Brainstorming Sessions Facilitation

BEYOND MODERATION - THE HIDDEN POWER OF FACILITATION Facilitators matter more than most people realize. In every workshop, sprint, and strategic conversation, they quietly turn talk into traction—designing flow, building psychological safety, and steering diverse voices toward a shared outcome. Because great facilitation feels effortless, its impact is often underrated. Yet when stakes are high and complexity rises, a skilled facilitator is the multiplier that transforms ideas into decisions and momentum into results. 🎯 DESIGNER - Great facilitation starts with intentional design. Map the flow of the workshop or discussion with crystal-clear outcomes. When you know where you’re headed, you can confidently animate the session, guide transitions, and keep everyone aligned. ⚡ ENERGIZER - Read the room and manage energy in real time. Build trust and comfort with timely breaks, quick icebreakers, and inclusive prompts. When energy dips, reset; when momentum rises, harness it. Your presence sets the tone for participation. 🎻 CONDUCTOR - Facilitation is orchestration. Ensure everyone knows what to do, how to contribute, and where to focus. Guard against tangents, surface the core questions, and gently steer the group back to the intended outcome. ⏱️ TIMEKEEPER - Time is the constraint that sharpens thinking. Listen actively, paraphrase to clarify, and interrupt with care. Adapt on the fly in agile environments so discussions stay effective, efficient, and outcome-driven. ✨ CATALYST - Your energy is contagious . Show up positive, grounded, and healthy. If you bring light, the room brightens; if you bring clouds, the mood follows. Protect your mindset—it’s a strategic asset. 💡TIPS to be a great facilitator: Be positive and confident; Prepare deeply, then stay flexible; Design clear outcomes and guardrails; Listen actively and paraphrase often; Invite quieter voices and balance dominant ones; Use pauses, breaks, and icebreakers wisely; Keep discussions outcome-focused; Manage time with compassion and firmness; Read the room and adapt; Practice, practice, then practice again. 💪 #Facilitation #HR #Leadership #Workshops #EmployeeEngagement #Agile #Communication #SoftSkills #MeetingDesign #PeopleOps #Moderator #TeamDynamics #PsychologicalSafety #DecisionMaking

Do you have trouble getting the entire team to participate in group discussions, brainstorming sessions, etc.? To get people talking in group settings, create a safe and inclusive atmosphere. Here's how: 1. Set Ground Rules: Make it clear that all opinions are valued and that it's a judgment-free zone. 2. Small Talk First: Warm up with light topics so folks get comfortable speaking. 3. Use Open-Ended Questions: Questions that can't be answered with just "yes" or "no" open up the floor for more detailed discussion. 4. Direct Invitations: Sometimes people just need a nudge. Call on them directly but offer an easy out like, "Feel free to pass." 5. Silent Moments: Pause and allow silence. This gives people time to gather their thoughts and often encourages quieter folks to chime in. 6. Positive Reinforcement: When someone does speak up, validate their contribution, even if it's just a simple "great point." 7. Anonymity: Use tools or methods that let people contribute anonymously. Then discuss the anonymous points as a group. 8. Break into Smaller Groups: Big settings can be intimidating. Smaller group discussions can make it easier for people to open up. 9. Rotate Roles: Give different team members the role of facilitator or note-taker in each meeting to encourage active participation. 10. Follow-Up: If someone doesn't speak up but you think they have valuable insights, follow up privately. They may be more comfortable sharing one-on-one. Remember, the goal is not to pressure people into speaking but to make it easier for them to do so if they wish. #leadership #teambuilding #communication

