Dear facilitators in Singapore,
You are invited to the 26th FNS Forum and the details are as follows:
Date: 15 Nov 08 Saturday Time: 8:30am – 1:00pm
Place: Focus Conference Room,
#15-08, Sim Lim Towers, 10 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208787
(This is NOT Sim Lim Square!)
Fees:
Normal registration 1 week before forum date or earlier:
Full-time tertiary students S$5.00
Others : S$10
Late rate after registration deadline:
Full-time tertiary students : S$15
Others : S$15
Agenda:
8:30 am Arrivals & Registration
9:00 am Part 1 – Introduction to AI
10:30 am Tea Break & Networking
11:00 am Part 2 – Continue on AI
12:30 pm Special Announcements
12:40 pm Closing Circle
1:00pm End of Session
About the Session
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a process tool that forges a positive path for change. Deliberately starting away from a problem-solving focus and its deficit-based discourse, AI brings individuals and groups to discover their positive core; elements which are life-giving and sustaining. This positive core in turn informs and directs energy towards an affirmative topic; the focus of the change effort, which no longer is framed in 'problem' terms. About 20 years old, AI is growing in popularity as a change process. In the context of an Appreciative Inquiry of their own facilitation practice, participants at the November FNS Forum will experience for themselves AI's 4 stages of Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny, and place themselves on a positive path for change.
The Facilitators
This session will be co-facilitated by Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Noel E K Tan and Denise Wright
Fiona O'Shaughnessy is a Singapore-based Trainer and Facilitator. Some of the client projects she has recently used Appreciative Inquiry for include: a planning meeting for the Executive Committee of a charity who wanted to review their vision and strategic thrusts; an A*Star Institute who needed to implement major organisational structural change; and a regional customer service management team who wanted to review progress at the beginning of their annual regional team meeting.
Noel Tan is a recovering idealist and philosopher. In recent months, he has used AI in such settings: with a not-for-profit group seeking to chart a change strategy to improve its core services, with an educational institution seeking integration of existing stove-pipe divisions into a larger collective identity, and with a group of middle managers in a public service organisation articulating common hopes and dreams about impending organisational change.
Denise Wright works with organizations, teams and individuals across Asia and beyond to facilitate leadership, team and organizational development and inspired, positive change. She brings a true passion for her work, a stretching and supportive solutions-focused approach and 18 years of rich Asia based global corporate experience. Her area of expertise includes Leadership Development, Team Learning & Development, Team Coaching plus Peer / Group Coaching, Career Planning and Transition, Systemic Coaching & Mentoring, Change Solutions-Leading in challenging situations, Solutions Focused Strategy and Organizational Development-building new levels of organizational purpose, vision and contribution.
Register on-line at www.fns.sg
If you are unable to register on-line please email our Forum administrator - Ms. Emily Ng at emilyng_fns@yahoo.com.sg.
Fee is payable at the door. Once registered, the forum fee would be payable regardless of actual attendance. Cancellation or withdrawal is not permitted. We welcome replacement.
If you require directions, please log onto the following website to download the map of the venue. http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/Sim%20Lim%20Tower_103.8545_1.3037.map
If you have enquiries, please email our Forum Administrator - Ms. Emily Ng at emilyng_fns@yahoo.com.sg.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
SFC 2008 - Pre & Post Conference Workshops
Singapore Facilitators Conference 2008 12 & 13 Nov 08
"Rainbow of Facilitation"
BENEFITS
CREATE different experiences
ACQUIRE processes + techniques + methods + tools
USE processes + techniques + methods + tools in practical way
COMPEL people into action
STRENGTHEN relationships
PROMOTE learning + collaboration
140 Registrants so far!
Gate closes on 31 October 2008!
Please book now to secure your workshops!
Here are more details of the pre and post conference workshops:
P1 - Learning to work with complexity, seeing what we cannot see by Ms Sheila Damodaran
Have clarity of some of the tools of Learning Organization. See life examples of the tools in organizational contexts Internalizing the understanding the tools in learning to apply it themselves. Seeing the shifts in the ways one may think and seeing its impact on what does. 3-legged stool. Framework of the 60 tools. Structural Tension Model. Systems Thinking building blocks - Reinforcing / Balancing Loops. The 11 Laws of complexity. Case-study work. Introduction to the legs of Mental Models & Personal Mastery.
