chasing people to get things done, and finding it hard to build relationships because you can't catch up with people in person?
Then, this episode is for you.
You’ll find this helpful if you’re:
Having to get people’s time/attention and you’re struggling because they don’t respond to your emails / you don’t have direct authority (you’re influencing / in a dotted line relationship)
Partnering with an organisation to achieve goals, and you need to work with leaders/subject matter experts, but they’re too busy to give you the input you need to move forward.
Do you rely on your colleagues to provides input and decisions to move a project forward? Do you find that you're constantly chasing people to get things done, and finding it hard to build relationships because you can't catch up with people in person?
Then, this episode is for you.
When we used to do things face to face, and I had to chase a colleague for information, I'd head out for a coffee.
It was semi-strategic. I’d sit at the coffee shop outside of my company’s office. It was a fantastic way of saying hi to people when they were in a good mood (with caffeine, outside, day hadn’t really started), you could easily sneak in a quick question about your project, get an answer, and feel like you’d already won the day.
In a virtual world though, it’s hard to orchestrate these conversations… Or, is it?
In this episode, I share the tactics I’ve used to build relationships and influence people I’ve never met before.
You’ll find this helpful if you’re:
Having to get people’s time/attention and you’re struggling because they don’t respond to your emails / you don’t have direct authority (you’re influencing / in a dotted line relationship)
Partnering with an organisation to achieve goals, and you need to work with leaders/subject matter experts, but they’re too busy to give you the input you need to move forward.
Resources
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)
Episode 158: Facilitating digital change? Prioritise the people, not the tech with Mike Knapp
Mike Knapp believes there is a better way for business owners and leaders to build their businesses and achieve their big goals.
A better way that creates resilient, agile companies. An approach that ties people together through purpose, building amazing teams and excellent places to work. That creates a balance, so everyone has more fun on their journey.
Sometimes when I’m going about my day to day and having chats, I feel an inkling to hit the record button. That’s what happened with today’s guest. He shared so much gold in a regular catch-up, that I knew I had to get him back for a podcast conversation.
My guest today is Mike Knapp, from Incrementa. Mike believes there is a better way for business owners and leaders to build their businesses and achieve their big goals.
In this episode, Mike shares how he transitioned from the IT guy, to someone who led digital transformational projects using the super power of facilitation. With any digital change, we think it’s about getting the technology right, but he shares why taking a people first approach is vital.
“Mural Mike” also creates incredible templates using Mural, and how he structures these in a way to create stories and contrast in his sessions. He also shares the importance of energy and how his practice in meditation allows him to create a welcoming space for his groups.
This is a great conversation to listen into if you work in complex organisations implementing change, or you want to step into the world of change management.
About our Guest: Mike Knapp
Mike is passionate about helping people and businesses unlock their potential. He is a strategic planning and execution superhero with more than 20 years professional experience helping small and medium businesses achieve their goals.
A better way that creates resilient, agile companies. An approach that ties people together through purpose, building amazing teams and excellent places to work. That creates a balance, so everyone has more fun on their journey.
As a Gravitas Impact Business Coach, he leverages a proven process and framework to make complex concepts so clear they become part of a company’s foundation. His projects cover all stages of business growth and needs, including strategic planning, business transformations and major system implementations.
Ask Mike how he manages his chaos machines. Spoiler alert: he’s a meditation instructor.
His passion is to make you the hero of your own story. He is a guide, coach, and advisor, he uses best-practice frameworks to simplify the art of strategy and discipline of execution, so they become an integral part of your foundation.
Over the last 20 years, Mike has worked with more than 100 companies ranging from startups to 3rd generation family businesses in almost every sector, helping them achieve their goals.
In this episode you will learn:
How to overcome any apprehension you have before the workshop
How to drive digital transformation for complex companies
Creating engagement using tools such as Mural
How to lead with energy during your workshop facilitation
Here are some questions I asked Mike during the interview
What does it take for someone to move from being an introvert to someone who can step out and deliver a workshop?
How can facilitation skills drive transformation in complex companies?
How are you creating contrast in your workshops?
How do you get yourself into a state to lead a workshop?
What’s your favourite ice-breaker?
Resources
Quotes
“It’s all about the people, not the technology”
“The energy that you put out will determine your group’s ability to get to the place they need to be.”
“Be prepared while in advance, then don’t worry about it afterward.”
Watch the video!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)
Episode 157: Driving word of mouth marketing through your workshops with Suzi Dafnis
Move over virtual workshops, let’s talk about virtual marathons - more specifically, online events that can span over a couple of days. It’s a different game, with longer interaction, so how do you maintain your energy, and keep your participants wanting more, too?
