{"id":126,"date":"2022-06-24T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freelancingintotheunknown.com\/?p=126"},"modified":"2023-06-16T10:18:35","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T09:18:35","slug":"lessons-in-facilitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freelancingintotheunknown.com\/?p=126","title":{"rendered":"Lessons in Facilitation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With my first freelance-d facilitation work under my belt, it\u2019s worth celebrating the successes and being honest about the improvements needed. So, in no particular order, here\u2019s what I learnt from that first event:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. There\u2019s never a final version<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

See my earlier blog \u201cnavigating event design<\/a>\u201d for some more of the background but the event\u2019s outline was a little more fluid than I\u2019d anticipated, with the content and timings of the day changed the night before the event and again just before we began with client additions. I had to think on my feet, adapt timings and change the end of the event with minimal notice. It did also mean we didn\u2019t close as I\u2019d planned and that in-person summary, reflection and feedback is really valuable, so felt a shame to miss. \u00a0During the event, one of the activities overran slightly, and quick decisions had to be made about what impact that has on the rest on the rest of the event. We also had 25% more delegates than anticipated so, while great news in terms of organisational engagement, the larger groups did impact the effectiveness of one of the exercises, and I only just had enough stationary to cover people! A lesson in there being no final version until the event is over!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Allow loads of time (and eat cake)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My journey time was always going to be at least 2 hours door-to-door and this one I thankfully planned well, and the gods of travel were obliging\u2013 I arrived in good time, not just in terms of locating the venue but in terms of being able take a slice of time for me beforehand. So, build in extra time for traffic or train delays and if all goes to plan, use that contingency time to find a caf\u00e9 locally to sit, regroup and ready yourself. My treat of choice was a bowl of coffee and huge sticky slice of millionaire\u2019s shortbread. I was on time, just round the corner from the venue, ready and now I was sugar-ed and caffeinated too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Technology isn\u2019t always the answer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I erred on keeping all my facilitation off-line this time, just using key notes on a pad for my own benefit and using my body and voice to create enough of a focus and presence in the room. Last minute it felt risky as the charity pulled up some slides to cover one of their sections, but on balance I think I made the right call. I felt more engaged with the group wandering the room, and it helped it to feel less formal, particularly as the event\u2019s purpose was strongly on getting to know each other and a sense of fun. It also had the benefit of not needing my laptop (although in some kind of weird technological comfort blanket, I still brought it, go figure!) and not having that last minute worry about whether there was compatibility with projectors, cables etc. Simple and effective I think actually did prove simple and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. There is no easy way to carry flipchart paper<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s be frank. Some things in life are just awkward. And flipchart paper is one of them. It\u2019s just the wrong size for just about everything and transporting it (outside of a car) is peak awkward. It turns out I don\u2019t own a bag the right size to fit it in. On the way back home the attached post-it notes and all their valuable information were always at risk, and taking any corner quickly on public transport turned the pad into a weapon. My vision of gracefully gliding through train stations with a small wheeled case of laptop and stationary was definitely not realised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update: since publishing this blog, I saw someone casually mention that they use an architect\u2019s tube \u2013 I mean two weeks late, but genius nonetheless. Noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Eat Lunch<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now this feels complete novice territory, but you should eat lunch. Who knew?! To be fair to the organisation, lunch was provided and I was encouraged by a few people to have some, or even to make me up a box for later. I think I was in the zone, with that slightly nervous stomach just before we started so turned it down. The event well went. However, as we reached the end I realised it was a good 7 hours since I\u2019d had something decent to eat and after such a shot of adrenaline and being on my feet, I was a bit done. A speed grab at the train station landed me a giant overpriced baguette and helped balance out the after-event-come-down on the way home. Note to self: better self-care next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Clarity of purpose<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There were definitely bits of the event that worked better than others. My own (very self-critical) review on the journey home made me realise that the areas that worked the best were when there was a clear outcome in mind, not just an output. When all stakeholders were clear and aligned on the purpose, we had real success (and the delegate feedback shows that), and where it was less clear, arguably from my own explanation