A photograph of a poster displaying Fishbowl Rules If you want to speak: —You must be sitting in one of the four chairs. —Don’t wait to be invited; simply walk up and sit in an empty chair. When you’ve finished speaking: —Leave your chair and return to the audience. (You can always come back!) If you want to speak and the chairs are full: —Let the occupants have a say, and walk up. —Someone sitting must then return to the audience.

What's the best way to facilitate a community discussion? Here's my answer, illustrated by a meeting that I designed and facilitated in my hometown.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#facilitation #CommunityDiscussion #format #fishbowl #FishbowlSandwich #PairShare #assnchat

Who goes next? A black and white photograph of the backs of The Three Stooges trying to all go through a narrow doorway at the same time.

To give everyone the opportunity to share during a meeting, you need agreement on who goes next. Online meetings pose additional challenges. Here's what to do.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#facilitation #meetings #EventDesign #options #eventprofs

Brittney didn’t just learn about Scrum.
She saw what good facilitation looks like.
Reflection. Group work. Real techniques she can bring to her team.
“And it [the CSM course] flew by.”

👉 Explore our top-rated courses: https://sbee.link/v84bjegqfa

#CSM #Facilitation

Photograph of people filling the Marlboro (Vermont) Town House for the 2012 Town Meeting on Tuesday. Photograph by Zachary P. Stephens/Reformer)

Why an essential competency for effective facilitation is respect for others, and how we can cultivate respect in facilitation.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/fa...

#facilitation #respect #listening #judgment

All set for today's @iafenglandwales.bsky.social #facilitation meetup in London #iafmeetup www.linkedin.com/events/iaffa...

Sometimes, consensus is dangerous. Seeking it is hard for large groups. What's important is the journey towards consensus, not the destination.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/fa...

#facilitation #GroupWork #consensus #InformedConsent #RomanVoting

A woman in a business suit is speaking, with a background of blurred faces. She is providing an example of explicit communication, saying, "…feel free to ask questions at any time. Just raise your hand."

Here are 5 examples of how explicit communication—saying or writing what's needed to guide or influence desired behavior—improves meetings.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#facilitation #ExplicitCommunication #agreements #framing #promotion #socials #TechChecks #eventprofs #assnchat

The workshop workshop

The Workshop Workshop — live online, May 19, 12–4pm ET

For facilitators, UX folks, and team coaches who want workshops that actually shift how teams think and work.

Early bird this week: $399 (regular $449).

Grab a spot: spydergrrl.com/product/the-...

#Facilitation #Workshops #UX

Our first ICA:UK ToP public ‘ToP’ #facilitation training course was held in London in March 1996! Check out our Public Course Schedule for further details, and for dates and registrations for upcoming courses #ToPfacilitation ica-uk.org.uk/30-years-of-...

Not long now until our monthly @iafenglandwales.bsky.social London coffee meetup, this time hosted by me and AMC Newton FRSA, this Wednesday 8 April in Kings Cross - do join us if you can for informal networking and #facilitation chat, all welcome! #IAFmeetup 
lnkd.in/ebQRtspa

leadership and management: Diagram of centralized, decentralized, and distributed networks from the classic paper by Paul Baran, "On Distributed Communications: MEMORANDUM: RM-3420-PR," AUGUST 1964, the Rand Corporation

How do you see leadership and management roles play out in your meetings? What works, what doesn't?

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/le...

#leadership #management #meetings #facilitation #events #eventprofs

Say Yes: photograph of a large group of workers wearing blue shirts striking dramatic triumphant poses outdoors. Image attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastoffools/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Patricia Madson’s first improv maxim is "Say Yes!" This reminds me of a harrowing incident at the closing session of a three-day conference…

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/un...

#meetings #facilitation #improv #EventDesign #SayYes #events #eventprofs

ShitFacilitatorsSay: a stock photo of a generic business meeting

A compilation of fine facilitation wisdom from the mysterious ShitFacilitatorsSay

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/hu...

#facilitation #wisdom #ShitFacilitatorsSay #humor

A smiling woman, full of nervous excitement, sits on a train with the blurred world speeding past her window.

Nervous excitement is back! Here's what (I think) it is, why I feel it when I'm live on stage — and why it doesn't usually last long!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#facilitation #speaking #excitement #eventprofs #assnchat

Original post on c.im

“I don't understand why you're disagreeing with me.
One possibility is that you know something I don't know. You have a different set of facts or you have a different set of priorities, or you have a different perspective. So I'm going to try to understand what it is I don't know about the […]

A close-up photograph of white daisies with bright yellow centers and a small beetle on one of the flowers. Overlaid text in white letters on a teal rounded background reads: 'Wisdom and love don't come from the intellect. To cultivate wisdom and love, we need to engage other ways of knowing.' The quote is attributed to Srinija Srinivasan, also displayed in white text on a teal rounded background at the bottom of the image.

