The Wonderful World of Workshopping

Have you ever found yourself standing before an audience - all of your attention focussed on delivering your careful, controlled presentation - when a voice calls out the sort of cheeky remark that stops you dead in your tracks?

Welcome to the world of the workshop facilitator!

The thought of standing before your peers like a sacrificial goat tied to a stake might reduce you to the foetal position. Do not think that you are alone.

Along with strapping ourselves into an aeroplane seat and getting up-close and cuddly with over-sized arachnids, public speaking still ranks as one of our all-time greatest fears.

Recently I was facilitating a workshop for fifteen hostile conscripts. Within the first five minutes (which were punctuated with yawns, shuffling feet and vibrating mobiles) one of them decided to contribute to the session by saying, “Listen lady…” in an exaggerated drawl, then launching into a lecture about how he had “heard all this before.”

A number of things happen at a moment like this:

1. The workshop bully gets his moment in the sun and finds he likes it,
2. The other conscripts become either amused or embarrassed – but either way they are distracted from the business at hand, and
3. Most importantly, the workshop process and flow is disrupted, and pressure is placed on the facilitator to regain control.

The good thing about being an experienced facilitator is that you have also “heard all this before.” Skeptical -and often hostile – participants are part of a day’s work.

So what things should you remember and apply in a moment like this? Try the following:

• Pretend you are a Real Person – you may not have settled fully into your facilitator role and are probably being viewed by your audience as a “talking suit.” Inject some humanity into your presentation by using a different tone, body language or by poking fun at yourself.
• Cut to the Chase – even though you may be saving the good stuff for later in your presentation, introduce it early to give the group something to focus on. This should give them an understanding of where you are headed, the significance of the workshop and will help re-align their expectations about your purpose.
• Inflict the ‘Role-play’ – put some of the onus on them by getting them involved in an activity. This takes the spotlight off you and gives them something to focus on other than picking holes in your presentation. This also helps them to understand that you are working with them, not for them.
• Break the News - Tell them something they haven’t heard before! Have some interesting statistics, analogies or anecdotes up your sleeve.

If all else fails, (and take heart that most of the teachers, trainers, managers and facilitators I’ve ever worked with have all had a ‘session from hell’), then start reciting your professional mantra. I’m sure you have heard all mine before, so I’ll leave it up to you to develop your own!

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