This week’s guest is the perfect person to answer this question because she’s been running online events since 2007. Her name is Suzi Dafnis, she’s the CEO of HerBusiness, a collaborative online community of women who are growing and scaling a business.
Move over virtual workshops, let’s talk about virtual marathons - more specifically, online events that can span over a couple of days.
It’s a different game, with longer interaction, so how do you maintain your energy, and keep your participants wanting more, too?
This week’s guest is the perfect person to answer this question because she’s been running online events since 2007! I'm joined by Suzi Dafnis, the CEO of HerBusiness, a collaborative online community of women who are growing and scaling a business.
For over 25 years HerBusiness has provided mentoring and training to help women grow a sustainable business.
Her big passion is helping women business owners to create the impact, the income and the results that they want through their business and to do what they love, every day.
She has grown multiple multimillion-dollar businesses, and that hasn’t been by accident.
What struck me from chatting to Suzi is how strategic and intentional she is with all of the things: Having a background in Events, she cleverly uses her workshops to drive incredibly powerful word of mouth marketing opportunities for her business.
Facilitators, solopreneurs...okay, ANYONE organising workshops and virtual experiences, you’ll love this one!
About today’s guest: Suzi Dafnis
Suzi Dafnis is the CEO of HerBusiness, a collaborative online community of women who are growing and scaling a business.
Her BIG passion is helping women business owners to create the impact, the income and the results that they want through their business and to do what they love, every day.
For over 25 years HerBusiness has provided mentoring and training to help women grow a sustainable business.
Suzi started her first business in the spare room of her home, in her late 20s, with no savings and no business degree, and built that into an $18million business with 45 staff and offices in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
Her multiple multimillion-dollar businesses include:
Online businesses
Offline businesses.
Product-based businesses.
And service businesses.
Suzi is passionate about learning and knowledge and loves sourcing the best education, mentors and resources from around the globe, to help her HerBusiness Network members get the information, skills, knowledge and support they need to succeed.
An early adopter to social media, Suzi had been podcasting and running webinars since since 2007. Suzi and her team have been recognised through multiple awards including City of Sydney’s best educational business, Best online mentoring program, Best Business Blog, and the Woman of Influence Award.
Learn more at HerBusiness.com
Request an invitation to join the HerBusiness Network at herousinessnetwork.com
Listen to her latest podcast episode: How to Get More Interaction and Energy Happening At Your Next Virtual Event
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The difference attention to detail can make when planning a workshop
How to create marketing assets in every conference or workshop you design
Techniques to use to make your virtual workshop engaging
Knowing who your ideal client is, their pain points and developing a product/service for them
Strategies to supercharge your energy, when you need it!
Here are some questions Leanne asked Suzi during the interview:
How do you create that level of engagement in a virtual conference?
Is incorporating word of mouth a key element in the way you built your business?
How do you prepare yourself for an online workshop?
How do you maintain your energy?
What’s the most important thing in building a profile and where do you help your community in building their business?
What have you discovered that works that has kept your membership going for years?
Do you have any tips for others to be more comfortable in running workshops?
Resources:
Visit Suzi Dafni’s website
Suzi’s the host of a variety of podcasts, you can find them all here.
Connect with Suzi Dafini on LinkedIn
Watch the video!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)
Episode 156: Let’s have a conversation that matters with Jan Keck
Jan Keck creates tools and transformational experiences, so leaders and teams can feel heard, seen and valued and create a culture of authenticity, trust and belonging.
In case you can’t tell, I love conversations. If my life could involve having morning coffees with interesting people, then chatting with other cool people over an afternoon champagne by the water, rinse and repeat every day x 5 days, my life would be complete.
What’s interesting is that I’m really not the best (or interested?) in small talk. For example, I don’t love going to the dog park, because the chitter chatter generally seems to go around in circles, talking about our dogs. That’s cool for a few minutes but we talk about things like what they eat and how they sleep…
I think I’d enjoy a conversation with today’s guest in a dog park though, because his tagline is all about having conversations that matter.
His name is Jan Keck and he is a self-proclaimed community addict. He is the creator of ASK DEEP QUESTIONS, which started out as a deck of cards to help his friends connect on a camping trip and is now being used to facilitate meaningful conversations through sharing personal stories on every continent around the globe.
