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| Master
Facilitator Journal | Issue #0195, March 15, 2005 | 7,000 Subscribers.. |
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Dear
friends,
I love to improvise. My most tangible experience of this is in playing
my guitar with a band or group of fellow musicians. There are times
when I feel I'm in a sea of infinite creativity from which I can
express endlessly through my instrument. I sometimes feel this when
I'm teaching as well. However, fears about performance, content,
expectations of others, etc. often get in the way of my truly tapping
into this power on a consistent basis. This week's article by my
friend and colleague, Sue Walden, is entitled, "Simple Doesn't
Always Mean Easy." This article addresses the simple yet powerful
skills of improvisation that can be applied to facilitation, training,
or any other area of our lives. It also discusses how we take some
of the deceptively simple skills for granted and don't fully use
them as often as we might. Consequently, we often cheat ourselves
of the power they offer.
Sue has
also agreed to lead our newest 5-day teleclass offering, "The
Improvisational Facilitator." I'm thrilled to be offering this
class where we'll
present powerful, practical improv techniques you can use to immediately
enhance your facilitation, training, and group leadership skills.
This class will be very interactive and will use many innovative
experiential activities that will surely surprise you. I'm really
looking forward to stepping through this process with you and hope
to see many of you there. Please
see details at the bottom of this issue.
Please join myself and Bill Bauman this
Thursday, March 17th at 1:00 PM EST for
another Expert Tele-Seminar next,
"Facilitators'
Secret Power." Details
are included below after the article.
Finally, there's still room in another new 5-day teleclass entitled,
"Intervene With Confidence" that starts March 28th. Our
early registration discount ends today, March 15th. Join
this class and learn effective models, strategies, and practices
to intervene on individual and group behaviors to realign, refocus,
challenge, and protect group process. Click here for details.
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Starts April 4th
Click here
for details
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Starts March
28th
Click
here for details
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MFJ Archives
190 articles and growing
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| d |
| Intervention
Skill |
Simple
Doesn't Always Mean Easy
A look at improvisation training's application to facilitation, training,
and life
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| The
Point |
Over the last twenty
years of facilitating groups, both in corporate settings and through public
workshops, I am constantly awed by the simplicity, versatility, and fundamental
nature of the basic skills of improvisation. Feedback from students and
clients keeps reinforcing how many different parts of their lives they
use these "improv" skills. Here are just a few.
Being in the Present. How to quiet all the mind-chatter
and shut down the often non-supportive judgmental voice/s, allowing us
to really listen as well as be totally focused on the here and now--a
much more relaxed place to be.
Openness and Acceptance. An attitude of receptivity that
allows for differences to co-exist peacefully. This gives us geometrically
more options and demonstrates how we can be open and accepting without
agreeing. Whew; now that's a tough one!
Awareness. How to take in more or shut out visual, auditory,
or body level/kinesthetic information by choice.
Concentration and Focus. Building the muscle that supports
us operating from awareness and choice.
Flexibility/Responsiveness. How to mentally turn on a
dime. This is the simple secret to always having the appropriate response
(eliminates a lot of unnecessary pre-planning/pre-thinking).
Give
& Take.
Working with a group of people in a way that values and makes room for
everyone's contribution.
Thinking
on your feet.
Never being caught at a loss for words.
"Yes,
and..." A process as well as an attitude that combines
all of the above. It totally eliminates the negative implications of "mistakes"
("Post-its" are a contemporary example of a "Yes, and..."
approach to a glue that didn't work--a failure, a mistake?), and makes
everything a possibility. Besides, as my friend, Jim Bronson says: "There
are no failures, only feedback."
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| Application
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Even before coming into a workshop, people KNOW about these skills and
can even DO them--we really don't teach anything NEW! However, it is also
true that we don't always behave consistently with what we know, even
with what we know works. We more typically act, react, and respond out
of habit or even fear--and THAT is what makes these very simple truths/skills
NOT easy.