P2 - Creating a Rainbow of Service by Ms. Audrey Goh
"Some where over the rainbow, skies are blue, & the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true!" ~ brace yourselves for a decadent "dessert" of a session ~ sweet, sincere & service-oriented! This gourmet Asian facilitation channel will explore the different service roles we undertake ~ as service providers to internal and external customers, both @home & @work; the service-related issues, concerns & challenges that we encounter and grapple with daily; and our rainbow strategies for coping. Make time to indulge in a slice of my authentic, home-baked facilitator's P.I.E & partake in a participative, interactive & engaging gastronomic service session, seasoned with creativity, infused with metaphors and garnished with rosettes of rainbow service!
P3 - Consciously Competent Meetings for Facilitators and Leaders by Ms. Nadine Bell
Effective, collaborative meetings don't just happen. There are millions of meetings a day in which countless hours are lost, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent and the desired results are not achieved. Consciously Competent Meetings for Facilitators and Leaders provide the tools to significantly enhance your meetings and accomplish your business objectives. Whether your meetings are same time, same place or geographically-distributed conference calls, this highly participative workshop will prepare you to employ:Constructing the Foundation- Productive planning and preparation. Materials for Building - The elements of effective, collaborative meetings. Framing the Structure - The importance of context for an effective meeting. Laying the Floors - Methods to elicit information and inspire open discussion. Creating Space - Communication tools that move the discussion forward. Installing the Power - Ways to encourage participant engagement and buy-in. Putting On the Roof - Techniques to keep the group on track and on time. Applying the Finishing Touches - The value of an effective wrap-up.
P4 - Positive Epidemic of Large Scale Transformation by Ms. Christine Whitney Sanchez
Is there such a thing as large scale transformation? What are the essential design elements for inviting transformation? How can we work on large scale transformation while keeping personal and group transformation in the foreground? This workshop will explore the heart of Large Group Facilitation and Blending the Essence of Appreciative Inquiry, World Café, Open Space Technology and Reflection Circles. Use the principles and practices of Methods for Strategic Collaboration to design facilitative processes. Tap large group facilitation best practices. Craft questions for Appreciative Inquiry, World Café, Open Space Technology and Reflection Circles. Develop a personal action plan for using large group methods.
P5 - Rain or Shine: Achieving Flow in Facilitation by Mr. Azim Pawanchik and Dr. Suraya Sulaiman
As facilitators and change leaders, we have a great responsibility to create the context and space for meaningful and fruitful conversations to happen. Today's participants are easily distracted or irritated, at times, exhibiting symptoms of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). With the participants already being inundated with technology, heavy workloads and stress, the task of creating flow is an uphill battle. As facilitators, we have to deal with this distraction and still ensure that there is good and engaging communication flow. Facilitating is not about being a traffic police; directing who to speak when to speak or when to stop speaking; its also not about timing everything to the final second or have everybody follow the rule. This would be a flawless session in terms execution but devoid of the heart and energy required to have a meaningful outcome. We believe that to achieve greater results, a facilitator needs to help their client or participant achieve `flow' during the sessions whereby they are fully connected and engaged in achieving the set goals.
P6 - Exceptional conversational skills and their underpinning by Alan Stewart, PhD
Conversations are not just something we do among other doings; they are our human niche, we live in a world formed through conversing. Conversations make one world or another; not only in how we relate to each other, but in how the whole lived world arises around us. The associated social experience helps to promote understanding and to destroy barriers between us. This workshop is about the skills of being a competent conversationalist, integral to the rainbow of facilitation. Is this vital to you? Appreciate how vital people skills are to success as a facilitator. Discover the attributes of a competent and effective conversationalist. Be aware that conversational skills are not `givens' – they can be learned and practiced to good effect. Recognise which elements of your own pattern you would do well to develop. Speak so that the hearer is dancing with you. Know the importance of asking the right questions before it is too late. Notice who has particular skills as a conversationalist and learn from them. Be confident in letting your true personality shine.
