One of my favorite facilitation lines: "The beauty of experiential learning is we can all have the same experience but take something totally different away from it." I use that to encourage reflections and debriefs as well as mine for opposite and diverse perspectives.
100% "There is no world, there are only six billion understandings of it." Drew Dudley said that...when there was about two billion less people on the planet than there are now hahaha.
My favorite facilitation things to say: 1) From the world of outdoor/adventure education - "Hey participants, challenge by choice." - meaning the participants have choice, autonomy, etc. over what they share, how they share, how deeply they share, etc. 2) "Get together with an elbow partner and leave no one behind" - to easily get people in dyads to share and answer prompts. 3) From Michelle Cummings, I love her line, "In a moment and not yet" - to give directions and not have participants start yet. 4) "What does your 85 year old, vibrant self know about this? - to hear from another perspective that is wise, all knowing, healthy, vibrant. (I also like the converse of this....what does your 7-year old self want you to know about this?)
Love it. I still remember Michelle Cummings, a friend, saying that at my first experiential ed conference in Boulder, CO ~15 years ago. I've also realized that in order to actually honor "challenge by choice," I need to give people a few example choices at varying degrees of risk/participation. Otherwise, peer pressure can push many to "choose" a challenge they really would have preferred not choosing. It's a delicate balance intentionally making sure people are NOT comfortable...but also making sure they are safe.
@@chad.littlefield "Challenge by choice" is new to me and a little unclear. Could you share a sample of those example choices at varying degrees, please?
A phrase which I use that seems to generate connection and conversation when leading a discussion or meeting is, "How do you feel when...?" or "How do you think others feel when...?" Everyone, whether engaged or not, has feelings. Knowing how people feel or hearing their perspective on how others might feel, really helps the direction of the conversation move towards something productive for everyone.
Nice. Everyone also has thoughts. I do love asking "what struck you?" or "what did you notice?" as a way of including both the thinkers and feelers in a group. That said, sometimes pushing a group of logical, data-driven, rationalizing engineers to consider or notice FEELINGS can be incredibly powerful. Thanks for sharing!
thank you for inspiring this, @fengfamm and chad. i believe that empathy, in every level, especially in crafting questions, help create a more productive, more connected experiences. i recall one of the conversations with mark collard - people remember how they felt in an experience. following this, when we begin with the end in mind, we could change it up and say 'at the end of the activity, how will it feel, look and sound like?' thaaanks again. (",)
Commenting so I can come back later. Love your work, Chad! Thanks for creating this learning space. "Who do you think of when you hear the word ______. Why?" "Generosity"? My dad.
Love it, Cindy. I'm so delighted that more and more these videos, the channel, and the comments section is becoming a library of wisdom! "Who do you think of when you hear the word _______" is such a wonderful prompt!
Yes...AND...I like to share a bit of philosophy along with the phrase if I'm entering an idea generation phase with a group. The essenece-I believe- of "yes, and" and its origins is improv:"withholding judgement and building somebody up." Who would not LOVE this as a cultural tone/norm in a group, team or organization.
I like to use the line "I'd like to invite you to discover ...." then fill on the topics. Then keep ever topic into three sub topics and keep it moving.
Interesting. Sounds like a lovely phrase to use when holding up something for a group to read/watch/listen to. A prompt to flip on the curiosity light switch. Lovely!
"and next time..." gets people thinking beyond the now and what are their next steps. also great when providing feedback so that is does not focus on the negative. It keeps us focused on growth.
Love this. My favorite question version to get at this is "what is something you would like to do more of?" And it can be asked in relation to a particular context, meeting, piece of content, etc.
One of my favourite questions: "what do you need to do / what needs to happen, so you can do this/for that to happen)?" - opens so many new possibilities!
Instead of checking that everybody has understood an instruction, question or task, my go-to question is "Who does NOT understand?", thus giving the legitimacy for anyone who has not followed my thread to raise their hand to clarify something and giving me the opportunity to be clearer in my intentions. Thanks for all your input! Neil
Even better if you can make it "cool" to ask clarification questions as they'll benefit the group. Making it as psychologically comfy as possible for people to ASK does wonders to promoting "extreme clarity" as my Chief of Staff, Kim, would say 👍👍
I like using the phrase "What struck you ..." about the information you've heard over this last hour or today during the training or about specific information being discussed...just a different way of saying "What" in the What, So What, Now What? stages!
Yes! I first learned this question from Peter Block and recently I grabbed lunch with him and he added a beautiful nuance to the question by referencing being "struck by lightning." In other words, it's asking people what jumped out of the conversation and knocked you upside the head, provided a 'shock to the system', and made you think twice about something. Such a gem of a question.
