Episode 164: The skill that makes you a better human with Maria McDonald
My guest today is Maria McDonald. As a Learning & Development consultant (as well as the L&D Manager for Geocaching), Maria is dedicated to helping leaders, businesses, and entrepreneurs intentionally shape effective, impactful, and empowered company cultures.
You’ll often hear how facilitation is used in the context of workshops and meetings on this podcast. However, today’s guest, demonstrates how it’s an incredibly handy skill for life in general, to. In fact, she used the tool of facilitation alone to build an entire Learning and Development department at the company she worked at.
She’s a tremendous example of how you can define what you love, and have the courage to go after it. If you want to build a facilitation career but have no idea how to take the next step, I hope that this conversation will help you find your courage to seek opportunities where you are.
My guest today is Maria McDonald. As a Learning & Development consultant (as well as the L&D Manager for Geocaching), Maria is dedicated to helping leaders, businesses, and entrepreneurs intentionally shape effective, impactful, and empowered company cultures.
In this show, we also discuss how her yoga teaching practice combined beautifully with her facilitation growth, how to demonstrate value-add for teams, how she used facilitation to create a role in her organization (that never existed before!), and how she deals with unpredictable moments in her workshops.
Maria uses facilitation skills to demonstrate the value of continuous learning, improve collaboration across the company, clarify mission & goals, improve individual & collective communication skills, enhance brainstorming sessions, guide retrospectives, and mediate conflict.
About today’s guest: Maria McDonald
As a Learning & Development Consultant, Maria is dedicated to helping leaders, businesses, and entrepreneurs intentionally shape effective, impactful, and empowered company cultures.
Through customized consulting practices, Maria’s innovative and energizing techniques support you in achieving your business goals while proactively developing your people. Her vision is to shift each business into effective paradigms that inspire people at every level of your organization.
Maria is also the Learning and Development Manager for Geocaching, where she formulates learning and development strategy based on organizational needs, and creates a culture in which continuous learning and improvement are encouraged, and where employees are equipped with the tools for self-help and empowered to teach and learn from each other.
Resources
Visit Maria McDonald’s website
Connect with Maria on LinkedIn and send her a message, letting her know your favourite takeaway!
Geocaching: Join the world’s largest treasure hunt
Join The Flipchart community on Facebook
Support the show and shout Leanne a coffee!
Watch the full 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, 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 163: One Zoom Cheat Sheet to Rule Them All
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.
Here’s the scenario: You’re working with some new clients, and they haven’t used Zoom before. You pull together some slides, videos and helpful pointers and send them these beforehand.
During the session, you dedicate the first few minutes to sharing features, and getting them to feel comfortable using Zoom. You’re happy with what you’ve created but then, BAM, Zoom delivers another upgrade, which means screenshots have changed.
As we know, it takes time and effort to update your Zoom onboarding calls.. UNTIL this week!
Previous guest of the show, Jan Keck has pulled together an incredible resource for anyone who uses Zoom. As a facilitator, you can share this with your clients prior to your workshops - it will save you so much time!
This week, I hopped on a quick fireside chat and brought Jan back on the show to talk through this cheat-sheet, how it will help us as facilitators, how his team put it together, and more.
Don’t forget to reach out to Jan to say thanks for this piece of gold dust he’s brought us!!
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.
Resources
Visit Jan Keck’s website
Connect with Jan on LinkedIn
Follow Jan Keck on Instagram
Like his page on Facebook
Listen to our previous conversation on Episode 156: Let’s have a conversation that matters
Join The Flipchart community on Facebook
Support the show and shout Leanne a coffee!
Watch the Full 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, 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 162: How to get people to show up to your workshops (without saying "It's mandatory")
“It’s mandatory” - I hear those words, and I involuntarily shudder. Is that what we want our participants feeling before they arrive to our workshops?
No!
We really can’t control whether someone decides to come along to our workshop, or not, however we can absolutely do our best to influence whether someone wants to come along, and how they feel about joining our session.
In this week’s episode, I share 15 tips and strategies you can use as preventative strategies to bolster your workshop attendance rate.
It’s problematic when people don’t show up. We know it affects group dynamics, the way you’ve structured your session. If you’ve booked an in-person event, you’re paying for facilities/catering that no longer applies. If you’re external, you might even have to reschedule your dates, which can delay other business for you.
I’ve also been the participant who hasn’t shown up. And while life happens, there are numerous other reasons I haven’t showed up to events in the past: I don’t have skin in the game, the session isn’t relevant for me right now, I’ll watch the recording later, I just don’t feel like it… The list goes on!
What can we do about it? Listen in. But my #1 tip is to have a Marketing mindset in the lead up to your workshops. It’s an event, treat it like one!
These strategies are applicable whether you work internally, you’re part of the Learning and Development team, or you’re an external consultant.
