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Meeting Design

The Top Three Facilitation Challenges Every Facilitator Encounters

The Top Three Facilitation Challenges Every Facilitator Encounters

Facilitation is a newish word for an age-old art. Good facilitation begins with listening; like any art, doing it well requires skill. Anyone who has facilitated a meeting or learning event knows it takes dedication, perseverance, and deep reflection on what the group really needs to progress — and the more we listen with care, the easier it is to figure out. To be effective, facilitators must nurture the creativity and perspective of people looking at challenges from different angles to create change-making discussions.

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Facilitator’s Corner: How Superpowered Introductions Dismantle Problematic Power Dynamics

Facilitator’s Corner: How Superpowered Introductions Dismantle Problematic Power Dynamics

Many group events and activities open with some sort of welcome or warm-up exercise, providing participants with a chance to introduce themselves before addressing the topic at hand. Sometimes, introductions that focus solely on titles, roles, degrees, years of experience, professional affiliations, and so on, can create a power dynamic that results in some attendees feeling less willing to contribute during the meeting.

Here’s a simple alternative approach to facilitating introductions that enables greater human-first connection: a focus on superpowers.

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Peer Roundtable Convenings Support Community Health Centers Achieve Telehealth Excellence and Sustainability

Peer Roundtable Convenings Support Community Health Centers Achieve Telehealth Excellence and Sustainability

January 22, 2021 marks the launch of an exciting peer learning series for over 75 providers of telehealth training and technical assistant (TTA) to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). The event underscored the richness of information and the power of collaboration when many voices pursuing a singular goal come together, in this case, to support FQHCs to more effectively implement telehealth.

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Is Your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshop Inclusive?

Is Your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshop Inclusive?

As we all take advantage of the benefits of remote work, coaches and facilitators also have the opportunity to offer Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training programs virtually. The transition from in-person to virtual may be easy to some and challenging for another. How do you ensure that your online Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workshop or training is inclusive?

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Facilitation Skills that Keep Conversations Productive

Facilitation Skills that Keep Conversations Productive

Good facilitation skills can be applied in all kinds of meetings and circumstances, including strategic planning, peer learning and any kind of gathering where a diverse group of people come together to have a conversation that enables them to work toward a decision or a plan of action. For those who have been in the trenches, you know it is not easy to facilitate with confidence, grace, and courage. It takes time and skill building to create desired outcomes through the art of conversation.

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Are You Ready for Hybrid Events?

Are You Ready for Hybrid Events?

For anyone who has ever “dialed-in” to a large meeting or event, we know that connecting people deeply and well at a distance doesn’t happen automatically. So, how will we imagine new ways to do that well in this changed world? What creative solutions will we dream up to connect across time and space? How can we repurpose existing tools and environments to come together in new ways? How might you use existing office spaces differently or reallocate travel or expense budgets to support new ways of “being together?” What creative strategies are you exploring to adapt in these times? Are you ready for hybrid events?

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Planning to Host a Virtual Event or Vendor Fair? Read this First!

Planning to Host a Virtual Event or Vendor Fair? Read this First!

Moving your conference or vendor fair from an in-person gathering to virtual may seem scary, especially when you want to be sure that your event is an engaging and valuable experience for your attendees. If you’re getting ready to take your meetings and events virtual, we are here to help.

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Humanizing Spaces

Humanizing Spaces

Human connection remains as critical as ever, most especially in the high-tech, nearly people-free, space landscape. We recently had the privilege of partnering with the International Space University on an international and interdisciplinary 5-week program that models humanizing virtual interactions at their best.

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Humanizing the Virtual Experience

Humanizing the Virtual Experience

Although we’re all getting more comfortable with meeting virtually, human connection can sometimes be ignored or not prioritized because it’s hard to get “right” in a virtual world. Here at Integrated Work, we have come to know that creating connection is an essential part of the arc of an experience, and in this post, we share some tips on how to humanize your online event.

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