lessons

“If we hadn’t done that, I couldn’t have done this.”

barbara pedersen business, business planning, collaboration, complexity, consulting, Conversation, Discussion, facilitation, in-person facilitation, Inclusion, lessons, listening, online facilitation, Planning, process, reading, Simplicity, storytelling, strategic planning, team building, team work, Visual facilitation

“That” was a Historical Scan activity; “this” was goal setting during a strategic planning session. The individual who said this pointed to the wall chart showing four decades of their nonprofit organization’s history and said that knowing their history helped

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Nodding while facilitating and the unexpected consequences

barbara pedersen Belonging, business, collaboration, complexity, consulting, Conversation, design, Discussion, Diversity, Equity, facilitation, feedback, fierce conversations, hybrid sessions, in-person facilitation, Inclusion, Indigenous people, intersectionality, lessons, listening, online facilitation, Planning, process, silence, strategic planning, Talking, team building, team work, technology, virtual, virtual facilitation, Visual facilitation

I nodded while facilitating and learned a lesson I won’t forget. Some time ago, I facilitated a small online focus group to gather community input for a nonprofit initiative. As I listened carefully to each participant, I unconsciously nodded my

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Saying yes or no. Passion, Purpose, Performance, Profit – a balancing act!

barbara pedersen Belonging, business, business planning, collaboration, community, complexity, consulting, Conversation, design, Discussion, Diversity, facilitation, feedback, in-person facilitation, lessons, nonprofit, Planning, strategic planning, team building, team work, Visual facilitation

Self-employed facilitators, trainers, and consultants work with great passion and a strong belief in the benefits they can bring to individuals, organizations, and communities. At the same time, we must remember we run businesses and need to make money. Occasionally,

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Everything you want to know (or say) … and are afraid to ask (or say.)

barbara pedersen business, community, complexity, consulting, Conversation, design, Dialogue, Discussion, Diversity, facilitation, feedback, Fun, in-person facilitation, Inclusion, lessons, listening, Planning, process, Simplicity, stories, storytelling, strategic planning, team building, team work, virtual, virtual facilitation
Everything you want to know (or say) … and are afraid to ask (or say.)

I use a simple yet impactful facilitation activity that encourages participants in meetings and sessions to express their concerns, hopes, and fears without worrying about being disregarded, looked down upon, ridiculed, or punished. It’s called “everything I want to know

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