Fearless Facilitation

Cyndi Maxey, CSP, owns Maxey Creative Inc., a communication consulting firm. She is a professional speaker, facilitator and coach and holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation with National Speakers Association.Kevin E. O'Connor, CSP, is a speaker, consultant, and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes at Chicago's Loyola University and Columbia College of Chicago. Kevin is also a Certified Speaking Professional.

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xiiiAbout the Authors xvIntroduction xviiOne Heard on the Street: The Audience Does Know! 1The Audience Doesn’t Lie 1It’s About Time! 6It All Begins with Courage 7Three Keys to Facilitate Fearlessly 8And on a Final and Very Important Note 16Coach’s Comments 16Two Organic Facilitation 19Organic Facilitation Is Less Known 20Organic Facilitation Is Healthier in the Long Run 21Organic Facilitation Takes Time to Perfect (or, Actually, Make Appear Imperfect) 22Intimacy Is Key 23Coach’s Comments 29Three The Fourth Wall 33The Wall It’s OK to Break 33Food, Fun, and Safety 34Five Tools for Your Fearless Tool Bag 37Three Rules for Breaking the Wall 38Dance Naked! The Wisdom Is in the Room 39How to Work (and Not Work) the Room 39How Fred Friedman Broke the Fourth Wall 41Coach’s Comments 42Four Have Fun with One or with One Hundred 45Take It Professionally, Not Personally 47As You Begin, Notice Who Is “with” You Through Their Reactions, Eye Contact, or What Seems to Be Working, Even in a Small Way 48Be Ready to Adapt 51Know That You Can’t Win Them All 53Yes, Facilitation Works with Very Large Audiences! 54Adapting to an Unexpectedly Small Audience 56Coach’s Comments 57Five Dialogue Not Monologue (Worse, Duologue) 61Conversation Is Not Easy for Most 61Can You Converse Without a Cocktail? 62Conversation: Begin at the Beginning 64The Break Is Never Really a Break 65Dialogue During Your Meeting 66Dialogue Post-Meeting 66Coach’s Comments 67Six The Set-Up: Making It Happen 71The Learning Environment 72You Can Always Facilitate, No Matter the Circumstances 75Lessons from One Executive’s Transformation 77Coach’s Comments 80Seven Listen Live, Then Disappear! 85What Oprah and Larry Know 86What the Best Do Not Do 88What the Journalist Uncovers 89What the Orchestra Conductor Knows 90What the Sales Professional Knows 93Really Good Facilitators Use These Questions 94Really Good Facilitators Avoid These Questions 97What Listening Live Is Not 101Timing Is Everything 102Your Natural Resources 105Coach’s Comments 105Eight Go with It! 107Take What They Give You 108Trust! 108When You Know More and They Came to Hear It 108When You Need to (and Should) Keep Emotion at Bay 110When You Can’t Think and Hit at the Same Time 111Home Run! 112Coach’s Comments 113Nine It’s About the Audience, First and Always, in All Ways! 115What a Ninety-One-Year-Old Knows 117What a Professional Magician Knows 119What an Eighth-Grade Teacher Knows 120What Engineers Know 121Connection Is Never Perfection 122What the Professional Comedian Knows 123Audiences Will React Differently to the Same Story 125Avoid Death by Committee 126Ten Yikes! A Whole Room Full of 131When Times Go Less Well Than Planned 132People and Groups Who Exhibit Predictable Challenges 133People Who Are Disconnected 138Only One Person to Facilitate 142In Your Writing, Especially When You Need to Persuade 146Gaining Traction 146Keeping Momentum 147When All Else Fails People Who Won’t Change, No Matter What 148Coach’s Comments 150Eleven Conclusion: Now Is the Beginning of Your New Skill 153Appendix A: Sure Things: Eight Discussion Topics That Never Fail 155Appendix B: Four Keys to Making It Easier 157Appendix C: Momentum Magic 161Appendix D: Oops! When Meetings Don’t Go So Well 163Appendix E: Techniques for Teleconference and Virtual Meeting Facilitation 167Index 169