Just imagine, Chad, a world where every group facilitator does (at least) step #1 - an unofficial start :-) Oh, and thanks for the shout-out. Always inspiring to "be" on the same stage as you...
A good question is quite literally an edit button for at least the next two minutes of the future. And that is such an intense power to influence what somebody speaks into existence-or what they hold in.
So wonderful. First learned this from MBS, author of the Coaching Habit. But I'm sure he got it from someone else who got it from someone else and so on. Now...what else? Haha. Thanks for dropping in to share, Seth!
intersting ways to facilitate thanks! I found the "what, gut, so what, now what" one sounds similar to "observe, feeling, need, request" in NVC (compassionate communication). that I might add, involves putting on giraffe ears to hear what people need. "what's alive in you right now" is a question I appreciate
Hmm, interesting. Never compared the two. The what/gut/so what/now what is largely intended for group debriefing and processing where as the NVC language feels more internal and reflective. AND...both could be applied to both contexts probably :-)
I love that last question, "What is one of your favorite stories about ___". So simple and yet I could really see how it would create a lot of meaningful connections. Love your work around asking powerful questions :)
Similar to the tip about risk and value, I often think about facilitation as being about helping participants work with safety and challenge. As a facilitator, I am always asking myself how do I make the space safe enough for folks to try some things that may be a little bit challenging especially at the outset.
LOVE it! I've even started going one step further by giving every 30 seconds in quiet and inviting everyone to flip on their curiosity and come up with a question-even if they aren't going to ask it in the large group. Then I'll have people start to popcorn things out. It is AMAZING how a room filled with crickets becomes a room filled with dozens of questions all with just 30 seconds of thinking time and a clear invitation.
@@jenniferabrell766 yes, annnd some of the concerns may be from peers/colleagues who aren't able to join (for a range of reasons) - the prompt might be: 'let's think of one of our peers/colleagues, what might their questions be?' thaaanks for the inspiration, @marinafield5891, chad and @jenniferabrell766! (",)
What do you see as your opportunity (or action step) in this situation? What is one thing you now might do differently? These phrases are helpful when trying to help people find psychological ownership.
Lovely! I actually have learned that this question can be enhanced by turning it into a multiple choice question with 3-7 options for people to "upvote." This is also more realistic...because if somebody says they hope to get individual coaching on a work conflict and we are in a training with 150 people...it's unlikely I'm going to meet their need...or the other 149 peoples' needs haha. So I like to narrow expectations of what is possible.
You create great content. So good that I have to admit to you something embarrassing. I purposely don't leave likes and comments under your videos because the smaller your reach, the easier it is for me to pretend sometimes that I come up with the great ideas myself. I know it's not nice of me, but who among us is not at least a little selfish. I leave you this one comment to read it in a more difficult moment, when you think "gee, I'm trying so hard and I still don't have 100k subscriptions", think then that there are more nasty people like me. ;)
thanks for reminding me to like the video ;) it's natural to want our own ideas to be valued as much as others. make sure you address this need, and keep your heart open to supporting others. its also an interesting philosophical topic- who's ideas are they?
@@colmrooney414 my friend Mark Collard would say "a good idea doesn't care who it belongs to." And objectively, I think he is right. By the way...he got that quote from somebody else haha! On the other hand, a mentor, Matt Church, is such a wonderful advocate and model of sharing with attribution. How far do you go with attribution though...I don't know the answer to that. Just where you heard it? 2nd degree? 3rd? Point is, at the very least, I think because of my role, I at the least have a responsibility to attribute whenever possible and reasonable.
Consider hitting the " 👍 " button...so that...maybe somebody who is leading a less-than-great meeting you have to attend sees this video 🤣
One of my favorite facilitation lines: "The beauty of experiential learning is we can all have the same experience but take something totally different away from it." I use that to encourage reflections and debriefs as well as mine for opposite and diverse perspectives.
100% "There is no world, there are only six billion understandings of it."
Drew Dudley said that...when there was about two billion less people on the planet than there are now hahaha.
One of my favorite phrases/questions: "Who sees it differently?" It invites diversity of thought and helps prevent group think.
Magical! 🧠 Thanks for sharing! I love the question in a discussion that has become super polarized into a false dichotomy: "what is a third option?"
Thank you (again) Chad. "One of .. " is simply briliant, never thought about it, still it makes so much sense. All the best and thanks again. Matz
Yup! It's a major golden gem. Glad you've got the tool in the kit now 🙂
My favorite facilitation things to say: 1) From the world of outdoor/adventure education - "Hey participants, challenge by choice." - meaning the participants have choice, autonomy, etc. over what they share, how they share, how deeply they share, etc. 2) "Get together with an elbow partner and leave no one behind" - to easily get people in dyads to share and answer prompts. 3) From Michelle Cummings, I love her line, "In a moment and not yet" - to give directions and not have participants start yet. 4) "What does your 85 year old, vibrant self know about this? - to hear from another perspective that is wise, all knowing, healthy, vibrant. (I also like the converse of this....what does your 7-year old self want you to know about this?)
