Tips To Jumpstart Your New Virtual Team
One of my clients was just anointed as the project lead for a new virtual team of a very visible project. She confessed that she has very little experience as a manager of virtual teams, though she...
View ArticleHow To Use Social Networking Tools To Strengthen Virtual Collaboration
I recently plunged (well, maybe dipped a toe or two) into the world of Twitter. It was inevitable, despite some of my early protestations. Pretty much all of my colleagues are doing it, as are my...
View Article5 Tips For Using Smart Phones To Make Large Meetings Interactive
Lately I’ve been interested in the use of smart phones paired with web-based tools to make meetings more interactive. (see blog post For This Meeting, Turn on Your Smart Phones). Recently I helped...
View ArticleFacilitation by getting out of the way – Lessons from Open Space Technology
Open Space Technology is a meeting methodology that enables self-organizing groups of all sizes to deal with complex issues in a very short period of time. A quick description of this method of meeting...
View Article7 Ways To Coax People Out of the Box in a Virtual World
Before the latest economic downturn, many of my clients would bring together people from all over the world, put them into a conference room with pots of coffee and carbo-loaded snacks, and kept them...
View ArticleAnatomy of a Great Virtual Collaborator
Most people I know love working remotely. They say they get more done, prize their freedom and flexibility and have better work/life balance. But there are others who really miss being with people and...
View ArticlePaying Attention to the Virtual Meeting Place
As virtual meeting facilitators we don’t control the meeting space in same way as we do for face-to-face meetings but there is value in paying attention to the physical surroundings – props, physical...
View ArticleThe Art of Steering a Virtual Session
Recently I responded to a question from one of my LinkedIn professional groups. Someone asked: “During web conferences involving several locations, I often find myself sending SMS’s to my boss at the...
View ArticleThe Facilitator’s Way: Plan Appropriate Group Processes
The elements of a successful facilitation plan include Group Processes, i.e., the steps or activities that transform Inputs (People, Information, Purpose) into the session desired Outcomes. In support...
View Article4 ways to own your meeting experience
Says Reid Hastie: “I USED to be the disengaged participant — one who had good ideas about how to solve a problem or conduct a meeting, but didn’t contribute. I now take a more active role, aiming to...
View ArticleWhere Rubber Meets Road: Real Experiences Transitioning To Virtual Workshops
I recently spent some time with some wonderful members of the Global Facilitator Services Corps (www.GFSC.org). The purpose of this particular conversation was to begin to explore how GFSC might build...
View ArticleFor This Meeting Please Turn On Your Smart Phones
The days of starting a meeting with “Please turn off and put away your cell phones” are over. Smart phones are common these days in the business world and they can do just about anything. Take this...
View ArticleWhere Rubber Meets Road (2): Six Traps to Avoid When Designing Your First...
Where Rubber Meets Road is my way of bringing some of the practical experiences I’ve observed with clients to bear on the theory of transitioning our successful face to face events to the virtual...
View ArticleMeeting Tech Talk: Using YouTube in Your Meetings
It is often helpful to start a meeting with an ice breaker exercise or a bit of humor to give everyone a chance to relax and start to bond. Especially in a virtual setting, a humorous video clip can be...
View Article8 Attributes of Successful Virtual Workers
Many of my clients, like so many other organizations, are looking for ways to help them establish and cultivate a productive remote workforce. In some cases, they realize that greater workplace...
View ArticleWhy PowerPoint Is Pervasive and Good Facilitation Is Not
I believe it was Socrates who said “Even a fool can give a good PowerPoint presentation but it is only a truly wise person who can lead a group of people to think creatively and make decisions...
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