You can check out what he does over at http://www.askdeepquestions.com and http://www.jankeck.com
In this conversation, we chat about relationships and which ones we invest in, if it’s possible to create a sense of belonging in an organisation. We dive into chats about redesigning virtual calls, scaling connections online, and btw Jan also has a kick-butt youtube channel, so he shares his tips for camera confidence, as well as advice for first time facilitators.
About today’s guest: Jan Keck
Jan Keck is a community addict. He is the creator of ASK DEEP QUESTIONS, which started out as a deck of cards to help his friends connect on a camping trip and is now being used to facilitate meaningful conversations through sharing personal stories on every continent around the globe.
Jan’s mission is to help people feel less alone, so by creating experiences, workshops and programs he is fuelling the movement for deeper human connection.
Growing up as an only child he found his soul family at summer camp, in sports clubs and even politics. But when he moved from Germany to Canada in his twenties he had to re-create his community from scratch and learned that the fastest way to make deep connections is through meaningful conversations and experiences.
Jan now lives in Toronto with his wife Natalia (aka Cookie), his son Mika and you can often find him hanging out with his mastermind group, attending community events, or camping up north.
In this episode you will learn:
How to make deeper connections and build relationships, even virtually
Managing uncomfortable conversations during facilitation
Using engagement tools to communicate better online
What it takes to feel comfortable in front of a camera
Preparing for a facilitation
What Leanne asked Jan during the interview:
What are your strategies in making new friends and figuring out if it's worth investing in?
Do you think it’s possible to create a sense of belonging in an organization?
How do you deal with uncomfortable moments in a workshop?
How do you redesign or reshape your Zoom call experience?
How can we become a good reciprocator of scaling connections?
How did you develop your confidence in front of the camera?
How do you prepare and get into your facilitation state?
What’s your advice to a first time facilitator?
Resources
Visit Jan Keck’s website
Connect with Jan on LinkedIn
Follow Jan Keck on Instagram
Like his page on Facebook
Quotes:
“Challenge by choice. Choose your type of challenge.”
“If everybody is responsible, nobody feels responsible.”
“Presence over perfection”
Watch the video interview here:
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 14 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Social Media
Follow behind the scenes on Leanne Hughes’ Instagram account
Chat to Leanne Hughes in 280 character or less on Twitter
Thoughts on the episode? Share your comments below!
Episode 149: Anyone can use Lego® Serious Play® in their workshops (and here’s how you do it) with Michael Fearne
MIchael Fearne 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.
This 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.
About our Guest: Michael Fearne
Michael Fearne 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.
A child of the 70s & 80s, a dreamer. How could I not be, he was born in the same year as the first Star Wars movie… Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia were his babysitters. He grew up on imagination and possibilities.
Fast forward to his early career, a young graduate at a Big 4 Accounting firm. From the vantage point of inexperience I saw the battle lines being drawn.
On one side the oppressive forces of rigid corporate structure. Decades, even centuries of oppression through outdated cultural norms, archaic systems, convoluted processes, apathy, frustration, constraints.
On the other side a small band of rebels. A handful of visionaries that knew the only way for these businesses to succeed was to fight the rigid corporate structure and innovate.
He faced a pivotal question. A question we all face at some point in our careers.
Which side are you on? Do you accept the system or look to change it?
He chose to be a rebel, an innovator. He left the confines of the rigid corporate world and started his own business. He felt the best way to impact the business world was not from within one company. But by finding those rebels, those innovators in each company and helping them.
In recent years, he discovered the amazing Lego® Serious Play® method. It’s exactly the weapon our rebellion needs. It’s innovative and playful, creating new ideas, new perspectives and renewed engagement. I've seen it change conversations and reshape businesses.
So armed with a humble Lego brick, Michael is on a mission to connect with other rebels. Those who don't accept the way it is and want to change their businesses for the better.
In this episode you will learn how to:
Use lego to enable metaphors and story-sharing within your workshops
Overcome objections from workshop participants
Be less self-conscious as a first time facilitator
Create reliable and robust workshop design
Here’s a sample of questions I asked Michael during the interview:
What is the difference with LEGO® Serious Play® sessions and Lego activity?
How do you deal and overcome rejections?
What important tips you can share for facilitators in the context of LEGO® Serious Play®?
How are you running your session virtually?
Tell us about a time that something had not gone well in your workshop?
How do you get yourself into the zone before a workshop?
Resources
Visit Michael Fearne’s new website and grab his book: LSPmethod.com
Watch the video!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)
Episode 148: Using the House of Communication to Create Contrast in Your Workshops with 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.
