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.
How to bring some superhero magic to your team.
What's not to like in a superhero? They can do all kinds of things us mortals can't; fix things, save the world, turn back time, fly, turn invisible, read people's minds....the list of possibilities is pretty endless. Photo by Michelle Cassar on...
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In the mirror of my mind…..
As we hurtle into the second month of the year I realise that the half written first blog of the year, was still half written. So now here it is, finished off. Full of things I thought at the start of the year, all about last year. So let us...
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Questions, questions, questions……
Asking good questions is a key part of facilitation and can really help to get group conversations flowing. Creating the right questions to start with means you are far more likely to get the responses you need. Obviously. So how can you make sure...
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Returning to face-to-face facilitation – are we ready, and what do we need to think about to make it work?
When was the last time you were part of a face-to-face workshop? For me, the last time I facilitated an "in the room" workshop was January 2020. Initially I experienced a definite hankering for getting back to face-to-face working. As time has gone...
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Essential reflections on the virtual facilitation plunge
As we enter the second half of 2020, the year that has definitely got the whole world in a spin I find myself in need of some for reflection and contemplation. Like many people these last few months have been rather turbulent and there has been all...
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Constraints, creativity and making the most of it.
There are not too many ways to put a positive spin on the Covid-19 sweeping the world at the moment. It's a bit of a nightmare, no one knows exactly what will happen next and even the best laid contingency plans are probably in for a bit of a...
read more
Creating the space to make decisions.
How good are you at making decisions? Some people find this really rather easy. Others take an age to decide, procrastinate, cogitate, contemplate and tie themselves in knots. And when it comes to involving a group of people in decision making, you...
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Breaking rules to embrace disruption.
What book are you reading at the moment? I'll be honest, finding time to read can sometimes be a bit of an effort. I'm also a bit fussy - I need a book to be engaging and peak my interest. I don't have much patience of dry tomes. The book I'm...
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Facilitating you through your comfort zone.
As facilitators there are often lots of conversations about participants being in or out of their comfort zones. Certain ice breakers for example (this is not a post about ice breakers) can leave people feeling distinctly outside their comfort...
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When group communication seems broken, what can you do to make it better?
Well there are a lot of things! But before we can start unravelling a few of the possibilities, it might be good to outline what group communication actually means. Group communication is any kind of discussion, conversation, dialogue, exchange or...
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Don’t fall down the gap between the great ideas, and the reality of creating a workshop.
When you decide you want to put on a workshop, it's probably not without a mixture of careful thought and a certain amount of trepidation. You will probably have gone through a process of thinking; "It's a great idea - workshops are a great way to...
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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...
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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...
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Fidget 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,...
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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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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...
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Boldly 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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What gives you your Focus Fix?
What makes you focus the best? It's a constant struggle these days for us to stay "in the zone" and to filter out the things that we don't need. Or rather filter out those things that don't matter for that particular moment in time. We are...
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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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The woolly tale of facilitation
Somehow, today I have been thinking that sheep might provide me a good metaphor for what workshops can provide. I'm not sure why sheep particularly, somehow the idea just popped into my head. I do love a good metaphor though, so lets see if this...
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A smattering of workshop wisdom – eight tips to make your workshops more successful.
This evening I thought I'd share a little workshop wisdom in the form of some top tips for keeping workshops fresh and interesting. Workshops can vary in length and when they are short it is often much easier to keep people interested and engaged....
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Constraints, creativity and making the most of it.
There are not too many ways to put a positive spin on the Covid-19 sweeping the world at the moment. It's a bit of a nightmare, no one knows exactly what will happen next and even the best laid contingency plans are probably in for a bit of a...
read more
Creating the space to make decisions.
How good are you at making decisions? Some people find this really rather easy. Others take an age to decide, procrastinate, cogitate, contemplate and tie themselves in knots. And when it comes to involving a group of people in decision making, you...
read more
When group communication seems broken, what can you do to make it better?
Well there are a lot of things! But before we can start unravelling a few of the possibilities, it might be good to outline what group communication actually means. Group communication is any kind of discussion, conversation, dialogue, exchange or...
read more
Are you struggling with group communication?
There's nothing more frustrating that unclear communication. Communication that is a fruitless, exhausting and repetitive. Where you feel like there is a lot of information circulating but it doesn't make any sense. Or where there is a dearth of it...
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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,...
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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...
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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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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...
read more
Digital Coffee Break Communication
What would Harrison Owen have developed instead I ask myself, if he had been thinking about the coffee breaks of today? Open Space technology as a facilitation method was developed using the idea of a coffee break, where he realised that the most...
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The Luxury of Thinking Time
There is no doubt about it, we are very much in the age of efficiency. Everything is right there in front of us, at our fingertips (quite literally). Many people are online all day every day and even now as meeting people "in real life" once more...
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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...
read morePeople 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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How to bring some superhero magic to your team.
What's not to like in a superhero? They can do all kinds of things us mortals can't; fix things, save the world, turn back time, fly, turn invisible, read people's minds....the list of possibilities is pretty endless. Photo by Michelle Cassar on...
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...
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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...
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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,...
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
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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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...
read more
The Wonders of Workshops
To do a workshop, there's a trick Discovering how people tick. You'll want to be part of the group, You need to feel you're in the loop. If you just stand there, blab and spout And talk and talk around, about, One direction information With minimal...
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Looking back to move forwards into 2016
It's here again, that end of the year feeling. Whether a sinking or floating feeling it's that time when many people are either looking back and reflecting, or eyeing the horizon and looking to what next. We are often encouraged to create a vision,...
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Digital Coffee Break Communication
What would Harrison Owen have developed instead I ask myself, if he had been thinking about the coffee breaks of today? Open Space technology as a facilitation method was developed using the idea of a coffee break, where he realised that the most...
read more
Learning from the Comedy Value of Bad Meetings
I am the kind of person that gets inspiration from all over the place. I get flashes of ideas and I seem to get them from everywhere; eating food, walking to the corner shop, talking to people, listening to music. I'd like to say that ideas come to...
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Going for a Temporary Hat Change
I've always had enormous respect for events organisers. It seems like a mammoth task. Large scale organising of something inviting enough for people to want to attend and probably paying for the privilege has always slightly horrified me. I'm not...
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Reflections on life and learning in Nepal.
Today I want to talk about Nepal. I want to talk about that breathtaking and fabulous country that taught me so much. And about the fear and worry that hits you when you realise your friends were right there, in the midst of a massive earthquake. I...
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Training Facilitation and Facilitating the Trainers
Most of my workshops are generally with people who are not used to doing lots of participatory group work, and don't spend their entire day thinking mostly about the best way to engage and motivate each other. That is in part why I'm there in the...
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Making Conversations Count in the Land of Social Media.
I thrive on the buzz of facilitating a workshop. I love it. But I also get quite excited being a participant. And that's what I was doing last week, in the form of an Advanced Social Media course. I was participating in full and reaching down to...
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The Beauty of the Business Blog
At school I hated English lessons, hated to write stories, didn't enjoy reading and summarising texts or planning essays. Funny how these days I love to write. Excellent news then for being able to write a blog! If only it was that simple..........
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