I’ve run close to 1,000 strategy workshops in the last 4 years. Here are 10 things I’ve learned... My journey with workshops started long before consulting. During my 22 years at Disney, I sat through thousands of them worldwide, most of the time as a participant. Back then, I thought I knew what made a workshop effective. I’d seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. But stepping into the role of facilitator changed everything, because my biggest lessons aren’t really about facilitation at all. They’re about how people behave when you put them in a room and ask them to think, decide, and commit together. Here are 10 of my main takeaways: 1) Frameworks help, but they’re not the point. They guide the process and spark ideas, but the real value isn’t in filling boxes or following steps. It’s in the conversations and decisions they nurture. 2) Silence is uncomfortable, but sacred. Psychologists say “group pause” is crucial for deeper thinking. Silence often brings honesty and insight if you know how to interpret it. 3) People are more scared of being seen than of being wrong. Fear of judgment makes people hide. You must create a safe environment, so they can contribute without performing a character. 4) Leaders who speak last enable better conversations. Teams thrive when leaders listen first and synthesize later. It prevents bias, widens input, and shows that every voice matters. 5) The best breakthroughs come after tension, not consensus. Consensus often dilutes outcomes. I prefer to shake things up with constructive friction that stimulates creativity and innovation. 6) Getting the problem right matters more than solving it on time. Framing the problem is more important than solving it fast. It's better to take time than arrive on time at the wrong solution. 7) Participants only see 10% of the facilitator’s work. Most of a workshop’s prework is invisible: structure, research, context. What matters is the energy in the room and the outcomes it creates. 8) You can’t plan for 100%. Something can go wrong. There are always surprises. Facilitation is less about the agenda, more about reading the room to adjust if needed. 9) The workshop’s quality depends on the quality of relationships. Even the best facilitation can’t fix a dysfunctional team. I invest a lot of time in team dynamics because it's the foundation for insightful conversations and alignment. 10) The workshop doesn’t end when the session ends. You must harvest the unspoken thoughts, reflections, and realizations that surface hours or days later. Follow-ups are key because breakthrough happens in the moments that follow. What all of this has taught me is simple: Workshops aren’t really about strategy, they’re about people. If you create the right conditions, the strategy will follow. If you don’t, no framework in the world will save your business. - - - PS: DM me 📩 if you’d like a peek inside the 25+ workshops included in the Brand Strategy Program✷.

Stop running brainstorming sessions like a three-ring circus. Roll the dice instead. Most brainstorming sessions ask our brains to do the impossible. Be creative AND critical. Generate ideas AND evaluate them. Think logically AND emotionally. All at the same time. And often, we're doing this in a group that has it's own relationship dynamics, politics, and neuro-styles at play. Your session turns from an energizing moment of synergy into a three-ring circus. (Except there's no cotton candy and the whole place smells like elephant 💩 .) Edward de Bono's 6 Thinking Hats is a great method for breaking out of our well worn cognitive patterns. But I use it differently than most. 🎲 The Dice Method for solo thinking: Roll a die. Match the number to a hat. Spend 15 focused minutes in that mode only. ⚪ White Hat (1): Facts and data only. Zero opinions. ❤️ Red Hat (2): Pure emotion. How does this feel? ⚫ Black Hat (3): Devil's advocate. What could fail? 💛 Yellow Hat (4): Optimist view. Best case scenarios. 💚 Green Hat (5): Wild creativity. No idea too crazy. 🔵 Blue Hat (6): Process manager. Are we on track? For group brainstorming: 1. Assign everyone a hat. (You can even bring real hats to the meeting.) 2. Make sure people are assigned a thinking hat that is different than their typical thinking pattern. 3. Give everyone 5 mins to think through a solution to a problem on their own, guided by their hat. 4. Have each person share one by one. This is metacognition in action. ❓ Which thinking hat is most natural for you, and which is hardest? 🔁 Repost if your team needs to think better, not just think more. 👉 Follow Erin Green for insights on creating courses that actually change behavior.

Facilitation might be the world's most challenging communication skill. The weight of opposing forces would break most people: ✅ Giving the floor ➕ taking it back. ✅ Listening deeply ➕ guiding decisively. ✅ Following dialogue ➕ leading the discussion. ✅ Supporting arguments ➕ challenging perspectives. But it's not either/or. It’s the balance in between. And holding that tension in real time, under pressure, is what makes facilitation one of the hardest (but most rewarding) skills to master. Of course, it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve: 𝟭. 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: “I’m glad you brought that in, Marie” 𝟮. 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲: "What I'm hearing you say is that” 𝟯. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆: “Help me understand . . . “ 𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁: “That actually ties back to what Nadav brought up earlier.” 𝟱. 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: "There’s something rich in what you just said.” 𝟲. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲: “Who could offer a different perspective?” 𝟳. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: "This disagreement feels important. Let's explore it." 𝟴. 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀: “I noticed a few folks nodding. Curious what’s stirring for you.” 𝟵. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗮𝗽𝘀: "If we ended here, what would be missing?", 𝟭𝟬. 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲: “Who could distill the key takeaway from all this?” But ultimately, the reward isn't smoother meetings or better outcomes. It’s creating the conditions where breakthrough thinking emerges, where teams find solutions they never knew existed, and where people leave feeling truly heard and valued.

