22 Mar, 2019

Try This: I Like, I Wish, I Wonder

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T20:27:39-04:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Facilitation, Try This, Workshops|0 Comments

This this activity out and let me know how it goes for you.

I’ve used “I Like, I Wish, I Wonder” as a way to get quick feedback from my program and workshop participants.

Adapted from the Stanford Design School’s “I Like, I Wish, How to” process, I first used “I Like, I Wish, I Wonder” during an evaluation project with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s sexual and reproductive justice campaign. The campaign’s Community Engagement Group facilitated local gatherings in the five boroughs to gather insights into how various demographics were advancing Reproductive Justice in their communities.

Due to the gatherings being large in scope and attendance, we 1) needed something quick for the participants to fill out before leaving, and 2) wanted to develop an easy-to-understand evaluation process that was easy for DOHMH staff to volunteers to administer onsite (as I was not able to be at all gatherings) and for participants to not have much of a problem completing. Also, it was a lesson learned in developing an evaluation tool that generates honest constructive feedback AND helping staff and volunteers learn how to look for generated themes by a variety of participants.

This activity is ideal for:

Staff responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of programs, services, and strategies
Gathering quick feedback in a time-crunch
Breaking out of the standard survey construction model
Staff interested in building their skills and confidence in qualitative data collection and analysis

Here’s what you need:

There are two ways to implement this process:

Option 1: Sheets of paper, writing utensils
Option 2: Butcher paper or a white board, a marker, writing utensils, post-its

The process:

For option 1: Have participants divide their sheets into four quadrants labeled “I Like”, “I Wish”, “I Wonder”. (You can also have sheets that already have the labels typed out. You’ll have an empty quadrant, and I’ll explain what to do with it later.

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10 Oct, 2018

Try This: Brainwriting for Rapid Engagement

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T20:20:56-04:00October 10th, 2018|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Try This, Workshops|0 Comments

No, that’s not a typo.

But since you’re thinking of brainstorming, let’s identify how it’s different from our focus for today, brainwriting.

When it comes to generating ideas, brainstorming typically consists of getting a group of people together to generate an idea on how to approach a particular problem. During this process, a few things may happen:

It’s a drawn out process
Sometimes the most vocal of the group tend to dominate the conversation
There’s one person documenting the ideas (and can’t fully participate because they’re too busy writing down everyone’s ideas)
The person documenting typically has the most power in how the idea looks when written down
There are a lot of ideas, but fewer suggestions on what to do with these ideas
There’s a greater chance for boredom

In comparison, brainwriting addresses these concerns by:

Limiting the amount of time the group generates ideas
Everyone participates equally rather than the most vocal of the group
Everyone is writing down their ideas instead of one person
Everyone decides how their idea looks written down
Everyone has the opportunity to provide a variation of the ideas, which promotes for creativity and insights into next steps
It’s more engaging

Brainwriting is a more effective process because it allows for more individuality in generating ideas rapidly, rather than conforming to groupthink. Rather than focusing on one person at a time, this method reduces the amount of talking that occurs during brainstorming, which can take time away from idea generation.

This activity is ideal for:

Understanding how an idea looks from multiple perspectives
Understanding how problem can be solved based on multiple perspectives
Having a more engaging process for group work within a training or workshop
Including more creative exercises within a focus group
Creating a more equitable way for introverts and extroverts people to participate

Here’s what you need:

Sheets of paper
Pens or pencils

The steps:

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1 Aug, 2018

Ask Nicole: How to Bring Ideas to Life in Your Workshop or Training

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T20:14:35-04:00August 1st, 2018|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Ask Nicole, Facilitation, Workshops|0 Comments

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

The purpose of a workshop or training is inform your audience of key concepts in a manner that is engaging. And your job as the trainer or facilitator is to keep the interest of your audience.

There are a variety of reasons why someone may zone out in your workshop or training, but the most important reason (I believe) this occurs is because

Your audience isn’t fully understanding the subject matter.

Ability aside, some people aren’t able to grasp or recall subject matter just by listening to you speak. But there are some tricks you can keep up your sleeve.