So, ImprovWorks' workshops and customized training sessions are really
only serving as a reminder of how very important these skills are in both
real-life and work situations, as well as an improvisational theater setting
(which is often a metaphor for real-life anyway).
What improv training offers, are tools, techniques and a safe, accepting
practice environment where people can experiment with strengthening these
skills in a playful, encouraging, non-competitive way.
It's very curious that often people assume that the skills listed above
are supposed to be EASY, just because they are so SIMPLE. Don't' forget:
there are many simple things that you do currently, that you once viewed
as complicated, multi-leveled and NOT EASY (ie. writing your name, riding
a bike, typing, driving a car, speaking a foreign language); yet with
commitment and practice they have become instantly and easily accessible--they
have become easy and SIMPLE, for YOU. Maybe they are still not easy for
someone else.
All of life
is a learning lab. We are constantly taking the simple, breaking it down
into its parts (making it more complex), learning/practicing each of the
parts and then gradually re-combining the parts to create skill with the
whole, the seemingly SIMPLE whole. This is the same process ImprovWorks'
employs with the skills listed above. Using the skill of Awareness to
step over our automatic habits, we move from SIMPLE & HARD to COMPLEX
& MORE EASY to JUGGLING the EASIES (with lots of playful practice)
to, finally, SIMPLE AND EASY.
About the
Author.
Sue Walden is the Founder and Director of ImprovWorks,
a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building Life Skills through
Improvisation. Her experience includes a BA in Education and 26 years
of teaching, performing and adapting and widely applying the techniques
of improvisation. She approaches improv training as a powerful and joyful
way to peel away constraints, restraints and inhibitions, allowing the
naturally expressive, collaborative and creative self to emerge. Check
out her new 5-day teleclass on this subject at the end of this issue.
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| Action |
How can you tap deeper into the basic skills of improv this week to further
your life and work?
Please send
us your comments.
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Expert
Tele-Seminar
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Facilitators'
Secret Power: Three Hidden Levels of Facilitator Influence...
Explore the hidden dynamics
available to facilitators to
get through” more powerfully to those whom you lead
Featuring Bill Bauman, Trainer,
Speaker, and Motivator |
"Just in Time" Learning
Have
you led groups, facilitated processes, and/or worked for organizational
change … to find your goals only partially realized? “What,”
you wonder, “is lacking? How can I improve the depth and quality
of my work?” Maybe the improvement needs to be “an inside
job” as well as an external, behavioral change. Attend this one-hour
tele-seminar with Bill Bauman, PhD and
Steve
Davis and learn to “get through” more powerfully to those
whom you lead on Thursday, March 17th at 1:00 PM EST
(NY Time). Some of the points we'll discuss are...
Why is it that, even when facilitators do all the theoretically right
things, they sometimes don’t get the results they were after?
.
Can you explain the three hidden areas of influence and how each of them
affects group facilitation?
.
Why do you think many of us are unaware of these underlying, hidden dynamics?
After all, we’re all well-educated, aware, sensitive, talented professionals.
Shouldn’t we know what’s going on in our energetic and subconscious
interactions with others?
In your trainings and workshops with facilitators, what ways have you
taught them to become more aware of their unconscious “stuff”?
In short, how can we as facilitators become more conscious of these powerful
internal energies, subconscious beliefs, and soul agreements?
Do you have any workshop techniques that have proven helpful to facilitators
in this regard, that have helped them become more aware of their hidden
power?
Let’s say that I’m a conscientious facilitator who is dedicated
to removing any negative influences or barriers to my effectiveness with
my clients. What can I do to remove unwanted or unhelpful “vibes”
or subconscious beliefs that I’m giving out to others? How can I
“fix” it?
If a facilitator is on the front lines—actively engaged in a group
process—and recognizes that some of his or her “inner stuff”
is activated and probably drawing resistance, what can he or she do at
that moment to change that situation?