Download details & Register now on-line at: http://www.fns.sg
Friday, September 26, 2008
Moving from Idea Dumping to Idea Generation
Enhancing the Value of Brainstorming Sessions
A typical brainstorming session, one where session participants are asked to think and write down ideas that may be considered as solutions for a given challenge, does not usually generate breakthrough ideas. While the session produces a good volume of ideas, the ratio between usual ideas and creative ideas leans more towards those that are already largely known. This observation empirically points to the limited capability and capacity of typical brainstorming sessions in generating unique ideas.
Why such dynamics are in place? This is because most brainstorming sessions are organised as idea dumping rather than idea creation sessions. By idea dumping, participants are encouraged to recall and release ideas that they already had. This is far from doing idea creation. While we cannot discount these ‘already had’ ideas, they are still nothing more than just old ideas.
To create new ideas in these brainstorming sessions, we need to train session participants to go beyond idea dumping, and Visual Connection is one such methods.
Process
Visual Connection uses the technology of forced association to help session participants think beyond set patterns and prevent the digging of old memories for already known ideas.
There are many ways to execute the Visual Connection process. I am going to show you one approach, which I had used in a recent workshop.
Stage 1 - Choosing a Set of Visual Connection Cards
These could be pictures you had taken during your overseas trips or gleamed from the Internet.
The pictures may be from different themes and topics but they need to comply with the following rules:
The cards should be laid out on the table prior to the brainstorming session.
It is good practice to limit the overlapping of cards. Use a bigger table if this practice could not be achieved.
Chosen Picture
List of words
Old, Lonely, Green, White, Chair, Wood, Cold, Windy, Memory, Waiting, Calm, Contented, Thinking, Happy, Resting
Each of idea could be written on a slip of paper and pasted on the wall to enable the Gallery Walk
Use another word on the list once no more ideas could be created from it.
Here is an example of how the list of words could be used:
Problem Statement
Besides imposing a surcharge of S$5.00, how else could taxis be encouraged to pick up passengers at designated taxi stands near the F1 racing arena?
Word Taken From the List
Happy
Idea Created
Give each taxi driver a F1 collectable to reward them for coming into the designated taxi stand.
Here is a slideshare on the technique.
Do give this technique a try when you are conducting a facilitated brainstorming session and good luck.
Copyright 2008 and 2010. Anthony Mok. All Rights Reserved.
A typical brainstorming session, one where session participants are asked to think and write down ideas that may be considered as solutions for a given challenge, does not usually generate breakthrough ideas. While the session produces a good volume of ideas, the ratio between usual ideas and creative ideas leans more towards those that are already largely known. This observation empirically points to the limited capability and capacity of typical brainstorming sessions in generating unique ideas.
Why such dynamics are in place? This is because most brainstorming sessions are organised as idea dumping rather than idea creation sessions. By idea dumping, participants are encouraged to recall and release ideas that they already had. This is far from doing idea creation. While we cannot discount these ‘already had’ ideas, they are still nothing more than just old ideas.
To create new ideas in these brainstorming sessions, we need to train session participants to go beyond idea dumping, and Visual Connection is one such methods.
Process
Visual Connection uses the technology of forced association to help session participants think beyond set patterns and prevent the digging of old memories for already known ideas.
There are many ways to execute the Visual Connection process. I am going to show you one approach, which I had used in a recent workshop.
Stage 1 - Choosing a Set of Visual Connection Cards
These could be pictures you had taken during your overseas trips or gleamed from the Internet.
The pictures may be from different themes and topics but they need to comply with the following rules:
Each picture needs to be focused on a specific theme or topic.
It has to be expressive; capable of conjuring emotions and thoughts.
It is always good to laminate the cards to reduce wear and tear from prolong use.
The cards should be laid out on the table prior to the brainstorming session.
It is good practice to limit the overlapping of cards. Use a bigger table if this practice could not be achieved.
You may present these pictures as powerpoints as well. Just that you may not be able to display as many cards if they are presented in this manner.
