Welcome to the Jewell Facilitation Blog
A place where you can find tips on creating and facilitating your own workshops
Select from one of the categories below.
Can creative spirit and logical structures exist in the same space?
Can you be creative, innovative and inspirational, and well structured, logical and organised at the same time? Many people think that the two don't really go together, or worse that they absolutely can't co-exist. The notion that the creative...
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How much do you know about group facilitation?
When people ask what I do and I say "facilitator" I am often met with a look of either curiosity or bafflement or both. This is frequently followed by the question "so what do you facilitate?" (a fairly sensible question) and when I say something...
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Feeling the Flow of the River Dart 10K.
When was the last time you did anything really physically challenging? For some people pushing their bodies to see what they can achieve is quite a regular thing. For most of us, it's not. And I most definitely fall into that category. When I was...
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The Choir Director and the Group Facilitator
I've recently been doing a whole new thing with my Thursday evenings - singing in the Business Choir in Bristol. Yes, they let me in, no there weren't any auditions and no they haven't ejected me so far! It's a group of business owners in Bristol...
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What should you look for in a good Facilitator?
As facilitators we do spend a lot of time shouting about about facilitation; what it is, what the benefits are, what types there are. Let's face it, if you love something you want to talk about it, sometimes quiet a lot. Facilitation can be either...
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Brainstorming the business of how to make your horse thirsty….. and more.
Do you remember me talking about the power of a group in my last blog? If you didn't get a chance to read it it's here. By way of a little follow up of the event I did for International Women's Day, I thought I'd update you on how it all went and...
read more
Ideation – capturing your ideas the hi-tech no-tech way
Whether you believe you are an "ideas person" or not, everyone has ideas. The trick is effectively capturing them in the first place, so they don't escape or get lost. Then once they have been captured they need to be cajoled and coaxed, nurtured...
read more
Much Maligned and Misunderstood – the Humble Flipchart
How do you feel about flip charts? An odd question, I know....... I've noticed there is a bit of a divide - the pro and anti flip chart camps, people that either love 'em or hate 'em. There are people who express a distaste for this humble piece of...
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Sorry About the Meetings….What Should we Change?
I came across an article the other day, talking about something that is, I think, fairly well known, about the way women often struggle with meetings, are perceived as bossy when they speak up and often use apologetic language. I am sure it is not...
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People Centred Meetings
A few weeks ago I wrote about bad meetings. The types of meetings you really don't want to go to. The types of meetings that make people cringe and roll their eyes and wonder why they bother. But what about good meetings? Have you ever been to a...
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Do you know where your workshop participants come from?
As someone who puts on regular open workshops (the kind that people sign up to), I can tell you that there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to market that workshop. After more than 2 years of doing my Workshop Essentials workshops...
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What should you look for in a good Facilitator?
As facilitators we do spend a lot of time shouting about about facilitation; what it is, what the benefits are, what types there are. Let's face it, if you love something you want to talk about it, sometimes quiet a lot. Facilitation can be either...
read more
Do you find Marketing your Workshops a Pleasure or a Pain?
The open workshops that I run are designed to help participants learn how to put a great workshop together. Feedback has been brilliant and people have come away with all sorts of wonderful ideas to put into their own amazing workshops. But there...
read moreFidget Spinners – annoying fad or a great workshop fiddle toy?
If you are a parent or someone who spends much time with school aged children, the fidget spinner can't possibly have escaped your attention. If you are a teacher, I can almost hear you cursing under your breath! If you have no idea what I am...
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If communication was a vehicle what would it be?
When doing my workshops, I do like a good analogy. I find that likening one thing to another helps us process what we are talking about and create a mental picture. Because I see a workshop and the discussions that take place as a journey,...
read more
Have you tapped into the power of a group?
A problem shared is a problem halved as they say. By sharing your problem with someone else, it often seems smaller as you gain perspective by talking it through. Sometimes that's all you are looking for, a chance to mull over something out loud,...
read more
How do you create a communication environment that’s right for you?
