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New to facilitation and workshops?

Top 10 articles you need to read in Facilistation

Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

Apr 28, 2023

Image by Freepick

I get steady asked by people that are new to facilitation and workshop design about articles that might help them to kickstart their knowledge and career on the topic.

I have gathered here the top 10 articles everybody should read in the right order.

Enjoy and let me know what you think and what you miss.

1. What’s really a workshop?

🤔 What’s really a workshop?

A workshop is a structured, organised way for teams to collaborate, that ensures solid outcomes, all the while avoiding the usual pitfalls of teamwork, such as team politics, asymmetrical knowledge, and differences in working styles. Group collaboration is an inherently challenging thing for people to do, and without the right set of tools or practices i…

a year ago · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

2. What does facilitation mean?

🤔 What does F A C I L I T A T I O N actually mean

Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash Facilitation is a process of enabling groups to work cooperatively and effectively together and which emphasises the involvement of all participants in a meaningful way. The word ‘facilitator’ comes from the Latin facilitas, which roughly means ‘easiness’. Thus a facilitator is someone who works to make meetings and grou…

a year ago · 2 likes · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

3. Meetings and workshops: what’s the difference?

Meetings ("talkshops") vs. workshops

Have you ever attended a meeting or workshop that was a complete waste of time? Maybe the goal wasn’t clear, there was no agenda, the activities seemed meaningless, or it just didn’t feel like anything was getting accomplished. Or, have you ever been asked to facilitate a workshop you felt was unnecessary? Perhaps y…

9 months ago · 6 likes · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

4. How to successfully design any workshop

How to successfully design ANY workshop

Any workshop goes always through 4 steps or phases (6 C’s) and 3 states and behaviours. Once you known them, you can successfully design and facilitate any workshop whatsoever with total confidence and make it work…

9 months ago · 22 likes · 1 comment · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

5. Best workshop exercises Dave Gray and I know

Best workshop exercises we know II

Dave Gray writes the Gamestorming newsletter, and I write the Facili-station newsletter. We thought you might enjoy reading a conversation between the two of us about our favourite workshop exercises. We will each write three letters, responding to each other’s thoughts…

8 months ago · 7 likes · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera and Dave Gray

6. How to take off your workshop

How to take off your workshop like a champ

Photo by Jonathan Ridley on Unsplash 1. Intro and warm up A vital part to your workshop’s success is getting people to feel engaged and switched on right from the start. If you don’t make sure your participants get an energetic start from the get-go, you’ll risk people getting bored before you’ve even started…

a year ago · 4 likes · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

7. How to give clear instructions in a workshop

How to give clear instructions in a workshop

Photo by FORTYTWO on Unsplash What → Why → How This sounds obvious, but is easily forgotten or overlooked. Thanks for reading Facili-station! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The best way to give instructions that people will actually understand is to use the following formula when explaining any exercise in your workshop…

10 months ago · 5 likes · 1 comment · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

8. When and how do you introduce workshops and meetings ground rules

When and how do you introduce workshops and meetings ground rules

Ground rules are important because they help to establish the right expectations for the participants of a workshop or meeting. This helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and reduces the risk of the gathering turning unproductive or running out of hand…

8 months ago · 3 likes · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

9. Workshop and meeting ground rules: tons of examples here for you to use

Workshop and meeting ground rules

Ground rules are guidelines that participants in a meeting or workshop agree to follow in order to make the meeting or workshop more productive and enjoyable. Common ground rules include things like being respectful of other participants, not interrupting, and staying on topic…

8 months ago · 6 likes · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera

10. Multipurpose workshop exercise

Best workshop exercises we know IV

Dave Gray writes the Gamestorming newsletter, and I write the Facili-station newsletter. We thought you might enjoy reading a conversation between the two of us about our favourite workshop exercises. We will each write three letters, responding to each other’s thoughts…

8 months ago · 10 likes · 2 comments · Jose Manuel Redondo Lopera and Dave Gray

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