Navigating power imbalances and fostering psychological safety in brainstorming sessions can be a challenge for facilitators. I recall a CEO of a law firm who was hesitant to run strategy workshops due to past experiences where the Chairman's voice dominated the room, making it difficult for other partners to share their perspectives freely. I assured them that as a facilitator, my role was to ensure that everyone's voice was respected, heard, and valued. I'm happy to say it worked well. 😊 Creating a psychologically safe space is crucial. This can be achieved by setting clear expectations at the start of the session, encouraging respectful dialogue, and managing the room to bring in all voices in a way that works. Here are some ways I run an idea generation or brainstorming session. ⭐ Start by clarifying what challenge or problem we’re here to address. Do this by reframing it as a 'How Might We…’ statement - a common method used in design thinking. This approach encourages collaborative thinking and ensures everyone in the room can contribute their perspectives. ⭐ Another design thinking tool I use is Crazy 8s, a great way to generate ideas quickly (handy when workshop time is tight). It involves generating eight ideas in eight minutes, which pushes participants to think beyond their initial ideas and stretch their creative boundaries. - Give each person a blank A4 sheet. Fold it in half 3 times so you have 8 equally spaced squares. - Each person silently writes or draws one idea per square per minute. - Go around the room so each person shares their ideas. Each idea has its moment. No judgement. Most senior persons share last. - Pop them up on a wall. - Each person then selects their top 2 to 3 ideas. - Discuss the ideas and collectively build on them (encourage the use of ‘and’ and ban ‘but’). - Collectively select the ideas you want to action. ⭐ But what about those quieter voices in the room? Silent Brainstorming is a way to encourage those who prefer to work independently to have their ideas heard. - It starts with individual ideation, where everyone writes their ideas independently before the session. - These ideas are then shared in an in person or virtual session and built upon collectively in a non-judgmental environment. These are just a few methods to address power imbalances and foster psychological safety in idea generation sessions. I'm curious, what other methods do you use to ensure that all voices, not just the loudest, are heard and valued in your brainstorming sessions? Thanks to Adam Grant for sharing the Work Chronicles cartoon below. ——————————————————————————- 👉 If you're looking for an experienced facilitator for your upcoming sessions or workshops, whether defining a strategy, mapping a plan, or crafting your purpose and values, I can help. #facilitation #psychologicalsafety #creativity #inclusion

🧠 “How We Brainstorm And Choose UX Ideas” (+ Miro template) (https://lnkd.in/eN32hH2x), a practical guide by Booking.com on how to run a rapid UX ideation session with silent brainstorming and “How Might We” (HMW) statements — by clustering data points into themes, reframing each theme and then prioritizing impactful ideas. Shared by Evan Karageorgos, Tori Holmes, Alexandre Benitah. 👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾 Booking.com UX Ideation Template (Miro) https://lnkd.in/eipdgPuC (password: bookingcom) 🚫 Ideas shouldn’t come from assumptions but UX research. ✅ Study past research and conduct a new study if needed. ✅ Cluster data in user needs, business goals, competitive insights. ✅ Best ideas emerge at the intersections of these 3 pillars. ✅ Cluster all data points into themes, prioritize with colors. ✅ Reframe each theme as a “How Might We” (HMW) statement. ✅ Start with the problems (or insights) you’ve uncovered. ✅ Focus on the desired outcomes, rather than symptoms. ✅ Collect and group ideas by relevance for every theme. ✅ Prioritize and visualize ideas with visuals and storytelling. Many brainstorming sessions are an avalanche of unstructured ideas, based on hunches and assumptions. Just like in design work we need constraints to be intentional in our decisions, we need at least some structure to mold realistic and viable ideas. I absolutely love the idea of frame the perspective through the lens of ideation clusters: user needs, business problems and insights. Reframing emerging themes as “How-Might-We”-statements is a neat way to help teams focus on a specific problem at hand and a desired outcome. A simple but very helpful approach — without too much rigidity but just enough structure to generate, prioritize and eventually visualize effective ideas with the entire team. Invite non-designers in the sessions as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised how much value a 2h session might deliver. Useful resources: The Rules of Productive Brainstorming, by Slava Shestopalov https://lnkd.in/eyYZjAz3 On “How Might We” Questions, by Maria Rosala, NN/g https://lnkd.in/ejDnmsRr Ideation for Everyday Design Challenges, by Aurora Harley, NN/g https://lnkd.in/emGtnMyy Brainstorming Exercises for Introverts, by Allison Press https://lnkd.in/eta6YsFJ How To Run Successful Product Design Workshops, by Gustavs Cirulis, Cindy Chang https://lnkd.in/eMtX-xwD Useful Miro Templates For UX Designers, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eQVxM_Nq #ux #design

Ensure all voices are heard by leaning into CURIOSITY! Designing inclusive working sessions can start by inviting questions from EVERYONE- for example, the technique below honors introverted voices and fosters diverse perspectives. Try out some of these practical techniques below in your next meeting or collaboration session… Quiet Reflection Time:  ↳ Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts. Structured Brainstorming Sessions:  ↳ Ensure each participant has designated speaking time to reduce pressure. Rotating Facilitators:  ↳ Vary leadership styles and ensure diverse voices are heard throughout discussions. One-on-One Discussions or Smaller Group Settings:  ↳ Provide intimate settings where introverts can freely express their ideas. Techniques like this create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts. This approach isn't just about diversity. It's about harnessing the power of all perspectives. Together, we can foster environments where every voice contributes to success. Let's ensure that every team member feels empowered to bring their best to the table.