We’ve been focusing a fair amount of the “negative”
impact of our deeper dynamics. Talk a bit, if you will, about the “positive”
side of our hidden influences on others. What happens when my healthy
internal energies and thoughts go out to others?
How have you personally come to know these deeper levels of influence
and interaction? Share with us somewhat your own path toward this awareness.
If you were going to leave us with a final, perhaps hopeful, thought or
recommendation about this hidden power we have as facilitators, what would
that be?
And, answers to any questions you bring to the teleclass.
Plus
Three Free Bonuses!
1.
Recorded interview with the legendary Ken Wilbur.
In this one-hour interview by Anna Dargitz, Ken discuss the Five "Being"
Proficiencies that support advanced communicating and relating skills.
2. Seven Tips for Improving Your Intuition.
This 1-page pdf document lists seven simple things you can do to keep
your intuition open, alive, and functioning.
3.
Maintaining Open Intuition: A Checklist for the Future.
This 2-page pdf document provides helpful reminders about how to keep
your intuition working when you become periodically distracted by the
chaos of the world.
 |
Click
here
for details and registration information. |
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| In
the Spotlight |
| |
|
The
Improvisational Facilitator
5-day
Teleclass on the use of improv techniques to enhance
your facilitation, training, and group leadership
skills
Learning
improv techniques to become a more effective facilitator
and group leader
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The Improvisational Facilitator, 5-Day Teleclass
This dynamic teleclass, led by master
trainer, Sue Walden, is for anyone who facilitates, manages,
teaches, mediates, coaches, counsels, directs any group. This
highly interactive course provides an experiential
approach using very novel exercises to help you build the
skills to create an environment for participation; one that
encourages openness and risk-taking for you and groups.
How
the 5-Day Format/Training works...
1. You dial into your class every day for 5 days (Mon-Fri)
for a 60-minute focused training segment using a conferencing
bridge.
2. During each class we will all leave the bridge line for
short 8-12 minute periods to give you the opportunity to engage
in short exercises with a partner to practice and deepen your
skills.
3. You work through a learning guide during the 5 days which
accompanies the class as a resource.
4. You will have the opportunity to discuss issues on the
subject matter with the instructor and your classmates via
an online listserve during the course.
5. During the week, you may access the instructor via email
for help or situational questions.
5-Day
Improvisational Facilitator Training Agenda...
Here's what you'll be learning and doing during the 5-Day
course...
Monday
Being present to your natural
creativity
-
Overview
-
Introducing the Parking Lot
- Awareness
experience
-
What is your default facilitation skill set?
- Improv
Core Skills that support facilitation
-
Exploring 1st Core Skill: Present Time
-
The "Voice Mirror," a simple and powerful listening
tool
- Facilitation
Applications
Tuesday
Building the "muscle"
that encourages participation
-
Check in on practice assignment
- Explore
2nd Core Skill: Openness
-
Experiencing the look and feel of openness
-
Building the openness “muscle”
- The
"Yes and..." approach
-
Facilitation Applications
Wednesday
Making flexibility a way of being
-
Check in about practice assignment
-
Explore 3rd Core Skill: Flexibility
-
Combining Being Present and Open to become more flexible
-
Identify unexpected challenges in facilitating
-
Building the options and possibilities “muscle”
-
Facilitation Applications
Thursday
Witnessing the magic
- Check
in about practice assignment
-
Introduce “The Observer”
-
Apply Core Skills to self
- Getting
present with self
- Quiet
the inner critic
- Think
on your feet
- Be
aware of your language
- Facilitation
Applications
Friday
Further applications and applied
Improv
- Check
in about practice assignment
-
Explore other applications of Improv Core Skills
-
Emptying the Parking Lot
-
Q & A with the Applied Improv Process
Benefits
to you of participating from the 5-Day
Improv Training...
1. Get a lot more comfortable being "in the moment"
with your groups..
