094 - How to build your confidence as a facilitator with Lauren Green

From exploring human graphs as a way of completing her homework in high school to flourishing as a multidisciplinary facilitator, dancer, and visual consultant, Lauren Green has had the kind of journey I love to learn about. Uniting seemingly disparate worlds, Lauren’s unique perspective on facilitation is as refreshing as it is revelatory.

She joined me in this episode to discuss how facilitators can become more confident in the nascent world of virtual facilitation, how dance and facilitation have more in common than many would think, and why we should strive for silence, not conversation.

Find out about:

• How to encourage movement when we’re all behind cameras
• How dance and facilitation move in step together
• Why the skill of following is just as important as leading
• How facilitators can build confidence in a world of virtual workshops
• Three essential roles in virtual workshops
• Why we should embrace non-verbal communication

Questions and Answers

[01:10] When did you first call yourself a facilitator?

[02:41] How did your teacher and your class react to you incorporating facilitation in your project?

[03:45] What did you learn from this experience – did it shape your view of facilitation at all?

[05:11] How has the shift to virtual facilitation impacted your work and facilitate style?

[08:51] Can you explain the origin of your business name – Dancing with Markers?

[14:03] What does confidence mean to you, as a facilitator?

[19:41] How do you read an online room?

[21:53] Can we delegate roles to participants that make them part of the workshop process?

[24:02] Why can it sometimes feel so hard to embody “don’t just do something, stand there”?

[29:14] What – if anything – is the key difference in mindset and skillset between virtual and on-site facilitators?

[31:07] What tools do you use in the lifecycle of preparing, hosting, and closing a workshop?

[37:17] Are virtual workshops inherently more vulnerable than on-site ones?

[44:35] The importance of dress rehearsals – and disaster rehearsals!

[48:57] What makes a workshop fail?

[51:21] If you were a hashtag, what would you be?

[53:20] What is the one thing you would like listeners to takeaway from this conversation?

Lauren’s Resources

Lauren’s Business Page

Friday Coffee Chat for Virtual Facilitators

Dancing with Mural (and Google Docs) (free templates)

Mastering the Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback (Blog)

Self-Affirmations and Setting Boundaries with Others (Blog)

Other resources mentioned:

Books
Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There

Visual Practice Book 

Episode 079 with Melissa Dinwiddie

Appreciative Living Lear

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