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 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 155: Exceptional self coaching to help you start small and finish strong in 2021 with Daniel Kerr
Daniel Kerr from Exceptional Self Coaching chats to Leanne Hughes about how to show up as your best self in 2021, upgrading your mindset, and habits for high performance.
This episode comes with a warning: If you’re not interested in being inspired, then don’t tune in!
This week, we have a special guest on the show, who I met during my 20 week consulting gig last year. I was lucky enough to be placed in a team with him, and I say that because when you talk to him it feels like you’re sitting in the front row of a TED talk - meaning, you instantly feel inspired listening to what he shares with the world.
Daniel Kerr from Exceptional Self Coaching is a physiotherapist, turned high performance coach and he’ll share that transition story with you on this show.
Early in this interview, you’ll hear a watershed moment for Dan that steered him towards the work that he does now.
If you do want to reflect on where you’re at, your mindset, your habits, and committing to growth this year, you’ll love this conversation.
About our guest: Daniel Kerr
Daniel Kerr is a High Performance Certified Coach, trained by Brendon Burchard. He’s based in Moranbah, Queensland and provides coaching experiences to people all around the world. He combines his high performance background, with certifications in Mental Performance Mastery, and is also a Certified Wellness Coach and a physiotherapist.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
What it takes to show up as your best self (and how to define what your best self looks like)
Having an action plan to help facilitate a shift in direction for your 2021
The importance of reflection as a way to plan your next move
How fear can stop you in your tracks and how to push past that
How Dan prepares and uses triggers before he steps into a workshop, or important meeting
Here are some questions I asked Dan during the interview:
What does it mean to show up as your best self?
What needs to shift from us in order to make 2021 a better year for us?
How often do you reflect and set your next goal?
How can we handle comparisonitis?
How do you prepare for your workshop experiences?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Reach out and connect with Dan Kerr on LinkedIn
Tweet & say hi to Leanne to let her know you’ve listened to this episode
Continue the conversation when the show is over: Join a community of over 1200 facilitators around the world in The Flipchart Facebook group
Quotes of the episode:
“You have a choice - you can react or respond. In order for things to change, something new comes into your life, or something new comes from within.”
“You can accept and say, no matter what happens, I'm still going to show up as my best self. How would I be my best self in this situation? How can I live into this moment? And how can I carry myself to be that top performer that I know it can be?”
“One of the big things that I've learned is how to measure my progress, reflect and accept that if you don't get something right,the first time that is not failing, that's learning. That is a mindset shift that you have to make peace with.”
“You want to represent the best version of yourself. So when you go into a situation, I set up triggers. If I'm walking through a door into a meeting I'm going to facilitate or lead a program, I have a trigger. When that door closes, it's game on time and let's deliver the best version of how I want to be”
“You can never please everybody. I don't suggest to try to do that. But everyone's entitled to their opinion and it's how you receive that feedback and implement it. That really will take you to that next level.”
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 154: Facilitate your own change journey using a sprinkling of constructive delusion
Hello listeners, and welcome to 2021!
As facilitators, our role is to stimulate some kind of change: We want our participants experiencing some type of transformation as a result of us having been around - whether that’s feeling, knowing, sensing, understanding, or experiencing something different, right?
So, what better time to talk about making changes than at the start of a new year?
As world leading body language Mark Bowden (also previous guest of the First Time Facilitator podcast) says, “As facilitators, we are the leading signal in the room. People look to us to decide how they should act, think, and feel.”
I think then, that if we want our participants to change, we need to be great at making changes ourselves.
In this episode, I’m exploring ideas when it comes to change, particularly a phrase I’m now loving, “constructive delusion” and what better time to discuss it than the start of a new year?
A few quick house-keeping things in the world of First Time Facilitator
Complete the 2021 listener survey! I want to make this show as helpful, relevant and exciting for you as possible.
Interview format resumes next week. 2021 will continue a show format, where I interview facilitators all around the world, interspersed with other life experts (productivity, mindset, etc) and bonus / solo episodes from me along the way!
Remember if you want to join the conversation when the podcast is over, you can join over 1100 facilitators from all over the world on our free Facebook group called The Flipchart.
Subscribe to my fortnightly-ish newsletter, sharing all the latest tools, tech items and articles that pique my interest
You can now support the show + feed my ideation habit (i.e. caffeine addiction) by buying me a coffee!
Resources mentioned in this show
Nike+ Run Club app: How I used to create a group 2020km running challenge
Jim Rohn on Audible: The Ultimate Jim Rohn Library
First Time Facilitator NYE planning episode 98: That which you can plan, is too small for you to live
Hero on a Mission program (part of Business Made Simple University)
Here’s the great question from Jim Rohn:
What do you want in the next 10 years? Make a list of at least 50 items. This is not what you think you can get, this is what you want. If everything fell into place and you could have everything you wanted in the next 10 years, what would that be?