Stage 3 – Inviting Session Participants to Select Cards
This is the stage where the session participants are invited to the table to view and select two to three cards that they like. It is always good to produce at least 1.5 times the number of cards to the number of attending session participants to offer them a wider choice of cards during this stage of the workshop.
Stage 4 – Using the Cards, Create a List of Sensory Perceptions
Here, session participants are asked to produce a list of words that 
immediately come to mind while looking at the pictures they have collected from the table.
They will be asked not to self-censure the words that are coming up and are encouraged to write down as many words as possible on their working sheets.
It is expected that each participant should be able to write about 10 to 15 words for each picture they had looked at.
Here is an example of this section of the process:
Chosen Picture
List of words
Old, Lonely, Green, White, Chair, Wood, Cold, Windy, Memory, Waiting, Calm, Contented, Thinking, Happy, Resting
Stage 5 – Introducing the Problem/Challenge Statement
It is at this stage that the problem or challenge statement is introduced. The owner of the problem/challenge could provide a short introduction on its background, and session participants could clarify. Conversations about its solutions should be refrained at this stage.
Stage 6 – Generating Ideas Using the List of Sensory Words
Each of idea could be written on a slip of paper and pasted on the wall to enable the Gallery Walk
Use another word on the list once no more ideas could be created from it.
Here is an example of how the list of words could be used:
Problem Statement
Besides imposing a surcharge of S$5.00, how else could taxis be encouraged to pick up passengers at designated taxi stands near the F1 racing arena?
Word Taken From the List
Happy
Idea Created
Give each taxi driver a F1 collectable to reward them for coming into the designated taxi stand.
Here is a slideshare on the technique.
Do give this technique a try when you are conducting a facilitated brainstorming session and good luck.
Copyright 2008 and 2010. Anthony Mok. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Looking for Facilitators
All Facilitators,
Ms Beth Macdonald is looking for a facilitator who could helm a one-day change programme in Shanghai on September 19th. The materials are to be presented in Mandarin.
Those who are interested can contact Beth directly at beth@hcd.com.sg.
Good luck.
Ms Beth Macdonald is looking for a facilitator who could helm a one-day change programme in Shanghai on September 19th. The materials are to be presented in Mandarin.
Those who are interested can contact Beth directly at beth@hcd.com.sg.
Good luck.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Facilitators Network Gathering
All facilitators,
The next facilitators' network gathering will be held in Sep 2008. Here are the details:
Date: 13 September 08 Saturday Time: 8:30am – 1:00pm
Place: Focus Conference Room,
#15-08, Sim Lim Towers, 10 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208787 (This is NOT Sim Lim Square!)
Registration website: http://www.fns.sg/
Fees:
Normal registration (deadline is 1 week before forum date or earlier):
Full-time tertiary students S$5.00
Others : S$10
After the registration deadline:
Full-time tertiary students : S$15
Others : S$15
Agenda:
8:30 am Arrivals & Registration
9:00 am Part 1 – Propless Games
10:30 am Tea Break & Networking
11:00 am Part 2 – Cafe Conversation on Games that work
12:30 pm Special Announcements
12:40 pm Closing Circle
1:00pm End of Session
Part 1 – Propless Games® - Have you ever been in a situation where you needed a simple ice-breaker before the start of a lesson or a quick energiser to "warm-up" the participants after lunch during a workshop, but have neither the idea nor the prop to do so. Allan will be sharing with you several propless ice-breakers, deinhibitisers, energisers and problem-solving games to help you to inject fun and excitement into your lessons, workshops and programmes.
Part 2 – In this segment, using the World Cafe approach; all participants will share their experiences in using games during workshops and the characteristics that make up a successful 'game'.
The Facilitators:
Part 1:
Allan Lee has been involved in the training and development related profession for the past 16 years. His other industry experiences include human resource management, organisational development, finance, marketing and business development. He is also currently the Associate Lecturer for the Republic Polytechnic for its Diploma in Outdoor and Adventure Learning. As a trainer, he has conducted and facilitated hundreds of courses and programmes. As a game specialist, he has written and published a game resource book called Propless Games®.
