Hello friends,
Many thanks for reading The Quest, your weekly round-up of tips and insights to help you design and lead exceptional online sessions that your group members will love.❤️
Today I’m excited to share a dead simple session design technique for increasing interaction in your live sessions that’s surprisingly underutilized.
I call it “Ask, Then tell”. It’s so easy that I’m always struck by how few live presenters use it.
It completely switches the dynamic of people feeling like they are being talked at, to actively interacting with you and your content. And it’s one of the best ways to vibe up your Zoom room.
Let’s jump right in!
It was a perfect example of “Ask, Then Tell” in action.
Last week I tuned into an online webinar called “The Coaching Habit Live” with legendary coach Michael Bungay Stanier. I came in with high expectations. And I was Completely. Blown. Away.
It was a 45-minute MASTERCLASS in coaching AND live session design.
MBS showed his exceptional facilitation skills creating the conditions for engagement.
Here are a few things that made it stand out:👇
✔️He gave a warm welcome bringing his unique energy to the group.
✔️He got all the voices in the room making people feel heard and valued.
✔️He made sure to engage everyone right from the start.
The Technique That Stole the Show
(No, it wasn’t the fun hand-drawn spectrogram – but I loved that too:)
When it came to sharing his first coaching tip (or permission as he called it) he didn’t start with a lecture. Instead, he asked a compelling question to the audience👇
“On a scale from 1-7, how would you rate your fierceness as a coach?”
Then he eagerly read the responses in the chat. He shared some observations. And then he followed it up with another question.
“What are your best tactics to becoming more fierce?”
Again he read some of the responses in the chat – what he called “gold dust”. He commented and thanked people for their contributions.
In a nutshell, he drew out the wisdom of 1000 people in the room first. And then he shared his two tactics.
Ask, then Tell.
It’s a brilliant example of a technique I call “Ask, Then Tell” where you poll your audience first. And then you share your content.
Here’s why it works:
1/ 🤝It builds connection.
It helps the audience learn about each other and the common challenges and struggles they may be facing.
2/ 💡It draws out the “wisdom in the room”.
It brings the group’s experience into the learning experience so your audience can learn from each other.
3/ 🌟It makes your content relevant.
It gives you valuable information that you can use to connect your content to your audience’s specific needs and interests.
4/ 💪It empowers your group.
It surfaces your audience’s existing knowledge which helps them to discover new insights and solutions.
Here’s how you can use “Ask, Then Tell” in your live sessions👇
1/ Warm up your group. Create a warm and inviting atmosphere where people feel safe and motivated to participate.
Tip 👉 Greet your participants by name as they arrive. Drop an easy prompt question in the chat. Get all voices heard.
2/ Survey your group. Before diving into your content start by asking a relevant question to your topic (in a poll or in the chat).
Tip 👉Good “ask” questions are: “What’s your comfort level with X topic?” “What’s your experience level?”, “What are your biggest challenges?” “What are your go-to tactics?”
3/ Acknowledge the responses. Your audience is entrusting you with their ideas and challenges. Treat them like gifts to your session.
Tip 👉Narrate the chat. Comment on the poll results. Draw out patterns. And thank your audience for their contributions.
4/ Segue into your content. Use the insights from the audience’s answers to introduce your main content seamlessly.
Tip 👉Link your points back to the responses to keep the content relevant and engaging.
5/ Refer back. Continuously tie back to the audience’s earlier contributions throughout the session.
Tip 👉Jot down some notes to help you recall your audience members’ contributions.
Success 100% comes down to being curious.
It’s about asking not just to ask, but because you genuinely want to understand and connect with your audience.
Ready to try it? 💪
If you want to increase interaction with your audience, think about “Ask, Then Tell”. How could you use it to get a buzz going in your next live session?
💪This Week’s Facilitator Finds
This week I’m sticking with Michael Bungay Stanier because there is so much to learn from him.
📚Book: The Coaching Habit. One of my all-time favorite non-fiction books and a must-read for live session leaders. MBS walks you through seven core coaching questions to help you say less and ask more.
🎥Video: How to Tame Your Advice Monster. If you don’t think you have an advice-giving habit, check out MBS’s hilarious TED Talk. He runs through the challenges with advice-giving. And how to stay curious a little bit longer.
🎙️Podcast: How to Talk to People About Things with Misha Glouberman. A Best of MBS podcast episode where he talks with the faculty director at the Executive Ed program at the Ivy Business School and fellow Toronto-based facilitator about the skill of having a good conversation.
📅 Don’t Miss the Free StreamAlive Demo – This Thursday, June 20 @12pm EST!
Join me and StreamAlive CEO Lux Narayan for an interactive 1-hour demo session on how to use this game-changing engagement platform to WOW your audiences. (BTW It’s a perfect tool to use for “Ask, Then Tell”).
For more information and to register click 👉 here.
💌 Thanks for reading The Quest
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Creatively yours,
Whenever you are ready there are 2 more ways I can help you:
👉Custom coaching & team training. Book a free 15-minute zero-commitment call with me to see how I can support you and your team.
👉5-week Live Online Course. The Breakthrough Facilitation course gives you tools, personalized feedback, and a proven framework for designing and leading high-engagement live sessions. Join the interest list and be the first to get the next cohort dates and discounts.
