So, I want to facilitate a workshop with a group of people. But I\u2019ve never met them before. Hence I\u2019m forced make assumptions about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what I reckon is a safe set of assumptions – good for almost any situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can safely trust that my participants, whoever they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Will back me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Arrive anxious and need thawing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) Are hoping someone\u2019s in charge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4) Appreciate structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5) Appreciate ground rules, with consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6) Collectively know more than the experts (so surface their knowledge first).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7) Are dying to be genuinely heard (beginning in pairs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8) Will come back smiling from a paired session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9) Have excellent stamina for doing, but little for listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10) Will throw themselves into answering good questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11) Always welcome moving their bodies, arms, anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12) To freely imagine, must be smiling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

13) Grow taller with praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14) Have a huge appetite for stories, but less for facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15) Will forget instructions unless they\u2019re written down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16) Will misinterpret abstract words or directions unless I give working examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17) Will tend to focus on problems unless I insist that \u2018we\u2019re only interested in positive solutions\u2019 and give them examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18) Will be distracted by their devices if they can see them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19) Will mysteriously grey their imaginations and hopefulness as soon as they sit down. I can fix that by showing them exciting inspirations and evidence of how others are \u2018going beyond\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By assuming these statements are true I can happily design and deliver quite complex and challenging workshops. Plus\u2026there\u2019s less to worry about!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BTW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I\u2019m at it, here are a couple more nuggets of hard-earned wisdom:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve noticed that Elected representatives<\/strong>\u00a0will frequently overtalk – so establish strict, tight time limits for any session they\u2019re in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expert speakers<\/strong>\u00a0will so often ignore time limits and present their standard PowerPoint spiel with scant regard for the audience\u2019s actual interests or attention span \u2013 so give them a firm briefing on what the audience want to hear, plus strict time limits and slide limits. For example: \u201cYou have 10 minutes and 5 slides, the rest is question time\u201d – that works well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facilitate with Confidence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n