books Archives | Barbara Pedersen

A Strategic Plan is like a rainforest.

barbara pedersen May 22, 2023May 22, 2023 books, business, business planning, collaboration, consulting, Conversation, design, Dialogue, facilitation, hybrid sessions, in-person facilitation, listening, nonprofit, online facilitation, Planning, Simplicity, strategic planning, team building, team work, virtual, virtual facilitation, Visual facilitation

A simile, metaphor, and analogy arrived in a workshop. It’s not a joke! These techniques make wonderful facilitation tools. I recently facilitated a two-hour session to help members of a leadership team review, understand, and re-commit to their strategic plan.

Learning to like podcasts made me a better facilitator.

barbara pedersen October 11, 2022February 22, 2026 books, business, business planning, consulting, design, Dialogue, Discussion, facilitation, hybrid sessions, in-person facilitation, Indigenous people, learning styles, lessons, listening, online facilitation, Planning, podcasts, reading, silence, Talking, technology

This summer, I learned to listen to podcasts … and enjoy them. Why is this worth posting when millions of people listen to podcasts daily? Because it shows the value of trying something new; of going outside of our preferred learning

Camping, journaling, and facilitation: What do they have in common?

barbara pedersen May 10, 2021May 10, 2021 books, consulting, Conversation, Dialogue, Discussion, facilitation, Family, Fun, holidays, lessons, Life Work Balance, listening, nature, nonprofit, online facilitation, outdoors, Planning, reading

One book closes; another opens. My family’s new camping journal is underway, unexpectedly leading me to think about camping, journaling, and facilitation, and what they have in common. For more than 30 years, my family has written a journal about

“facilitating authentic participation”: a great book with 4 stages, 7 phases for success

barbara pedersen September 4, 2019 books, complexity, consulting, Conversation, Dialogue, Discussion, facilitation, lessons, listening, Planning, Simplicity, strategic planning

What a joy to read this book titled “facilitating authentic participation” by James M. Campbell. The author describes and summarizes much of what I have learned from 25 years of facilitating individuals in groups as they converse, discuss and decide. I

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