Part 2:
Prabu K Naidu is the co-founder of FNS and has 19 years of MNE experience (1980 – 1999) with Philips, AT&T and Compaq spanning diverse functions in Engineering, Materials, Project Management, TQM, HRD, Managing Change and Supply Chain Re-Engineering which set the foundation for his current ten years of training, facilitation and consulting work. Throughout these 10 years developing workshops and facilitated sessions; he has accumulated a wealth of what works and what does not when it comes to games & activities in the learning room.
If you are unable to register on-line please email our Forum administrator - Ms. Emily Ng at emilyng_fns@yahoo.com.sg Fee is payable at the door.
Once registered, the forum fee would be payable regardless of actual attendance. Cancellation or withdrawal is not permitted. We welcome replacement.
If you require directions, please log onto the following website to download the map of the venue.
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/Sim%20Lim%20Tower_103.8545_1.3037.map
If you have enquires, please email our Forum Administrator - Ms. Emily Ng at emilyng_fns@yahoo.com.sg
The next facilitators' network gathering will be held in Sep 2008. Here are the details:
Date: 13 September 08 Saturday Time: 8:30am – 1:00pm
Place: Focus Conference Room,
#15-08, Sim Lim Towers, 10 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208787 (This is NOT Sim Lim Square!)
Registration website: http://www.fns.sg/
Fees:
Normal registration (deadline is 1 week before forum date or earlier):
Full-time tertiary students S$5.00
Others : S$10
After the registration deadline:
Full-time tertiary students : S$15
Others : S$15
Agenda:
8:30 am Arrivals & Registration
9:00 am Part 1 – Propless Games
10:30 am Tea Break & Networking
11:00 am Part 2 – Cafe Conversation on Games that work
12:30 pm Special Announcements
12:40 pm Closing Circle
1:00pm End of Session
Part 1 – Propless Games® - Have you ever been in a situation where you needed a simple ice-breaker before the start of a lesson or a quick energiser to "warm-up" the participants after lunch during a workshop, but have neither the idea nor the prop to do so. Allan will be sharing with you several propless ice-breakers, deinhibitisers, energisers and problem-solving games to help you to inject fun and excitement into your lessons, workshops and programmes.
Part 2 – In this segment, using the World Cafe approach; all participants will share their experiences in using games during workshops and the characteristics that make up a successful 'game'.
The Facilitators:
Part 1:
Allan Lee has been involved in the training and development related profession for the past 16 years. His other industry experiences include human resource management, organisational development, finance, marketing and business development. He is also currently the Associate Lecturer for the Republic Polytechnic for its Diploma in Outdoor and Adventure Learning. As a trainer, he has conducted and facilitated hundreds of courses and programmes. As a game specialist, he has written and published a game resource book called Propless Games®.
Part 2:
Prabu K Naidu is the co-founder of FNS and has 19 years of MNE experience (1980 – 1999) with Philips, AT&T and Compaq spanning diverse functions in Engineering, Materials, Project Management, TQM, HRD, Managing Change and Supply Chain Re-Engineering which set the foundation for his current ten years of training, facilitation and consulting work. Throughout these 10 years developing workshops and facilitated sessions; he has accumulated a wealth of what works and what does not when it comes to games & activities in the learning room.
If you are unable to register on-line please email our Forum administrator - Ms. Emily Ng at emilyng_fns@yahoo.com.sg Fee is payable at the door.
Once registered, the forum fee would be payable regardless of actual attendance. Cancellation or withdrawal is not permitted. We welcome replacement.
If you require directions, please log onto the following website to download the map of the venue.
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/Sim%20Lim%20Tower_103.8545_1.3037.map
If you have enquires, please email our Forum Administrator - Ms. Emily Ng at emilyng_fns@yahoo.com.sg
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Understanding the Facilitated - A Key Role of a Facilitator
As a facilitator, it is always good to find out more about the needs of your participants before you start the facilitated event. The information gathered is useful in designing the process of the workshop, creating the language of the facilitation and generating the questions-stems for the event.
I usually send out a pre-course survey to my participants and here is an extract of this survey that I use.
