My new book – FoCuSeD Facilitation Games. I’ve been working on this since April. Millie has finished editing it and I’ve received comments from Izzy Gesell and Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan – thank you all very much. I’m using this book for our FoCuSeD Advanced Class later this month.
I’m excited about this book. I like the name I’ve chosen for group facilitation exercises – Participant Engagement Tools (PETs). It resonates and captures what these truly are about. I have included every PET that I’ve used and found useful. In addition, I’ve thought through how to modify the PETs for different sized groups, face-to-face, teleconferences, mixed face-to-face and teleconference workshops, and others. I’ve also provided templates so that you can design your own PET. This book will make a difference for Facilitators – I’ve found no other book like it.
The best way to get the book is to attend the FoCuSeD Advanced Class on September 27th and 28th (contact me to register).
Posts Tagged ‘teleconference’
Facilitation Games – new book
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPFWinter Fun
Monday, January 17th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPFHi Y’all,
It’s a New Year – I wish all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
I had the opportunity to teach The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy at a client in Hartford, CT last week. The class went well, but I managed to schedule the class during the week when a record snow fall hit Hartford – the heaviest snow fall in over 100 years! I’m used to snow, living in Chicago, but because of the amount – over 2 feet – businesses were closed – including the client. Rather than lose a day, a Live Meeting was scheduled for the day. The students dialed in from their homes. I dialed in from the hotel. I was able to display the class slides over Live Meeting and we were able to conduct the class covering everything as if we were face-to-face, including exercises.
I prefer face-to-face – it’s easier to present when you have people reacting – but in a pinch, teaching the class over the Internet worked. Using an Internet meeting tool, such as Live Meeting or WebEx, makes a big difference. I could capture ideas on the shared notes, enabling everyone to view them. We were even able to develop workshop agendas for the client with everyone participating. As more and more companies embrace Work From Home and telecommuting concepts, we are all going to have to adjust. This class gave me an opportunity to try something new and learn from it.
Data Modeling & Teleconferences
Friday, July 16th, 2010 by Gary Rush, CPFI just returned from facilitating a data model workshop. We’ve been working on this since January with three face-to-face workshops and interim teleconference workshops. It’s interesting that the client, who is very experienced with teleconferencing, felt that the face-to-face workshops were essential to the success of this effort. I agree. The teleconferences were beneficial and worked well in developing pieces of the model, but a model is very visual. Even with good Internet tools and the ability to view desktops, etc., the group needed to see the entire model (very large) and get up and move elements around – something you can’t do as well via a teleconference. So, while I support the use of teleconferences, and they work well when properly facilitated, there are still times when we need to get in a room together and work things out. It is still nice to connect with others by seeing them in person and chatting with them during breaks – face-to-face interaction is still key.