Early in my facilitation career, I made a big mistake. Spent hours crafting engaging activities and perfecting every little detail… Thinking that amazing learning design is what would make my workshops stand out and get me rehired. Some went great. Some bombed. You know the ones, sessions where: - One participant dominated the conversation. - People quietly disengaged, barely participating. - half the group visibly frustrated but not saying anything. I would push through, hoping things would course-correct. But by the end, it was a bit… meh. I knew my learning design was great so... What was I missing? Why the inconsistency between sessions? 💡I relied too much on implicit agreements. I realised that I either skipped or rushed the 'working agreements'. Treating it like a 'tick' box exercise. And it's here I needed to invest more time Other names for this: Contract, Culture or Design Alliance, etc... Now, I never start a session without setting a working agreement. And the longer I'm with the group, the longer I spend on it. 25 years of doing this. Here are my go-to Qs: 🔹 What would make this session a valuable use of your time? → This sets the north star. It ensures participants express their needs, not just my agenda. 🔹 What atmosphere do we want to create? → This sets the mood. Do they want an energising space? A reflective one? Let them decide. 🔹 What behaviours will support this? → This makes things concrete. It turns abstract hopes into tangible agreements. 🔹 How do we want to handle disagreement? → This makes it practical. Conflict isn’t the problem—how we navigate it is. ... The result? - More engaged participants. - Smoother facilitation. - Ultimately, a reputation as the go-to person for high-impact sessions. You probably already know this. But if things don't go smoothly in your session. Might be worth investing a bit more time at the start to prevent problems later on. Great facilitation doesn't just happen, It's intentional, and it's designed. ~~ ♻️ Share if this is a useful reminder ✍️ Have you ever used a working agreement in your workshops? What’s one question you always ask? Drop it in the comments!

I figured out how to bridge the gaps between leaders from different generations! The first thing you need to know for this to work, is that on all ends there must be a common agreement. It starts with adopting The Willing Mindset. Everyone must see that: > Gaps need to be filled > The reasons why > The work that needs to be done > That the journey might be uncomfortable > But it's going to be beautiful. I believe that the magic happens when we can marry the seniors experience with the innovations of the next generation. 💡- What the idea is about. 📍- How I did it. Let's get to it. 𝟭. 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 💡 You know how juniors are supposed to ask seniors when they don't know? Same thing, but reverse the roles. 📍 My senior leader learned about how ChatGPT can be used to write website copy and how much easier it was to craft well thought out emails! 𝟮. 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 💡 Coming from the professional training space, I know that a training is only effective if EVERYONE is in on it. That's why all leaders across the board should be involved. 📍Attending courses with my senior leaders didn't just let me learn with them, it helped me to connect with them because we clarify with each other as equals in moments of doubt. 𝟯. 𝗞𝗼𝗽𝗶 (𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲) 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗨𝗽𝘀! 💡 Scheduled 1 on 1s can never go wrong when it comes to growth. Doing it over a cup of coffee, makes it a less tense environment to be in. 📍A weekly coffee with my senior leader on Fridays help me clarify thoughts and doubts I developed during the week. Plus it's inexpensive! 𝟰. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 💡 We call for more of these than we do meetings. Why? Because these sessions allow everyone to share thoughts and opinions and design CO-CREATED solutions. 📍We time 30 minutes for the people involved and start with a problem statement. We break the time up to explain the problem and throw in as many ideas as we can before filtering them out. 𝟱. 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀 💡 I learned this from Marshall Goldsmith. Feedforward is a process focused on providing constructive suggestions about future behaviour rather than critiquing past actions. 📍The conversations at work are no longer about focusing on what went wrong, but rather focused on addressing how we can do differently the next time. These are what I did in order to learn from my predecessors so that I could bridge the gaps between my senior leaders and I. Unknowingly, we've created a culture of mutual understanding, and respect for our differences. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. Which of the 5 will you try? #Leadership #Culture #NextGenLeadership #Growth #People