Kirsty Lewis runs School of Facilitation, training freelance facilitators, trainers and coaches how to design and deliver workshops that create genuine engagement. She also founded SOFest, a three-day business festival especially for trainers. We spoke to Kirsty about her journey into facilitation and her practical advice for running and attending workshops.
Tell us about your business and what you do.
There are three parts to School of Facilitation: corporate, collective and SOFest. A lot of people are super passionate about their subject, and they often leave the corporate world wanting to run workshops on it. But they don't always have a firm grasp on how to design those workshops, or what to do in a workshop, to take it beyond just one activity, then the next activity, or talking at people. I'm showing them the tools and techniques for different types of exercises, what to say with their words, and how to use their body language.
What's the difference between a talk and a workshop?
We do not want to have every single workshop host to be a speaker; to go on the stage and just talk to the audience and not create connection. Because we know as adults, as soon as we're talking at people, they will stay with you for about the first five minutes, and then they will just multitask. They will not participate. They will get distracted. It's like, how are we creating spaces so that people are connected to the conversation?
How did you get into this work?
I wanted to be a teacher when I was at school. I was always the one leading stuff. I went back to see my headmistress after I graduated, and she said, "You know, I think you'd make a really great teacher, Kirsty." And I remember saying to her, "Yeah, but I want your job. I don't want to teach. I want to be the headmistress. I want to lead the team." So there's an irony now that I have a business called School of Facilitation.
I went to work for Diageo, and there was this role all about capability. The leadership team did the learning delivery, and I always used to look at them and think, I want to do that. I loved the coaching side of my job. I eventually got a global role and flew around the world for four and a half years, delivering sales workshops and working with sales leaders.
Then one day, friends ran a workshop that I went to and asked, “What's a big goal you've got?” I said, "In two years' time, I'm working for myself, earning £5,000 a month." I literally laughed at myself. What a stupid idea that was. At the end of the day, I talked to my Australian best mate, who said, "I think that's an awesome idea. I think you'd be brilliant at it." That was April. I didn't resign until October. I made a big plan over the summer of how I was going to make it work financially. I resigned in October, stayed until Christmas 2007, and then started life as an associate.
Why is subject-matter expertise not enough to run workshops?
Your subject-matter expertise is your secret sauce, because you'll have points of view, examples, and stories from your own world. But the bit that really takes it from good to great is how it's delivered and how you design the learning journey to bring participants into it, to make them feel safe enough to speak up, and to create engagement. That's the difference.
What are your top tips for running workshops?
- Start by thinking about your design with a blank sheet of paper in front of you, not a PowerPoint or Canva open. The first question you need to ask yourself is, what outcomes will my participants get by attending this workshop? Because if you can't answer that question, you shouldn't even be doing a workshop.
- An outcome needs a verb in it. The participants need to be able to understand this. They need to be able to apply it in the workplace.
- Make it psychologically safe so that people can participate and show up. When we're doing that virtually, we need to build in engagement time and make the engagement small and bite-sized so the brain doesn't freak out.
- If you ask everybody in that virtual room to go around and introduce themselves and say something funny, that won't create psychological safety. The best thing you can do is give them a question, a really easy question. Think of the brain like a muscle. If you give them the tough question that you want them to be talking about in your workshop, that's too much, too soon.
- The question could be something as simple as what's made you laugh this week, or what's going on for you right now that makes you really happy. Put people into breakout rooms with two others, so it's a really small group, and give them five minutes just to say “Hi” and introduce themselves.
- Avoid what I call the ‘circle of doom’ when you're sitting in a circle, and you're asked to introduce yourself. People don't listen. They're so engrossed in their own heads, thinking, “What am I going to say?”
- If you're using slides, make sure people don't arrive in the virtual room, and the slides are on the screen. You want them to arrive in a space that feels human so they can see you.
- When you're delivering virtually, work your inner DJ. If you listen to a radio station, how do the DJs speak? They're really personable. They talk to you as if you're actually there with them.
- Encourage people to start using the chat functionality.
- When you ask a question, you need to tell them, I'm going to ask a question in a moment, and it would be great to hear some of your ideas. Give people options: talk or put in the chat box.
- Once you've asked the question, pause. Give people time to let it sink in. You have to get comfortable with silence, especially in the virtual world. You need to give them space to think.
What are your top tips for attending workshops?
- Go in with the camera on. Don't be afraid to have it on. No one cares anymore about our backgrounds. Everybody loves seeing the dog walk into the room. Nobody cares that you've got a pile of laundry. You can blur your background in Zoom.
- Make yourself ready. Bring lots of water with you. If you like taking notes, get your favourite notebook and a pen. If you are a fiddler, bring something to put in your hand and just hold and fiddle with.
- There is something about wearing headphones or ear pods. You get a better sound from the system. And if you do have a microphone, keep it at the ready, because there may be plenty of opportunities for conversation.
- Where there's a chance to take breaks, take breaks. Don't stay seated at your desk after each host is finished to do a bit of work and then go straight into the next activity. You'll get super tired. Stand up, move around, go outside, get some fresh air. Give yourself a fighting chance.
- The host will be inviting you to participate, maybe answer questions, and write your thoughts in the chat box. Remember what it's like when you run a workshop, so help them out and get involved. You’ll get much more out of it too.