Can 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 this week, Michael Grinder.
Michael 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.
We explore how to use his famous model, the House of Communication in our workshops.
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.
There are so many incredible techniques shared in this one, that you can implement straight away.
I’d love to thank my co-hosts: Maree Burgess, Leanne Elliot and Martin Haworth for joining in and asking questions, contributing, keeping the conversation flowing beautifully.
About today’s guest: 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.
Two well-known experts personally trained Michael in the field of communication: Carl Rogers, the father of humanistic psychology, and Michael’s brother, Dr. John Grinder, co-founder of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Over his career, Michael has written 14 books, which have been translated into seven languages. He’s a sought-after speaker for national and international events and has presented on seven continents. Some of Michael’s additional achievements include:
National Director of NLP for Education
Teacher of the year at three different schools in California, Washington, and Oregon.
Recipient of the 2019 DACH “Mediator of the Year.”
Today, Michael continues to train individuals and companies, and volunteers with community organizations. He lives in Washington State with Gail, the love of his life.
In this episode you will learn:
Importance of non-verbal elements in virtual workshop
Tips to better utilise our voice in a workshop
How you can “block/anchor” elements of the room during face-to-face and virtual workshops
How to be confident during in-person and online workshops
How to use your hands effectively, anytime you communicate
The difference between Intellectual safety vs. Emotional safety
ABC's of conveying a message for in-person or virtual facilitation
Here are some questions I asked Michael during the interview:
What led you into the path of exploring and diving deep into the world of communication?
How do you find the virtual world of communicating as opposed to the joy we have with being in person?
How can we bring the elements of non-verbal into the virtual world?
How can we get better at utilizing our voice?
What are things that we can do about things that are going off-track?
How can we block elements in a virtual workshop?
Resources mentioned in the show:
Learn more about Michael Grinder on his website
Learn more about non-verbal communications tips by Michael Grinder on House of Communications
Connect with Michael Grinder on LinkedIn
Watch more non-verbal communications tips on Michael’s YouTube channel
Quote
“You can be confident and not credible, and you can be credible and not confident.”
Watch the video!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)
Episode 147: Lecture-breakers and smart tips for virtual summits with Barbi Honeycutt, Ph.D.
She works with professors, instructors, faculty development professionals, instructional designers, graduate students, postdocs, and entrepreneurs who want to design engaging learning experiences.
Whether you're designing your first course or you've been teaching for many years, the resources Barbie shares will help break up your lectures, increase student engagement, and improve learning.
This week, I’m talking to someone who has a similar mission as me, but her audience is the higher ed sector!
I remember university lectures (or, do I?) - you would arrive, sit down, then essentially shut up and listen for a couple of hours.
Then, you’d walk away and not really retain the information that was handed over to you.
Dr Barbi Honeycutt, my guest today, 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!
About my guest: Barbi Honeycutt, Ph.D.
Throughout the past 19 years, Barbi has facilitated thousands of professional development events for educators at colleges and universities throughout the world. The resources she provides are grounded in theory, informed by research, and designed for practical application.
She teaches online professional development courses and events, facilitates in-person workshops, and creates resources to help educators increase student engagement and improve learning.
Whether you're designing your first course or you've been teaching for many years, the resources Barbie shares will help break up your lectures, increase student engagement, and improve learning.
In episode you will learn:
Strategies to use during workshop to make it more exciting
How to figure out the strategy for some push back through evidence-based teaching
Practice what you’re teaching through active learning
Inspiring participants to take action after a workshop
Tips how to run a webinar and making it engaging
Questions Leanne Asked Barbie During the Interview
Tell us more about the concept of lecture breakers and what you teach people when you teach them how to teach others?
What are some strategies you’ve tried to make your workshops more exciting?
What’s your experience working with professors who used traditional lecturing throughout their life and you come in and shake up their world?
How do you inspire action after a workshop?
How did you find (and your audience) about pivoting from face to face to the virtual world?
How do you manage your time doing all the things you do?
You're a very succinct and clear communicator, have you worked on that skill or have you always had this ability to communicate clearly?
Resources
Visit Barbi Honeycutt’s website
Listen to Lecture Breakers Podcast
Connect with Barbi on Linkedin
Let Barbie know you listened to this episode, send her a tweet!
Watch the video!
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 13 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.
Like this show?
Please leave me a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so I can thank you personally.
Tweet Leanne your number one takeaway from this episode!
Grab my cheat sheet:
The 5 unpredictable ways to start a Zoom meeting (that predictably work)