Here are some tricks I’ve used to bring ideas to life in my workshops and trainings:

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14 Jun, 2017

Try This: The A & B Conversation

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T19:43:28-04:00June 14th, 2017|Categories: Speaking & Facilitation|Tags: Facilitation, Try This, Workshops|0 Comments

(Image Source)

The A & B Conversation is a communication activity that focuses on healthy communication, conflict resolution, and gaining a different perspective on a situation. This activity can be used in a variety of settings, and today we’re going to focus on facilitating this activity in a workshop setting with adults and young people. This is even better if the participants consist of parents/guardians and their children.

Here’s what you need:

An even number of participants (for consistency, have the adult be Partner A and the young person be Partner B)
A timer
A list of scenarios ranging from conversations perceived to be easy to ones that may be more difficult, including:
- Asking for money to buy an item
- Failing a driver’s test
- Sneaking out past curfew
- Argument over discovery of a social media profile
- Choosing not to go to college
- Meeting with the school principal to discuss allegations of online bullying
- Asking for the meaning of song filled with sexually suggestive lyrics
- Finding condoms in jeans pockets while doing laundry
- Asking if one was a virgin on her/his wedding night
- Disclosing a pregnancy and having questions about terminating the pregnancy
- Disclosing one’s sexuality
- Being caught putting the date rape drug in a person’s drink

The steps:

As the facilitator, choose the scenario the partners will act out. Next, using the timer, have the partners act out the scenario for 2 minutes.

When the timer stops, reset it to 2 minutes, and have the partners switch roles. Have the partners improvise the same scenario, this time with the young person (Partner B) becoming the parent/guardian and the adult (Partner A) becoming the young person.

The follow-up:

After the final 2 minutes is up, have the partners process what took place using the following discussion questions:

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5 Aug, 2015

Why Do Ice Breakers Suck So Much? (6 Tips for Bypassing the Awkwardness)

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2023-10-09T12:31:25-04:00August 5th, 2015|Categories: Workshop, Program, & Curriculum Design|Tags: Facilitation, Workshops|0 Comments

I don’t like ice breakers.

From the first workshop I remember attending to the workshops I attend now, I don’t like ice breakers.

I don’t even like including ice breakers in my own workshops. When you’re done developing your workshops and you’re all excited, nothing let’s you down quicker than remembering you forgot to include an ice breaker.

“Tell us one interesting fact about yourself”. “Choose an adjective that describes you using the initial of your first name”. “Two truths and a lie”. Announce that you’re about to start an ice breaker activity, and be prepared for the deep sighs and low groans.

(And everyone knows your two truths are lies too.)

I thought it was because I’m an introvert. There’s nothing more anxiety-provoking than sitting in a circle and waiting for your turn. Your heart begins to beat faster at the thought of speaking in front of strangers, hoping that your voice doesn’t crack or that you stutter. For me, I don’t like being the center of attention (which is odd as a workshop facilitator). But it’s not an introvert thing. Even the extroverted of the extroverts I know don’t care for ice breakers.

One of the reasons we hate ice breakers is because they feel forced. Participants come to your workshops already with the mindset that they’ll be interacting with each other in some capacity. The difference between an exercise within a workshop versus an ice breaker is that the interactions within an exercise can be more natural and allows participants to talk to one another without the icky discomfort that comes with ice breakers.

Whether you like ice breakers or not, they’re here to stay. Here are some tips on creating ice breakers that make sense and are enjoyable (at least as much as an ice breaker can be enjoyable):

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Try This: I Like, I Wish, I Wonder

Try This: Brainwriting for Rapid Engagement

This activity is ideal for:

Here’s what you need:

The steps:

Ask Nicole: How to Bring Ideas to Life in Your Workshop or Training

Your audience isn’t fully understanding the subject matter.

Try This: The A & B Conversation

Here’s what you need:

The steps:

The follow-up:

Why Do Ice Breakers Suck So Much? (6 Tips for Bypassing the Awkwardness)

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