Hello Friends,
Greetings from Barcelona☀️where I am . More on that below. 👇
🙌Many thanks for reading The Quest.
If you are joining for the first time, welcome to our deep dive into facilitation, learning, and how to live a creative life.
You can catch up on the last edition 🤸How to Build Your Cognitive Flexibility and all past editions here.
⚔️Movement is every virtual facilitator’s secret weapon.
Early in the pandemic, I signed up for an online workshop called Moving into Connection.
I was still finding my feet as a virtual facilitator. I was eager to learn as much as I could about how to lead interactive online sessions. Leading movement online was something I knew nothing about.
I was skeptical at first.
I knew that movement activities worked well in person. But I thought it would feel forced to have people move on the Zoom screen. I for one wasn’t used to moving my body in front of a Zoom room of strangers. I was imagining getting all tangled up in my headphone cables.
The workshop opened my eyes to what was possible.
The session was led by two exceptional movement facilitators Silvia Giovannoni and Xoli Fuyani. I can still remember the moment we stood up to do our first stretch. I hadn’t realized how much stress I had pent up in my body until we started to move. As the session went on I felt more energetic and focused.
It was the first time I experienced the power of movement in a virtual session.
That first stretch was an aha! moment for me. I realized that no rule that says that people need to be sitting down when learning online. In fact, it’s the opposite.
People learn more when they are in movement.
Movement helps us to focus. It’s key for our well-being. It prepares the brain for learning and boosts performance. Movement is what neuroscientist Dr. John Medina calls “cognitive candy”.
I learned that movement is every virtual facilitator’s secret weapon.
It’s a secret weapon because very few virtual facilitators even know that they have it. Especially now that we are spending so much time online people are yearning to move. Even with a small stretch, you can instantly transform an online experience from boring to energizing. Just like that.
Why is movement so important and how do you use it in online sessions?
That’s our Quest for this week🔎
👉Why Movement is the Online Teacher’s Secret Weapon
👉Facilitating Movement 101: 5 ways to start
👉Doing-Being-Doing Facilitation Podcast
Plus:
📅 Announcing Breakthrough Facilitation March course dates! Cohort 2 will run from March 15 – April 7, 2022.
Join the waitlist to receive the latest course updates, demo session invites, discounts, and more. Thanks to the 34 Quest readers already on the list!
💪Movement: The Online Teacher’s Secret Weapon
An atomic essay I wrote and published as part of the Ship 30 for 30 online writing challenge. Big props to Quest readers who are taking part🙌 I’d love to hear your feedback on Twitter.
🧭Facilitating Movement 101: 5 Ways to Start
It took me a while to work up the courage to try some movement activities out in my online sessions. Introducing movement into your sessions can raise alarm bells for some people.
I realized that I needed to start small and build up from there.
Not all of these activities will work for every group. They need to be connected to your session aim, and tailored to your group.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1/ 👋Hello + wave: When you start the session invite people to turn on their mics say hello and wave.
2/ 🪑Deskercise: Not possible to stand up? Do 3 quick seated stretches at start of your session. Here are some examples.
3/ 🙌 Put your hands in the air if…: To warm-up read some statements and ask people to put their hands in the air if it’s true for them. For example, if you are working with a geographically dispersed group, you could say, “Put your hands in the air if it’s morning for you”. Thanks to facilitator Devon Little for this activity!
4/ 🔎Do a scavenger hunt. Ask participants to find a series of objects in their room. Say your group is generating product ideas. You could ask participants to walk around their workspace and find 3 products they use every day and then share what makes them indispensable.
5/ 👏Trick applause. A fun warm-up that builds connection and focus. Stand up and challenge the participants to clap at the same time as you. Start slowly. Throw in a few fake moves. And then gradually increase the speed of clapping until it turns into applause. Thanks to facilitator Alan Wong for that one! Here’s a full description.
🎙️Doing Being Doing Podcast
I am thrilled to be featured on Shalini Menon’s brilliant facilitation podcast Doing Being Doing.
Shalini is an exceptional facilitator. She is also a skilled interviewer. Combine the two and you get a powerful interview.
In Part 1 we explore:
👉My personal journey into facilitation
👉Mistakes I’ve made and learned from
👉Some of the key lessons I learned from seasoned facilitators when I started out.
👉Why introverts make great facilitators
Stay tuned for Part 2 where we will explore:
👉 How online facilitation differs from in-person
👉 How to facilitate breakthroughs in your groups
Check out the interview 👉here.
See all episodes of Doing Being Doing 👉here.
💡Quote of the week
💌Thanks for reading The Quest
I always love hearing your feedback and suggestions. Just hit reply to share your thoughts and ideas. Visit my website for ways we can work together 👉 here.
If you were forwarded this email, you can subcribe to The Quest 👉here.
If you are enjoying The Quest, I’d appreciate it if you shared it with anyone you think might like it.
Creatively yours,
