Facilitation Archives - Nicole Clark Consulting

29 Feb, 2024

Try This: Get Your Ideal Community Partners On Board

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2024-02-28T21:57:39-05:00February 29th, 2024|Categories: Speaking & Facilitation|Tags: Community Partnerships, Facilitation, Stakeholders, Try This|0 Comments

*Try this activity and let me know how it goes for you.*

Engaging the right community partners to join your partnership is crucial to facilitating a process that’s mutually beneficial.

As you plan your introductory partnership meeting, you need to figure out who to invite, and why.

You see the value in working with these organizations, and you want them there to advance your mission.

The WHY behind your ask is important as these potential partners will ask:

What’s in it for me?

If they can’t see their value add to this partnership, they won’t join you. So, be prepared to show them.

This activity is ideal for:

Staff responsible for facilitating workshops, meetings, or trainings
Staff with experience in engaging community organizations

What you’ll need:

Your community organization partner invitation list
A method for taking notes

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14 Feb, 2024

Choosing Your Community Partners Wisely

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2024-02-28T19:38:09-05:00February 14th, 2024|Categories: Speaking & Facilitation|Tags: Community Partnerships, Facilitation, Meetings, Workshops|0 Comments

When building a partnership with other organizations, engaging the right participants is crucial to facilitating a process that’s mutually beneficial.

Your organization knows the key community players who are doing the same work, whose work is adjacent to yours, or whose work is in another areas but they can champion your work.

A facilitator may not be responsible for generating buy-in for your organization’s call to action, but they can support you in identifying the right organizations for your partnership.

Here’s how you can choose your community partners wisely, with support from your meeting facilitator:

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7 Feb, 2024

Ask Nicole: The #1 Misconception About Meeting Facilitators

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2024-02-07T11:23:31-05:00February 7th, 2024|Categories: Speaking & Facilitation|Tags: Ask Nicole, Facilitation|0 Comments

Have a question you’d like to be featured? Let me know.

Let’s get straight into it !

The #1 misconception about meeting facilitators is that they are responsible for generating buy-in to your organization’s call to action.

Let’s say you want to build a partnership with organizations doing similar work to address an emerging issue in your community.

You may have worked with some of these organizations before, but this would be the first time you’re coming together for a common goal.

Selecting potential partner organizations based on their area(s) of expertise, their networks, and your commonalities is the first step. Convening a meeting to introduce the idea of working together is second.

Next, you have to build the ask. This is the hardest part. Why should these organizations partner with you?

Creating an opportunity for these organizations to come together is one way to learn about your call to action for this partnership. If they’re showing up, it means they’re at least curious. But you need something compelling to draw them in and keep them engage.

When they arrive, they should already have a clear understanding of the goals for the meeting, what’s expected of them, how they are to participate, and what the meeting’s subject matter is about. At the end of the meeting, they should leave with a clear understanding of next steps and also know exactly their organization’s value-add to this partnership.

If you’re not clear on any of this, there’s only so much the meeting facilitator can do.

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20 Sep, 2023

Try This: In Person vs Online Workshop Prep

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2023-09-20T15:21:17-04:00September 20th, 2023|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Facilitation, Try This, Workshops|0 Comments

*Try this out and let me know how it goes for you.*

As an introverted workshop facilitator, I used to believe that online workshops were easier to facilitate than in person ones.

Now I see that online workshops aren’t easier or harder; they just have their own set of quirks.

There’s benefits and drawbacks to choosing a workshop format, especially if your workshop is being facilitated for the first time.

These considerations are just as important for previously facilitated workshops. The ability to pivot a workshop from and to either format requires an understanding of your workshop’s logistical needs, participant experiences, and workshop objectives.

This activity is ideal for:

Program staff responsible for facilitating workshops, meetings, or trainings

What you’ll need:

Your workshop’s agenda and activity breakdown
A method to take notes (laptop, whiteboard, Google Docs, pen/paper, etc.)

The steps:

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14 Feb, 2023

Try This: Evaluate Your Facilitation

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2023-02-15T10:12:00-05:00February 14th, 2023|Categories: Speaking & Facilitation|Tags: Facilitation, Meetings, Workshops|0 Comments

Debriefing after a facilitation helps identify logistical and audience issues, creating a proactive plan for addressing these issues in future facilitations.

Last week, I shared advice for surviving awkward facilitation moments. Today, let’s plan ahead for future facilitations by debriefing on your last facilitation.

This activity is ideal for:

Anyone who recently facilitated a meeting, workshop, discussion, or panel

Here’s what you need:

A facilitation outline from a recent meeting, workshop, discussion, or panel

The steps:

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Try This: Get Your Ideal Community Partners On Board

Choosing Your Community Partners Wisely

Ask Nicole: The #1 Misconception About Meeting Facilitators

Try This: In Person vs Online Workshop Prep

Try This: Evaluate Your Facilitation

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