Not something you think you could earn, not something you think you could buy, not something you think you could finally be successful that you could get, what would really do it for you in the next 10 years?
Put item one under the other.
Just write as fast as you can, abbreviate if you want.
Let your dreams run free here. Not what you think you can get, but what you want if everything fell into place.
Little things, major things, insignificant things, it doesn’t matter - just make the list.
Places you want to visit, experiences you would like to have, some changes you want to make, habits you’d like to drop, habits you’d like to acquire, make a list of the people you want to meet.
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, 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.
Social Media
Instagram: @leannehughes
Twitter: @leannehughes
Facebook: facebook.com/leannehughespage/
Episode 153: #Bestof: Storytelling works! (Because no one’s ever wanted to see a Powerpoint presentation twice) with Matthew Dicks
You can tell stories better! Find out how, when storytelling genius Matthew Dicks shares his tips on the First Time Facilitator podcast with Leanne Hughes
Guess what? You can become that amazing storytelling you secretly want to be!
In this First Time Facilitator re-run of Episode 8, internationally bestselling author Matthew Dicks shares why storytelling so important, and how telling stories is not simply sharing a series of events; it’s the manipulation of emotions.
It’s a skill that can be taught and he shares some of the techniques he uses to engage his audience, whether they're 10 year old kids, or politicians.
So many cool things happened after this podcast was released on 8 April, 2020:
I met Kate Norris and Thomas Krafft from Presentation Boss (we basically caught up and just spoke about how great Matthew was!)
They started their own podcast, Presentation Boss, and then a live storytelling event in Brisbane called Life Out Loud (based on Matthew’s event in the US called Speak Up Storytelling).
Earlier this year, I shared a story during the virtual Life Out Loud event and guess who was the surprise guest story-sharer… you guessed it, Matthew Dicks!
Stop binging shows on Netflix and start binging Matthew Dicks’ stories on YouTube. They’re brilliant, and always stir an emotional response - ranging between laughter, or goose-bumps.
In this episode you’ll learn:
What a story is (and what it isn’t)
The details you should leave in your story and more importantly; the details you can leave out
How you can become more memorable by sharing things that are vulnerable, amusing or embarrassing
The power of assuming that no one wants to listen to anything you have to say
How you can start collecting your own stories by reflecting on everyday moments (Homework for Life!)
About today’s guest: Matthew Dicks
Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, and the upcoming Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide. His new novel, “The Other Mother” is set for release in January 2021. You can join the live book launch by signing up here.
When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand.
Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 5-time GrandSLAM champion. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others.Heis also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England.Matthew is the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes.
Resources mentioned in this episode
Matthew Dicks’ website
Grab his new book! Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling
Video: Life lessons learned while pole vaulting told by Matthew Dicks
Join our free facilitator community on Facebook called The Flipchart
Transcript
Read the full First Time Facilitator transcript with Matthew Dicks.
Thoughts on the episode? Share your comments below!
Episode 152: A #neverdonebefore serendipitous group interview
I thought I’d bring you a festive episode this week!
Host of the Workshops Work podcast, Dr Myriam Hadnes put a call out to previous guests on her show and invited us to facilitate a #neverdonebefore virtual workshop experience for the #neverdonebefore 24 hour, global festival.
The idea I landed on for my workshop was this: What would it be like, to run a serendipitous group podcast interview, where I had no idea who would show up?
I’ve never done a group interview before, and never not prepped before an interview!
This episode is only edited lightly, I wanted you to hear what it was like on the call: My participants (who were now podcast guests) had different audio levels, different internet speeds, different voices and ideas.
What I loved when I re-listened to this, was hearing how much more comfortable we are in the conversation, as it continues along.
My guests today are: Anna from Sweden, Stephan Kinsch from Luxemborg, Shayne from Sydney (living in Amsterdam), Anna Maria from Germany (who dialled in from Romania), Grace from Hong Kong, Kaushiek from India and Lily from France!
We riff on all things related to delivering a successful workshop, how to manage your energy (which leads to a deep conversation on what you put into your body), challenging workshop epxeriences and dream mentors.
It was awesome having such a diverse guest list on today’s episode.
Tips for making a workshop successful
Be present
Plan - prepare for the workshop
Don’t do it alone - co facilitator can help you with technical details
Start with an end in mind
How do you maintain your energy during workshop
Stand up or move around the room
Exercise or stretching
Where is the best location you’ve facilitated a workshop
Spacious and well lighted room
Room overlooking the mountains
Dubai
What do you like to eat during workshop
Lots of water
Fruits
Warm water
Guests:
Lily Gros
Kaushiek Pranoo
Follow him on Instagram
Shayne Smart
Connect with Shayne on LinkedIn
Ana-Maria Torita
Check her out on LinkedIn
Grace Lau
Connect with Grace on LinkedIn
Stephan Kinsch
Connect with him on LinkedIn
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.
