Emergent Facilitation: Be prepared for the unexpected
This two-hour online training is about how we can be prepared to shift and pivot our plans in the moment to best serve the needs of any group we’re leading.
It’s for everyone who leads groups: facilitators, teachers, coaches, and participatory leaders of all kinds.
November 1st from 11am-1pm ET
$199 (financial support & group discounts available)
Registration includes: recording, private podcast, and copious follow-up resources
WHAT THIS WORKSHOP IS ABOUT
When we gather people together, whether it’s a meeting with our colleagues, leading leadership training, or in a classroom or educational setting, we want people to be actively involved in the process. And when people are actively involved in the process, they shape and influence what is going to happen.
One of the biggest challenges in facilitation is the constant dance between sticking to the plan and directly responding to the energy, interest, and attention of the group. We want to go where the energy is, to be able to meet the needs of the group, but there are so many decisions and factors to consider in the moment.
We can be nervous to pivot on the fly because:
Shifting the plan and the session feel disjointed
Missing the original goals
Losing control of the session (and participants knowing about it and losing confidence in us!)
Getting co-facilitators on the same page quickly
All of these factors can lead us to feeling overwhelmed and unable to make in-the-moment decisions.
We might be asking ourselves:
When does it make sense to move away from the plan vs. "parking lot" something for later?
Is this outside of the scope of what I was hired to do?
Can the group “handle” the deeper conversation that is coming up?
Emergent Facilitation: Strategies for in-the-moment change is a session that will provide straightforward practices and help you understand the mindset that ensures you are always in control matter what comes up.
THIS SESSION WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND
What work you can do ahead of time to plan for emergence. How you can modularly plan to make your agendas more flexible. What it takes to create back up plans and accordion activities that don’t take a ton of extra prep work.
How to communicate to clients to create space for change! What to say in order to help them understand why shifting the plan might be necessary and in their best interest.
How to get a co-facilitator on board with changing things up in the moment. Strategies for getting 2-5 minutes (without the group even noticing!) to get on the same page so that you can move forward with the new plan.
How to communicate change to the group while maintaining their trust and confidence in the new plan. Why it's important how we frame the change when shifting in a new direction.
Responsiveness is at the heart of great facilitation.
A facilitator who can genuinely meet the needs of the group—needs that weren’t apparent even to the group before the session—is the mark of a brilliant facilitator. Feeling like we can hold space for emergence in our facilitation will lead us to feel more confident in a wide range of experiences and be ready for profound change and possibility.
WHO’S LEADING THE SESSION
Meg Bolger! An expert facilitator, social justice educator, and participatory educator.
Meg has been facilitating for over a decade and is currently the head of Facilitator Cards and POP Facilitation. Meg co-founded numerous projects and businesses including The Safe Zone Project, FacilitatingXYZ, Unlocking the Magic of Facilitation, and Facilitator Cards and spent much of the last decade training trainers from around the country (and world) on the art of facilitation.
Meg’s foundations in facilitation came from her work in social justice education and gender and sexuality workshops. She believes that facilitation is one of the key skills of educators, leaders, organizers, and facilitators who are trying to bring about meaningful change in the world. Her work in social justice spaces also gave her years of navigating hot topics, challenging conversations, and loaded disagreements in group settings.
Meg is passionate about the subtleties of what helps groups work, learn, collaborate, and connect with each other. She loves to break down the art of facilitation into skills that people can use to help humans collaborate, communicate, and connect better together.
Meg believes that as leaders, educators, trainers, and facilitators, we can make our spaces places that people feel good and want to be in. Her mission is to share everything she knows about facilitation to support everyone who is doing meaningful change work in the world.
WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE?
This workshop is a highly participatory session. Other than a mid-point break you’ll be actively engaging and participating throughout the entire workshop.
We’ll use a variety of methods and technologies including journaling, pair shares, live polling, chat, small-group work, large-group discussions, and more.
This session is limited to 100 participants. We cap at 100 so that we can still do pair-breakout rooms (Zoom limits to 50 breakout rooms) and have lots of meaningful small-group conversations.
The workshop will start right at the hour and we will close the door to the workshop after 10 minutes to ensure that the group has a cohesive learning experience.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Facilitators – Who want to become more agile and responsive in their facilitations.
Coaches – Who work with groups where often the conversation is entirely emergent and responding to needs on the fly is an integral part of the work.
Trainers, Consultants, Educators, Teachers, Managers & Leaders – Who want to feel confident leading interactive meetings and sessions even when it’s impossible to know what is needed before it begins.
WHEN YOU SIGN UP YOU’LL RECEIVE
After signing up for Emergent Facilitation you’ll receive an email with a link to add it to your calendar and details reminding you about what you can expect in the session.
EXPECTATIONS OF THE SESSION
Be ready to participate! Participation in this event does not require your camera to be on (but we love it if you do!) However, it does require participation in small group and pair breakout room conversations - so it’s not a good session to multitask during!
No late arrivals. Because this is a participatory session that builds on itself quickly after 10 minutes the doors will be shut and those who have not joined yet will not be allowed in.
The session will be recorded and shared. The recording will be focused in the main room, no breakout conversations will be recorded.
The session will be recorded and shared. The recording will be focused in the main room, no breakout conversations will be recorded.
After the session you will also receive access to a resource hub that will contain:
A recording of the event that you can access anytime, carefully chaptered to help you jump to key parts
A curated resource of additional material to explore the key concepts and topics (for all types of learners—podcasts, articles, videos, and more!)
A follow-up Q&A video to get to questions we didn’t address during the session (also available to listen to as a private podcast)
You will receive all of these resources regardless if you attend the live session, so if you can’t make the time but want all the things, sign up!
WHAT DOES IT COST?
The cost of Emergent Facilitation is $199.
INDIVIDUAL ACCESS DISCOUNTS
If you cannot afford the price of the training, we do not want that to be a barrier to accessing the material.
Discounts are available to those who need financial assistance in order to join the training.
TO PAY A DISCOUNTED RATE
Drop us an email (hello@facilitator.cards) and let us know whether you need a 50%, 75% or full scholarship.
GRITTY DETAILS
No refunds after October 25th.
Each registration is for one person only, if there are multiple people at your organization who would like to attend please contact us for group rates, special discounts, or exceptions.
You will receive the follow-up resources, recording, etc. regardless of whether you attend the training and are welcome to sign up specifically for the recording and resources.
STILL NOT SURE IF IT’S FOR YOU?
Feeling a bit wishy-washy? Sign up for our email list to be in touch!
FAQ
Can I come late?
Not really. We close the doors after 10 minutes (so in that sense you can be up to 10 minutes late!) to ensure that the group has a cohesive learning experience.
We get it, life happens, which is why we make each session available via recording as quickly as possible for those who have unexpected delays/hindrances the day of.
