67. The Art of Facilitation (Pedram Parasmand)

In this episode of the Ideas on Stage podcast we spoke with Pedram Parasmand.Pedram brings 24 years of learning design and facilitation experience in the public, private, charity and education sectors. He has designed and delivered programmes ranging from culture change initiatives in Governmental bodies; Exec team development in companies like Kimberly-Clarke and Netflix; soft-skills and creativity workshops for managers in companies like Google and Siemens; to bootcamps for new starters in the digital start-up sector.As an ex-theoretical Physicist who loves systems and frameworks, he developed tools and templates to create a repeatable process to design, develop and facilitate transformational experiences. He now supports consultant coaches, trainers and facilitators to create more sales opportunities and scale their impact.In this episode we talked about the art and science of facilitating workshops. What You'll Learn:- The essential first step to designing workshops that engage and inspire- Common mistakes in facilitation- Why creating key moments in workshops can transform participant experiences- Six activity formats that boost engagement and participation- Tips for guiding activities, managing disruptions and sparking meaningful insightsIn This Episode:00:00 - Introduction09:10 - First Step to Designing Impactful Workshops11:12 - The Wrong Way to Facilitate Workshops16:28 - Inciting Incident 17:40 - Is Your Workshop Just a Boring Talk?26:21 - How to Introduce Activities 30:40 - Providing Guidance 32:00 - How Long Should Activities Last?34:02 - 6 Activity Formats 37:18 - Questions That Spark Insights 43:24 - Handling Disruptions50:03 - The Curse of KnowledgeWe hope you enjoy it! ———————Pedram Parasmand: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedramparasmand/  - Website: https://www.theskillslab.com/  Recommended books: - Performance-Focused Smile Sheets by Will Thalheimer - The Workshop Survival Guide by Rob Fitzpatrick and Devin Hunt- The Secrets of Facilitation by Michael Wilkinson ———————IDEAS ON STAGE RESOURCES - Books: ‘Confident Presenter’ (https://www.ideasonstage.com/resources/confident-presenter-book/) and ‘Business Presentation Revolution’ (https://www.ideasonstage.com/business-presentation-revolution/book/)- The Confident Presenter Scorecard: https://ideasonstage.com/score  - Free Web Class: https://www.ideasonstage.com/uk/masterclass  - Free Mini-Course: https://bit.ly/confident-presenter-mini-course #IdeasOnStagePodcast#WorkshopFacilitation#EngagingWorkshops#FacilitationSkills#WorkshopDesign