Subject: [Master Facilitator Journal] Making it personal, virtually - November07, 2006
Master
Facilitator Journal | Issue #0277, November 7, 2006 ....
Dear
friends,
Communicating
and facilitating meetings and relationships online has become something
many of us are now accustomed to. We spend a great deal of time
online these days dealing with email, responding to and making requests,
building collaborations, learning new skills, etc.; time that we
once had available for other things! It's no wonder that we sometimes
use shorthand in our communication with others in this media. But
at what price?
In this week's article, "Making it Personal, Virtually"
we discuss keys of netiquette to facilitate better team relationships
in virtual environments. Expert Tele-seminar, Thursday, Nov 2nd:
The Mindful Facilitator...Cultivating
Professional Presence Through Mindfulness.
Join Doug Silsbee and I in this one-hour interviewwhere we'll discuss practical strategies for recognizing
and working with the attachments that pull us away from being fully
present and in service to our groups. Check
out the details after the article.
Expert Tele-seminar, Thursday, Nov 9th:
Nine Views of the World...Bringing
the Wisdom of the Enneagram to Facilitation. Join
Valerie Atkin and I in this one-hour interview where we'll discuss
the Enneagram's nine different ways of viewing and reacting
to the world. Check out the details after
the article.
Facilitating
at a Distance. This
new 5-day teleclass teaches the Essentials of Teleclass & Virtual
Meeting Facilitation.
This
class is for those of you wanting to offer a teleclass but don't
feel you have all the skills and knowledge you need to do so, or
for managers working with distributed teams that require you to
facilitate virtual meetings. See details at the end of this issue.
Making
it Personal, Virtually
Don't short your emotional bank account in the virtual arena
Group-Facilitation
Skill
Communicating
and facilitating meetings and relationships online has become something
many of us are now accustomed to. We spend a great deal of time online these
days dealing with email, responding to and making requests, building collaborations,
learning new skills, etc.; time that we once had available for other things!
It's no wonder that we sometimes use shorthand in our communication with
others in this media. But at what price?
Have you ever walked into a room and just started talking to someone with
out at least first greeting them with a, "Hi Jill."? Or left a
conversation without say goodbye? We wouldn't think of doing this in the
person but often do so in our emails with others. Granted, it may be a small
point, but notice this when I receive emails like this. I even wonder sometimes,
are they talking to me or someone else?
Perhaps we're facilitating a project among a group of peers and just blast
off an email to the group when only a fraction of the whole group needs
to hear it. This is like being in conversation with someone at a party and
yelling out to everyone, "Hey! Let me have your attention please! I
want you all to hear about the topic of a lunch meeting Barbara and I are
planning."
Huh? Who cares!
As facilitators, we pay particular attention to relationships, processes,
and tasks and how best to balance these to our group's benefit. Review the
following reminders about bringing our common sense of good relating, communication,
and facilitation skills to our virtual environments.
Application
Email
Salutation. Start each email with the person's name you are addressing.
We all like to hear our names and it helps to know who the message is
actually intended for. Though this isn't always successful. Twice this
past week, I received emails from people intended for someone else, also
named "Steve"!
Email Valediction. How often have had a conversation with someone
and just walked away when you're done? Close each email at least with
some sign that you're done and preferably, with your name. It's an easy
and simple courtesy.
Who really needs to read this email? We all have way too much email
to wade through each day. Pause before sending out an email that you're
copying to others. Address them only to those they directly concern. By
omitting an email to six people in a group for whom the information is
irrelevant saves the time spent reading and considering the email times
six! Think how much time is wasted by senders not properly filtering content
in this way.
Encourage online contributions. Online groups like listserves
and electronic forums are used to enhance group learning, cohesion, and
collaboration, and are used by coaches, trainers, managers, and other
group leaders. When facilitating online groups, acknowledge and respond
to all the posts you can until the group begins to take off on its own.
Just as in live groups, more leadership, encouragement, and acknowledgment
is required up front to get people self-facilitating. .
Be responsive. How often have you sent an email asking for a response
from a friend or colleague and not heard anything back for days or weeks?
Perhaps some people feel they can't respond until they have time to complete
the task inherent in the email. But this leaves the sender wondering what
happened. It takes little time to reply to an email within a day or two
letting the sender know that their message was received and when they
can expect a response. With all the spam today, it's easy to miss important
emails. This courtesy of acknowledgment helps assure lines of online communication
stay open.
Action
How
can you improve your virtual facilitation? Please click reply and share
your comments. I'd love to hear from you.