or prep, there was a drop in engagement. I think what I\u2019ll take from it, is always know what change you\u2019re trying to secure, rather than getting too focused on the \u201dhow\u201d, and have alternatives\/adjustments ready to suit different needs, such as the higher numbers than we\u2019d planned for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Read the room<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Events are all about people. As well as having clear goals and activities, it\u2019s also key to read the room as you go. Get to know the people involved, assess their dynamics, what personalities you\u2019ve got in the room, their engagement levels – clock what\u2019s working and if anything isn\u2019t, and make adaptations based on your gut. Ultimately there\u2019s little value pursuing something if it just isn\u2019t working. In the hour before the event, I made a point of introducing myself to everyone there, either those setting up or early arrivals to help soften my introduction, get a little inside track on who was attending and have some friendly faces as we began. It felt like it worked well on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Be comfy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I considered what to wear, I ummed and ahhed about a few outfits that were fun and colourful. However, of them all came with a risk factor of either not being comfortable or worrying about skirts or buttons popping (is it just me?!). As much as I wanted to be fun and bright and use that almost as one of the ways of setting the tone for the event, I decided on balance not to risk it. I feel (and look and hold myself) better when I\u2019m comfy. Comfy for me that day was black trousers, black loose comfy top, flats and big fun jewellery. And it worked \u2013 I didn\u2019t think about what I was wearing, how I was standing etc for the whole event. And I had pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. You can never own enough post-its<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a truth universally acknowledge that any facilitator, in the hope of a delivering a great event, must own 50,000 post-its. Ideally of different colours. Maybe even sizes. There\u2019s a fun, and a beauty, and a practicality of post-its that nearly everyone I know agrees with. They\u2019re so flexible in how you can use them, move them, group them, timeline them. I\u2019m starting to wonder now what can\u2019t be done with a post-it\u2026.. anyway\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stationary was my point. Good stationary is a must. Naturally I also took coloured flip chart pens and plain black biros for the tables, and I think I was quite restrained given what I wanted to buy. It\u2019s rare to have a justifiable reason to splurge on stationary \u2013 Paperchase nearly had me over a barrel. Want to take a guess on the biro return rate? 80% A lot better than I\u2019d expected actually. I feel like that might be a weird one I log if I run events again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Give yourself wind-down time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t plan anything for the evening. I crashed and burned after all the extra hours I\u2019d worked in the run-up, the adrenaline rush of the event itself and all the travelling (and carting heavy things around). Another good lesson in self-care. Eat well, drink lots (non-alcoholic-ly), and re-set with something completely different \u2013 sport, bath, book, tv series etc. You\u2019ve peaked. Don\u2019t expect much for the aftermath. Tomorrow\u2019s another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about the financials?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Total expenditure for the work was \u00a3107, once I\u2019d paid for stationary (flipcharts, markers, biros etc), train travel, pre-event coffee and post-event dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the hours I logged \u2013 I made it a lot more than the 2.5 planned. It means that if I drill this down to what I was \u201cpaid per day\u201d, I\u2019m on less than half my intended day rate. However, the outlay in stationary wouldn\u2019t be replicated for future events, and my efficiency in terms of planning and prep should rise exponentially. It will also be interesting if I do any more, whether this level of planning and accommodating changes is the norm, or an exception, as this would have a big impact on the time I spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would I do it again?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Absolutely. I feel like it was a good challenge \u2013 where I\u2019m competent enough to deliver a good event but keen to improve and develop my experience and skills. It is a lot of investment upfront in terms of planning but I love how it changed my week – breaking up desk-work with travel and meeting a whole new group. And would they have me\/recommend me? I\u2019m watching the feedback come back with interest, and there\u2019s some lovely comments about how they enjoyed it. Phew.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With my first freelance-d facilitation work under my belt, it\u2019s worth celebrating the successes and being honest about the improvements needed. So, in no particular order, here\u2019s what I learnt from that first event: 1. There\u2019s never a final version See my earlier blog \u201cnavigating event design\u201d for some more of the background…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,9],"tags":[13,11,20,18,15,12,21,10],"class_list":["post-126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facilitation","category-start-up","tag-charity","tag-consultant","tag-event","tag-facilitation","tag-founder","tag-freelance","tag-non-profit","tag-start-up-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t