I've just been trying to organise a night out with a group of friends - can't be that hard can it? Well, Christmas aside, yes it is. And it's not because we're all busy (although we are, of course, isn't everybody?) but because we're all on...
read more
Workshop Essentials – One year on and going strong
As we seem to be hurtling fast towards the end of the year, I find that I am already starting to reflect on what I've been up to these past 12 months. A lot has happened, but one very important thing sticks out - the fact that Workshop Essentials...
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The Serious Business of Having Fun.
What do you find fun? One person's idea of fun is not necessarily the same as the next person's, but the idea of fun, the notion, the feeling, the concept is pretty universal. It's that positive experience of being entertained, amused, fulfilled,...
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How do you use Questions?
When you ask a question you want the answer, don't you*? Of course, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to ask the question in the first place. But it's not always as simple as that..... It is true that when we ask questions we are usually looking...
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What do you want your workshops to BE like?
I did a little asking around recently, about what people thought of their own workshops. It's fine for me to talk about good ingredients for your workshops, and what I think they should look like, but what do you think? What do you want your...
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Are you getting enough from your brainstorm?
Do you love a good brainstorm? I do. It's a great way to collect a plethora of ideas together in one place, whether thoughts from a super creative and overflowing mind or the result of collective input from a group. It's a common enough technique,...
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What do you consider when choosing a workshop venue?
I think I've mentioned before that the strangest place I have given a workshop was in a client's kitchen. It was in an office, and an open plan office at that. So there was quiet a bit of space. The client was in the middle of moving into the...
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Much Maligned and Misunderstood – the Humble Flipchart
How do you feel about flip charts? An odd question, I know....... I've noticed there is a bit of a divide - the pro and anti flip chart camps, people that either love 'em or hate 'em. There are people who express a distaste for this humble piece of...
read moreBoldly Stepping Forwards
Last week as many of you will know was International Women's Day #IWD16. A great day for women all around the globe to focus on ourselves as women, our achievements, our accomplishments and on the way still to go. On this day I was lucky enough to...
read moreWhy would you do a workshop?
So of course I think workshops can be an amazing business offering! There are lots of reasons why and I thought I'd outline a few for you here. What about you? Why would you do a workshop? To learn more about doing your own workshop click...
read moreWhat is your Role in Delivering a Workshop?
This week I thought I'd do another VLOG all about the different roles that you take on when you are delivering a workshop. Imparting content, sharing knowledge and information, talking about what you know.....there are many roles you need to take...
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How do you know if your workshop was a success?
So you've done your workshop, you've packed away your things and now you are digesting what you've done. Do you have a feeling of exhilaration and elation or gloom and doom? If you felt your workshop went well, then it probably did. And if you're...
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What is a Workshop Anyway?
Someone asked me a very important question the other day, one I think that a lot of people ask but perhaps not enough. It's something we discuss in my Workshop Essentials workshop, at the start, in brainstorm fashion. It's a good place to start...
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Why should you hold a workshop?
As we have already established, I love a good workshop. I love giving workshops, and if they are done well, I love being a participant. I love sharing ideas, having discussions, learning while doing. Lots of people do workshops. It is a term that...
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Embracing those Workshop Fears and Remembering the Metaphorical Hug.
In my line of work I do find myself talking a lot about workshops. After all, it is what I do. Get me going and I can be talking about them for hours..... I have however come to realise that not everyone shares my passion. That's okay. The idea of...
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Brainstorming the business of how to make your horse thirsty….. and more.
Do you remember me talking about the power of a group in my last blog? If you didn't get a chance to read it it's here. By way of a little follow up of the event I did for International Women's Day, I thought I'd update you on how it all went and...
read more
Are you getting enough from your brainstorm?
Do you love a good brainstorm? I do. It's a great way to collect a plethora of ideas together in one place, whether thoughts from a super creative and overflowing mind or the result of collective input from a group. It's a common enough technique,...
read more
If communication was a vehicle what would it be?