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Episode 151: Leanne’s favourite facilitator things: A holiday wishlist!
I’m taking inspiration from Oprah’s Favourite Things to bring you the Ultimate Facilitator Holiday Wish list!
You may want to share this episode with a loved one, if they want some last minute stocking-filler ideas, or x-factor gift ideas to ramp up your facilitation game.
Many of the suggestions here focus on the virtual facilitation world and span across tech tools, tech upgrades, workshop design tools, and more!
I’d like to thank members of our free Facebook group, The Flipchart, for sharing their facilitation wish list items, too!
ATR 2100 Microphone - Handheld dynamic microphone WITH USB output connects to your computer for digital recording
Tripod - a portable three-legged frame or stand
Microphone Foam - protects the microphone diaphragm from gusts of air
LogiTech Webcam C920 - 720p HD video calling (upto 1280 x 720 pixels) with supported clients; Full HD video recording (upto 1920 x 1080 pixels).
iPhone 12
IKEA Lamp - Spread soft, diffused light to create a warm, cosy atmosphere.
Rubber Mat -essential safety flooring equipment to increase comfort underfoot, provide relief from fatigue, prevent slipping and absorb impact.
Stand Desk - Relieve back pain, be healthier & boost productivity
Airpods - high-quality sound with a wireless, effortless listening experience.
Sass & Bide - Australian designer label, dedicated to the strong, the obscure & the beautiful.
Neon lights to supercharge your background
Ecamm Live Pro - Take Your Production To The Next Level · Interview Mode · Virtual Webcam · Live Audio and Video Monitoring
Elgato Stream Deck - customizable control pad for live-streaming that includes 15 LCD keys for switching scenes, launching media, and adjusting audio on the fly.
Frankie4 Footwear - Australia's most stylish podiatrist founded footwear label.
Epidemic Sounds - Find the perfect track in our library. Give your social accounts the music they deserve and take your content to the next level.
Wish List:
Charlotte Blair - an actual flip chart at home, proper big laser printer, fun buzzers, Bikablo resources and pens - The products of the bikablo range offer a wealth of visual vocabulary, image ideas and methods and thus inspire visualizers worldwide. They are all based on the drawing technique that we convey in our trainings. The texts are in German and English. Also other language versions are available.
Buzzer - Unique, real world, sound romote active learning by incorporating student involvement in instructional activities
Nadja Petranovskaja - wooden box for pens, Wonder Cards, subscription to any music source - Hold pens, pencils, scissors, notepads, remote controls, small devices and all of your knick-knacks.
Suzi Dafnis - ATEM Mini Pro - you can switch live between 4 high quality video camera inputs for dramatically better quality images.
Jan Keck - Stream deck
Leanne Elliott - Climer Cards are a deck of cards with hand-drawn pictures designed to evoke metaphors and imagination. A simple yet powerful and flexible tool for creating face-to-face conversations about culture and leadership within any organisation or team. It will help you drive bottom-up change in your workplace.
Organizer bag - Purse Organizer Insert, Handbag & Tote Organizer
Flipchart paper carry tube - Meet anytime and anywhere, take the Magic-Chart easily with you. Ideal for trainers, coaches and other professionals who work in different locations
Lorissa Garcia - Giant coloured pre-cut paper shapes
Artie Holst - Ring Light - produces soft, direct light on a subject, minimizing shadows.
Mireille Beumer - Software subscription for Spatial.chat or Borrel.me - Create your 3D-realistic avatar from a single selfie in seconds. Your avatar comes to life as you talk, move, and interact.
Tony Brazelton - MBS and Mark Bowden’s Presentation Genius course
Joeri Schilders video production course
Ken Burgin - Elgato Stream Deck USB Keypad
Sarah Marin - spin wheel - Wheel Spinner Game with Dry Erase & Marker Pen,
Gaye Rutherford - LEGO Serious Play
Kielecia Coker - Mr Sketch pens: markers that smell like fruit, rolling backpack, Briefcase
Episode 150: 50 episodes / 50 weeks: Facilitation and business lessons with Leanne Hughes
What facilitation and business lessons did Leanne Hughes learn in 2020? Tune in to find out!
Wow, Episode 150. How did we get here?
In this solo episode, I wanted to reflect on the last 50 weeks (and 50 episodes) and what I’ve learnt both from podcast episodes, from business and also from, well, LIFE in 2020. Hasn’t this year been a great teacher for us all?!
I weave between random topics, all linked through some lessons learnt on the show, and how that’s played out in my life and the way that I show up to workshop experiences and clients.
What’s been your biggest facilitation lesson in 2020?