Micro
Skills Tele-Seminar
The
Mindful Facilitator...
Cultivating
Professional Presence Through Mindfulness
Featuring Doug Silsbee,
Executive Coach, Consultant, and Author
Doug Silsbee
is a master teacher and author of The Mindful Coach: Seven Roles for Helping
People Grow. In this interview, we'll emphasize practical strategies for
recognizing and working with the attachments that pull us away from being
fully present and in service to our groups. Attend
this one-hour tele-seminar with Doug Silsbee and
Steve Davis Thursday, November 9th at 1:00
PM EST (NY Time). Some of the points we'll discuss are...
What does mindfulness mean to me as a facilitator?
What mental habits create conflicts of interest?
How do mental habits subvert the work that I do?
How does professional presence benefit me as a facilitator/coach?
How does my professional presence benefit my clients?
How can I recognize when I'm attached, or in the grip of a habit?
What practical tools can help me name and work with the habits that pull
us off center?
How can I integrate mindfulness into our own professional development?
And, answers to any questions you bring to the teleclass.
Bringing
the Wisdom of the Enneagram to Facilitation
Attend this one-hour interview featuring Valerie Atkin,
founder of Wells Street Consulting
During this one-hour
call, we'll discuss how the
Enneagram defines the nine different ways of viewing and reacting to the
world. While it can be studied for a lifetime, even an overview has much
to offer facilitators about their own behavior and that of their groups.
Attend this one-hour tele-seminar
with Valerie Atkin and Steve
Davis Thursday, November 16th at 1:00 PM EST (NY Time).
Some of the points we'll discuss are...
What is the enneagram and where did it come from?
What are the differences between the Enneagram and other instruments like
the MBTI, DISC, etc.?
What are the advantages of learning the Enneagram?
What are the strengths of the Enneagram's as an assessment tool?
What does the Enneagram bring to facilitation?
What are the strengths and possible pitfalls of each Enneagram Style when
facilitating?
What are the strengths of the Enneagram's as a process for growth?
What are the implications of Enneagram style and our ability to respond
to the group versus our own agenda, manage process, respond to group conflict,
etc.
What can the enneagram teach us about participant styles that will help
us facilitate more effectively?
How to use the Enneagram to continue growing.
Any questions you bring to the call.
Would
you like to republish this or other articles from the journal? You are f$ree
to do so providing you follow these guidelines.
We grow
by recommendation only when you find our material of use! If you enjoyed
this issue, we'd love it if you'd spread the word. Click
here to use our interactive form to tell your friends about MFJ, and
as a thank you, you will receive our f$ree Facilitator's Self Assessment.
In
the Spotlight
Facilitating
at a Distance: The Essentials
of Teleclass & Virtual Meeting Facilitation
Have
you considered offering a teleclass as a more efficient
way to deliver training, enhance group learning
and generate more income for your business?
Or,
are you working with a distributed team that requires
you to design and facilitate virtual meetings?
When
done right, Teleclasses and Virtual Meetings (T/VM)
are very effective and inexpensive ways to train,
collaborate, and problem-solve. But if they aren't
effectively facilitated, T/VM's can be a boring
waste of time!
Remove
the fear and uncertainty of teleclass/virtual meeting
design and facilitation with this 5-day teleclass
series: Leading at a Distance: The Essentials
of Teleclass & Virtual Meeting Facilitation,
led by Steve Davis, Founder of FacilitatorU.com,
December
4th-8th, 2006, 10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern
(NY Time),
60 minutes each day.
This class covers all the elements of T/VM facilitation
using a simple, well-organized, and proven approach.
This course, that you can take from the comfort
of your own home or office, is for facilitators,
trainers, coaches, who want to design relevant,
engaging, experiential workshops for groups using
a simple, proven formula that's easy to apply to
any workshop topic.
Learn how to design and run a T/VM that will maximize
the use of your group's time and energy. By
the end of the 5 days, you will:
Have
learned the key skills needed to effectively
facilitate a Teleclass/Virtual Meeting.
Know
how to balance interactivity with meeting
purpose.
Have
a an experience of the 10 modes of delivering
learning and information in a virtual environment.
Know
mistakes to avoid when facilitating your
T/VM.
Know
the 8 Critical
Strategies to make your T/VM come alive.
Learn
the 7 Keys to the Inner Game of T/VM Facilitation.
|
Master Facilitator Journal Web Site
What does mindfulness mean to me as a facilitator? 