Love it. I still remember Michelle Cummings, a friend, saying that at my first experiential ed conference in Boulder, CO ~15 years ago. I've also realized that in order to actually honor "challenge by choice," I need to give people a few example choices at varying degrees of risk/participation. Otherwise, peer pressure can push many to "choose" a challenge they really would have preferred not choosing. It's a delicate balance intentionally making sure people are NOT comfortable...but also making sure they are safe.
@@chad.littlefield "Challenge by choice" is new to me and a little unclear. Could you share a sample of those example choices at varying degrees, please?
A phrase which I use that seems to generate connection and conversation when leading a discussion or meeting is, "How do you feel when...?" or "How do you think others feel when...?" Everyone, whether engaged or not, has feelings. Knowing how people feel or hearing their perspective on how others might feel, really helps the direction of the conversation move towards something productive for everyone.
Nice. Everyone also has thoughts. I do love asking "what struck you?" or "what did you notice?" as a way of including both the thinkers and feelers in a group. That said, sometimes pushing a group of logical, data-driven, rationalizing engineers to consider or notice FEELINGS can be incredibly powerful. Thanks for sharing!
thank you for inspiring this, @fengfamm and chad. i believe that empathy, in every level, especially in crafting questions, help create a more productive, more connected experiences. i recall one of the conversations with mark collard - people remember how they felt in an experience. following this, when we begin with the end in mind, we could change it up and say 'at the end of the activity, how will it feel, look and sound like?' thaaanks again. (",)
Commenting so I can come back later. Love your work, Chad! Thanks for creating this learning space.
"Who do you think of when you hear the word ______. Why?" "Generosity"? My dad.
Love it, Cindy. I'm so delighted that more and more these videos, the channel, and the comments section is becoming a library of wisdom! "Who do you think of when you hear the word _______" is such a wonderful prompt!
I love ❤️ your videos and lectures. Thank you!
Thanks, Susana!
A handy go-to tip is to use "Yes, and ..." for a team to create a story together of the group's preferred future.
Yes...AND...I like to share a bit of philosophy along with the phrase if I'm entering an idea generation phase with a group. The essenece-I believe- of "yes, and" and its origins is improv:"withholding judgement and building somebody up." Who would not LOVE this as a cultural tone/norm in a group, team or organization.
I like to use the line "I'd like to invite you to discover ...." then fill on the topics. Then keep ever topic into three sub topics and keep it moving.
Interesting. Sounds like a lovely phrase to use when holding up something for a group to read/watch/listen to. A prompt to flip on the curiosity light switch. Lovely!
I love the cards where it creates contents
"and next time..." gets people thinking beyond the now and what are their next steps. also great when providing feedback so that is does not focus on the negative. It keeps us focused on growth.
Love this. My favorite question version to get at this is "what is something you would like to do more of?" And it can be asked in relation to a particular context, meeting, piece of content, etc.
One of my favourite questions: "what do you need to do / what needs to happen, so you can do this/for that to happen)?" - opens so many new possibilities!
Instead of checking that everybody has understood an instruction, question or task, my go-to question is "Who does NOT understand?", thus giving the legitimacy for anyone who has not followed my thread to raise their hand to clarify something and giving me the opportunity to be clearer in my intentions. Thanks for all your input! Neil
Even better if you can make it "cool" to ask clarification questions as they'll benefit the group. Making it as psychologically comfy as possible for people to ASK does wonders to promoting "extreme clarity" as my Chief of Staff, Kim, would say 👍👍
I like using the phrase "What struck you ..." about the information you've heard over this last hour or today during the training or about specific information being discussed...just a different way of saying "What" in the What, So What, Now What? stages!
Yes! I first learned this question from Peter Block and recently I grabbed lunch with him and he added a beautiful nuance to the question by referencing being "struck by lightning." In other words, it's asking people what jumped out of the conversation and knocked you upside the head, provided a 'shock to the system', and made you think twice about something. Such a gem of a question.
Just imagine, Chad, a world where every group facilitator does (at least) step #1 - an unofficial start :-) Oh, and thanks for the shout-out. Always inspiring to "be" on the same stage as you...
Love our partnership! Looking forward to lots more awesomeness through the year 👍👍
Thanks Chad - questions are powerful prompts to connect, to share, to START so that the building of conversation can go and grow.