Level of Emphasis 
2. This 1-day workshop will cover issues related to your organisation’s vision, mission and values. Please read the three statements provided in the box below and rank them in running order according to their importance to you (the statement that is most important should be ranked 3 and least important as 1):
3. A number of methods will be introduced to help you achieve the outcome mentioned above. Please look at the diagram below and circle your most preferred method.
I usually send out a pre-course survey to my participants and here is an extract of this survey that I use.
Learning Profile
1. Look at the words in the four red boxes in the diagram below. Please circle the box that best describes the way you learn.
1. Look at the words in the four red boxes in the diagram below. Please circle the box that best describes the way you learn.
Level of Emphasis 
2. This 1-day workshop will cover issues related to your organisation’s vision, mission and values. Please read the three statements provided in the box below and rank them in running order according to their importance to you (the statement that is most important should be ranked 3 and least important as 1):
3. A number of methods will be introduced to help you achieve the outcome mentioned above. Please look at the diagram below and circle your most preferred method.
Refreshments
4. We will be providing tea breaks. Our menu is provided below. Please tick off any two items you like included in the tea breaks for this workshop.
4. We will be providing tea breaks. Our menu is provided below. Please tick off any two items you like included in the tea breaks for this workshop.
Measure of Success
5. Lastly, could you write a paragraph of not more than 30 words, in the box below, describing what you consider to be a successful facilitated session?
This article was written by Anthony Mok on 14 Aug 2008.
Copyright 2008. Anthony Mok. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Consensus Workshop Method
The Consensus Workshop Method is the second most important facilitation process for any facilitator.The method taps into the wisdom of the group and creates common ground among participants against a backdrop of diverse opinions, values and perspectives. The consensus reached at the workshop enables the group to forward its conversation.
The workshop embeds the question that seeks multiple, agreed-upon answers. For example, “What are the challenges you faced when dealing with customers?” At the end of the process, the facilitated group will have generated and considered a number of possible answers to the question and come to an agreement on several of them.
The five-step process begins by:
Creating the Question where Answers are Needed – This is a relatively complex process which may involve the person who activated you to facilitate the workshop. In the discussions with your ‘client’, you determine the purpose of the workshop and the expected outcome.
After the discussion, I discovered my ‘client’ wants to know the top three challenges his staff is facing when interacting with its customers. He wants to use this knowledge to acquire the most appropriate customer service training programme for his company of about 100 staff.
So, the question that needs answers is “What are the challenges you faced when dealing with customers?”.
Generating Answers for the Question – Here, the staff is invited to dig into their individual knowledge pool to provide answers for the question. There are many techniques that could be deployed to increase the efficiency of answer generation among the staff.There are also rules of engagement for this step:
- This is an individual exercise
- Enter a answer on a slip of paper
- No debating or evaluating of answers
- Quantity is more important than quality
Grouping Answers into Clusters – The facilitator lead the facilitated into the next step of the process by organising the participants into small teams and inviting them to group similar answers into clusters. Depending on the available time, two teams could be formed to do this part of the exercise.
Naming the Clusters – A third team is organised and tasked to analyse the groupings to create an agreed-upon header for each of the cluster. All the clusters have been named.
Voting to Reach a Consensus – voting is a decision-making tool that enables a group to sort through a long list of answers to identify priorities. This is an individual exercise and no discussion between participants about their vote is encouraged to ensure it takes on democratic and participative path. Because the delicate nature of this final step, the facilitator needs to identify some criteria to guide the vote so that people don't vote at cross purposes. The criteria used for deciding on the vote could include one or two (no more than two to avoid making the exercise complex):
- easiest items to complete
- lowest cost items
- first items in a logical sequence
- most important items
- most innovative items
- most important to the customer
The participants could vote more than once. This is a decision of the facilitator based on the number of clusters already identified.
At the end of the process, the facilitator leads the group into a conversation on the resolve of executing the next appropriate step.Practice makes perfect. Good luck.
This article was written by Anthony Mok on 14 Aug 2008.
Copyright 2008. Anthony Mok. All Rights Reserved.
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