2. Learn simple strategies that will help you to be more open
and flexible to the specific and dynamic needs of your groups.
3. Come to enjoy dealing with the "unexpected" in
your groups.
4. Gain tools that will help you relax and have a lot more
fun with your groups.
5. Discover reservoirs of creativity within you that you didn't
know existed.
6. Collaborate and learn from a community of your peers, all
passionate about empowering groups.
Also included with your
training...
In addition to the 5-Day training described above, you also
receive:
1. Free Learning Guide, ($20 value) to help you drill
down deep and master the art of improv for use in facilitation
and group work.
2. Free access to the RealAudio version of the 5-Day training
($69 value).
3. Free pre-recorded one-hour real audio teleclass, "The
Art of Improv in Facilitation, featuring Izzy Gesell, who
discusses the use of humor and improvisational theater techniques
as facilitation tools.($20 value).
4. Articles and resources around using Improv in leadership
and facilitation:
__-
Collection of humor and improv resources.
__- The Six Paradoxes
of Improv. Six paradoxes that will help free you
to be a better facilitator
____and trainer.
Pricing...
The full cost of training/access is only $89 including the
free items ( worth $109) listed above. Everything you read
about above is included. And, we offer a 100%-satisfaction-guaranteed
guarantee.
Registration...
Immediately
upon completion of your registration, you will receive an
email with instructions to access the course and free article
bank. This course is limited
to 20 individuals, first come, first served.
Early
Registration Special: Sign up by 22 March for only $79!
Dates...
April 4 - April 8, 2005, 10:00 AM PST, 1:00 PM EST (NY Time),
60 minutes each day.
Please
click
here
to register.
One-Day
Live Version
Interested
in a one-day "live" version of this class offered
to your group? Email
us to
discuss options.
Your
instructors
Sue Walden.
Sue Walden is the Founder and Director of ImprovWorks,
a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building Life Skills
through Improvisation. Her experience includes a BA in Education
and 26 years of teaching, performing and adapting and widely
applying the techniques of improvisation. She approaches improv
training as a powerful and joyful way to peel away constraints,
restraints and inhibitions, allowing the naturally expressive,
collaborative and creative self to emerge.
Sue is
a skilled teacher in ImprovWorks' public workshop program,
a dynamic corporate facilitator, an engaging speaker, an author
(Working with Groups to Enhance Relationships, Whole Person
Assoc.), the delightful "Playmeister" of both the
public and corporate Recess! programs, the director and a
regular performer with San Francisco's longest-running improvisational
theater company, "Flash Family". She has been a
member of the Specialty Staff for the year-long Co-Active
Leadership Program since its inception eight years ago.
Her current
passion is training trainers and consulting on how to design
powerful experiential workshops. Sue promises that, in any
of her programs, while the learning may be challenging, it
will also be fun!
 Steve
Davis. Steve
Davis, M.A., M.S., is an Facilitator's Coach, Infoprenuer,
and free-lance human, helping facilitators, organizational
leaders, educators, trainers, coaches and consultants present
themselves confidently, access their creativity, empower their
under-performing groups, enhance their facilitation skills,
and build their business online and offline.
Steve spends most of his time building and running FacilitatorU.com.
He also publishes a weekly ezine for facilitators called,
the Master
Facilitator Journal, continues to write ebooks, design
teleclasses, and maintain a part-time coaching practice. His
breadth of experience spans business, corporate management,
engineering, teaching, spiritual psychology, and wellness,
offering a pragmatic yet creative coaching foundation. To
learn more about Steve, visit his website at www.livingmastery.com.
About
the satisfaction guarantee
If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with this package,
simply email us with a request to refund/credit your credit
card in the full amount and we will do so immediately. It's
our policy to do this and we honor this in every single case.
This policy completely removes the buying risk for you and
keeps our customer-satisfaction rates extremely high.
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Master Facilitator Journal Web Site
Feature Article:
Simple Doesn't Always Mean Easy