A good question is quite literally an edit button for at least the next two minutes of the future. And that is such an intense power to influence what somebody speaks into existence-or what they hold in.
"and what else"......"I love that, can you tell me more about that"
So wonderful. First learned this from MBS, author of the Coaching Habit. But I'm sure he got it from someone else who got it from someone else and so on. Now...what else? Haha. Thanks for dropping in to share, Seth!
intersting ways to facilitate thanks! I found the "what, gut, so what, now what" one sounds similar to "observe, feeling, need, request" in NVC (compassionate communication). that I might add, involves putting on giraffe ears to hear what people need. "what's alive in you right now" is a question I appreciate
Hmm, interesting. Never compared the two. The what/gut/so what/now what is largely intended for group debriefing and processing where as the NVC language feels more internal and reflective. AND...both could be applied to both contexts probably :-)
I love that last question, "What is one of your favorite stories about ___". So simple and yet I could really see how it would create a lot of meaningful connections. Love your work around asking powerful questions :)
Infinitely flexible and applicable to your purpose and context too!
Similar to the tip about risk and value, I often think about facilitation as being about helping participants work with safety and challenge. As a facilitator, I am always asking myself how do I make the space safe enough for folks to try some things that may be a little bit challenging especially at the outset.
B-E-A-utiful!
inspiiiiired. thanks, @traceyfoster5746 and chad! looks like an impactful quadrant to me. (",)
My initial go to debrief questions: “What did you learn?” & “What would you like to learn more (of/about)?”
Inviting people to CHOOSE what they want to learn more about is so, so valuable!
Three of my favorite question starters are: "What if...?"; "How might we...?"; and "Why can't we...?"
One question I like to ask is who is left out of this picture?
BEAUTIFUL!!
Instead of saying "Any questions" saying "What questions do you have?"
LOVE it! I've even started going one step further by giving every 30 seconds in quiet and inviting everyone to flip on their curiosity and come up with a question-even if they aren't going to ask it in the large group. Then I'll have people start to popcorn things out. It is AMAZING how a room filled with crickets becomes a room filled with dozens of questions all with just 30 seconds of thinking time and a clear invitation.
I came here to say exactly that. It works with youth and adults setting the expectation that there are questions still out there.
@@jenniferabrell766 yes, annnd some of the concerns may be from peers/colleagues who aren't able to join (for a range of reasons) - the prompt might be: 'let's think of one of our peers/colleagues, what might their questions be?' thaaanks for the inspiration, @marinafield5891, chad and @jenniferabrell766! (",)
"So that..." is a concise version of the typical "what's in it for me..." WIIFM
Precisely!
"What did you notice"?
Such a gem. Invites a group to drop down from "content" and into "process." Fantastic for deepening a discussion and making it "real."
What impact did/would that have?
Such a beautiful, simple and forward thinking question. Which is also lovely for inviting someone to stand in somebody else's shoes 👍👍
What's coming up for you right now? What emotions did that video stir within you? How would you change the circumstances?
What do you see as your opportunity (or action step) in this situation? What is one thing you now might do differently? These phrases are helpful when trying to help people find psychological ownership.
I got this from you. "What do you hope to get out of today's session?"
Lovely! I actually have learned that this question can be enhanced by turning it into a multiple choice question with 3-7 options for people to "upvote." This is also more realistic...because if somebody says they hope to get individual coaching on a work conflict and we are in a training with 150 people...it's unlikely I'm going to meet their need...or the other 149 peoples' needs haha. So I like to narrow expectations of what is possible.
I want to invite you to stand and join us
You create great content. So good that I have to admit to you something embarrassing. I purposely don't leave likes and comments under your videos because the smaller your reach, the easier it is for me to pretend sometimes that I come up with the great ideas myself. I know it's not nice of me, but who among us is not at least a little selfish. I leave you this one comment to read it in a more difficult moment, when you think "gee, I'm trying so hard and I still don't have 100k subscriptions", think then that there are more nasty people like me. ;)
This is both an extremely tall compliment and mildly offensive bahaha! Glad you came "out of the woodwork" to say hello. Glad to make the connection.
thanks for reminding me to like the video ;) it's natural to want our own ideas to be valued as much as others. make sure you address this need, and keep your heart open to supporting others. its also an interesting philosophical topic- who's ideas are they?
@@colmrooney414 my friend Mark Collard would say "a good idea doesn't care who it belongs to." And objectively, I think he is right. By the way...he got that quote from somebody else haha! On the other hand, a mentor, Matt Church, is such a wonderful advocate and model of sharing with attribution. How far do you go with attribution though...I don't know the answer to that. Just where you heard it? 2nd degree? 3rd? Point is, at the very least, I think because of my role, I at the least have a responsibility to attribute whenever possible and reasonable.