CoCreative's March Newsletter is out 🌼

Updates on what's new and what's next!

📝 mailchi.mp/wearecocreat...

#beyondanalyticalknowing #facilitation #leadership #collaboration #courses #systemschange

Formule « Impro sur Mesure » TIM
Théâtre, ce matin avec Khalid et Hélène pour 80 chefs de division. #empathie #ecoute #facilitation #theatre #equipe

How do you describe what you do as a facilitator?

Join us to share how you describe your work, explore what lands well and generate fresh ideas for communicating the power of #facilitation it clearly.

👉 Explore the programme: lnkd.in/eMMWCqpJ
🎟️ Get your ticket: lnkd.in/e-DuA82T

#Facilitate2026

How to get attendees to risk doing something new at your event: a photograph of a sign on a beach that says "ATTENTION BEYOND THIS POINT YOU MAY ENCOUNTER NUDE BATHERS"

How can we encourage attendees to take the risk to try something new? By having them do something new together in a safe environment.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#facilitation #FacilitatingChange #GroupWork #safety #RiskyLearning

Testing consensus using Roman voting: a black-and-white photograph of a racehorse jockey displaying both thumbs up. Photo attribution: Flickr user vegaseddie.

How can groups make decisions? First, publicly discover the degree of consensus on a proposal by using Roman voting.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#facilitation #GroupWork #testing #consensus #HandVoting #RomanVoting

2 big plastic boxes with Lego

Zo. Alles gesorteerd wat moest gesorteerd worden en een lijstje voor een pick a brick bestelling. #LegoSeriousPlay #WorkshopPrep #Facilitation

assess consensus: a blurred photograph of an audience overlaid with an illustration of people humming at different volumes

Here's a novel semi-anonymous method to assess consensus on an issue with a large group. It needs no additional resources or training!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#facilitation #consensus #SemiAnonymousVoting #novel #humming

Stories on Facilitating Software Architecture & Design - Virtual Domain-Driven Design We’ve consistently observed a common pattern: regardless of the architectural approach—from traditional enterprise to more hands-on, emergent methods—teams face similar obstacles when building…

We're quietly curating these connections. Curious to see what patterns emerge across the full collection.

Each story is at buff.ly/bG8QsWX and all the heuristics are on dddheuristics.com.

#CollaborativeModelling #SoftwareArchitecture #DomainDrivenDesign #Facilitation #VirtualDDD

The Leadership Skill No One Taught You—But Every Leader Needs Why Facilitation Is Now Core to Effective Leadership

⚠️AI is changing what leaders need to be good at.
It’s not just strategy or decision-making.
🎯It’s facilitating better conversations.
www.agileworksolutions.com/single-post/...
#facilitation #ExecutiveCoaching #SME #FutureOfWork #leadershipskills #growthcoach #agileworksolutions #AILeadership

Illustration of a facilitator leaning against a wall while attendees answer questions amongst themselves.

Take the pressure off of yourself to facilitate or teach, and instead create situations that allow learning to occur.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/le...

#Facilitation #LearningDesign #AdultLearning #GroupProcess

Photograph of Adrian Segar facilitating a workshop at the BEA World Festival in Rome, November 2023, with the title "…he might be the single most influential thinker in the world of participatory gatherings…"

A reflective look at David Adler’s profile of my facilitation work, exploring why emotional architecture—not spectacle—creates lasting change at conferences.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#EventDesign #Facilitation #ParticipatoryEvents #ConferenceDesign #Design

Some models of change are better than others. Here are four change models. Three are simplistic and misleading; one is well worth studying.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/fa...

#facilitation #FacilitatingChange #change #ChangeModels #SatirChangeModel

All set for this week's @ica-uk.bsky.social ToP Group #Facilitation Methods training, at NCVO in London with @rosemaryforest.bsky.social #ToPfacilitation

We are proud to sponsor the fabulous #Facilitate2026 conference of our friends at @iafenglandwales.bsky.social this year!

Join IAF & ICA facilitators and friends next month in Birmingham to connect, share and learn together on all things #facilitation

knowing where you are: photograph of The Story Spine, charted on a flipchart by improv teacher Lisa Rowland. It's a blueprint for the dramatic structure of basic stories, whether those told in improv or elsewhere. STORY SPINE • Once upon a time • And every day… • Until one day… • Because of that… • Because of that… • Because of that… • Until finally… • And ever since that day… • The moral…

A story about the value of knowing where you are via a core ingredient of improv—The Story Spine—linked to a personal introspective question

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/fa...

#FacilitatingChange #improv #StorySpine #facilitation