7 things you'll never hear me saying in a workshop

I wrote a LinkedIn post last week on the most common sentences you'll hear me saying in a workshop, and it led to the most amazing contributions from other facilitators, which I have been carefully reading and adding to my playbook.

Here I'm sharing a list of things you'll never catch me saying in a workshop - some more tongue in cheek than others!

➡️ ''Let's start with a check in: what's the worst thing that's happened to you this week?'' (someone who came on my training last week said this had actually been done in a recent workshop they were in! 😱 )

➡️ ''This is a safe space'': As much as I'd like it to be, I don't know if it is a safe space for everyone!

➡️ 'Just before the break there's one more thing I'd like to do .... ' as soon as you've announced a break you've lost the group! They're already thinking about coffee / emails / toilets!

➡️ ''XXX - what do you think''? I try never to put people on the spot and ask them to contribute directly (and when I do slip up, I always wince because I so often see them freezing up and panicking).

➡️ 'You don't mind if we run over by 5 minutes do you ... ' YES. We do. but no one will say that, they'll just start slipping out the door ...

➡️ 'Let's just stick to the plan shall we?'. I feel a sign of my growth as a facilitator is how much less attached I am to my finely tuned plans now, and how much more comfortable I feel being led by the group.

➡️ 'Shall we all hold hands in a circle?' (I've seen people walk out of a room when this is suggested, and it's come up more than once!)

What else would make it onto your list?

And if you're interested in finding out more about how to facilitate groups well, take a look at upcoming Facilitation 101 courses.