When doing my workshops, I do like a good analogy. I find that likening one thing to another helps us process what we are talking about and create a mental picture. Because I see a workshop and the discussions that take place as a journey,...
read more
Have you tapped into the power of a group?
A problem shared is a problem halved as they say. By sharing your problem with someone else, it often seems smaller as you gain perspective by talking it through. Sometimes that's all you are looking for, a chance to mull over something out loud,...
read more
How do you create a communication environment that’s right for you?
I've just been trying to organise a night out with a group of friends - can't be that hard can it? Well, Christmas aside, yes it is. And it's not because we're all busy (although we are, of course, isn't everybody?) but because we're all on...
read more
How do you use Questions?
When you ask a question you want the answer, don't you*? Of course, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to ask the question in the first place. But it's not always as simple as that..... It is true that when we ask questions we are usually looking...
read more
Awareness in the Fast Lane
When I was growing up I used to do lot of swimming. It's the only sport I'm really any good at. I don't like running. Not at all! These days I can still hold my own in the pool even if my butterfly is limited to two lengths before I'm complete...
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So why is communication so important anyway?
We sort of take it for granted that communicating well is something good and we intrinsically know that we need to communicate to the best of our abilities. Extraordinary communication skills are a spectacularly brilliant thing to have and there's...
read moreNon-verbal Communication – why’s it so important?
What is it? This is the communication that isn’t spoken words. It adds meaning and emphasis to our conversations and we use it a surprising amount. Various studies suggest that around 90% of our communication is non-verbal, although actually this...
read moreEverybody’s talkin’ at me, I don’t hear a word they’re saying……..*
Communication; it’s that hard to define, often slightly intangible yet ubiquitous word that anyone can say they’re good at. We all communicate, how can we not be great at it? Don’t we do it every day, all the time, everywhere we go? We tweet, we...
read more
If communication was a vehicle what would it be?
When doing my workshops, I do like a good analogy. I find that likening one thing to another helps us process what we are talking about and create a mental picture. Because I see a workshop and the discussions that take place as a journey,...
read more
Brainstorming the business of how to make your horse thirsty….. and more.
Do you remember me talking about the power of a group in my last blog? If you didn't get a chance to read it it's here. By way of a little follow up of the event I did for International Women's Day, I thought I'd update you on how it all went and...
read more
Ideation – capturing your ideas the hi-tech no-tech way
Whether you believe you are an "ideas person" or not, everyone has ideas. The trick is effectively capturing them in the first place, so they don't escape or get lost. Then once they have been captured they need to be cajoled and coaxed, nurtured...
read more
Are you getting enough from your brainstorm?
Do you love a good brainstorm? I do. It's a great way to collect a plethora of ideas together in one place, whether thoughts from a super creative and overflowing mind or the result of collective input from a group. It's a common enough technique,...
read more
Much Maligned and Misunderstood – the Humble Flipchart
How do you feel about flip charts? An odd question, I know....... I've noticed there is a bit of a divide - the pro and anti flip chart camps, people that either love 'em or hate 'em. There are people who express a distaste for this humble piece of...
read more
A-Z of Workshop Minigems part 4 – Tools to Zone
Here at last is the final instalment of my minigems! There are so many things about workshops that I could share, but these are just a small selection of quick pointers for you to think about when doing workshops. Enjoy! I'd love to know what you...
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Getting to the root of the problem
Have you ever seen a problem tree? Well, they come in all shapes and sizes but they might look something like this: What is it I hear you cry? It is a facilitation tool used to analyse problems and to enable a group of people to start to prioritise...
read moreIce-breakers, warm up games and other activities.
I was asked a few weeks ago by Faye Dicker of Freelance Mum if I had any ideas for discussion starters and ice breakers for her networking events. She organises networking meet ups for freelance mums so they can bring their children along and talk...
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