by Beth Cougler Blom | Sep 8, 2015 | Business back end
One of my not-so-guilty pleasures is reading the blog of Kelly Rae Roberts, a Portland-based mixed media artist. Today I listened to Episode 3 of her “Possibilitarian Podcast” in which she talks about (among other things) the time when she had lots of... by Beth Cougler Blom | Jul 25, 2015 | Facilitation
The other week I pinch-hit for a friend of mine, facilitating a workshop of her repertoire which teaches participants a whole bunch of energizers, icebreakers and games. The workshop is experiential – we don’t just talk about the activities, we do them! It... by Beth Cougler Blom | Jun 24, 2015 | Business back end
I’ve been working on a few little tweaks for my website this past week. For one, I’ve always meant to have a custom banner image created and I’m finally getting around to making it happen. I’m working with my fabulous graphic designer who is... by Beth Cougler Blom | Jun 17, 2015 | Facilitation, Learning design
Recently I went to a presentation which had me feeling unsafe. The presenter asked us to write a personal statement (about our business niche) on an index card and place it in a basket at the front of the room after we came back from a break. He didn’t tell us... by Beth Cougler Blom | Jun 13, 2015 | Facilitation, Workshops
I’ve been reading a lot about human-centred design these days and one of the “mindsets” of HCD is to have creative confidence. To help achieve this, experts advise that we should venture out of our comfort zone, including learning about and immersing... by Beth Cougler Blom | Jun 8, 2015 | Facilitation
While facilitating a recent conference session on facilitation skills, near the end of the session a participant I was sitting beside asked me a direct question about my opinion on something. We were having a “raise the curtain” sort of workshop, talking... by Beth Cougler Blom | Jun 4, 2015 | Facilitation, Learning design
A friend of mine here in Victoria was a “maple syrup connector” for me this week. She, through a friend of hers, brought in a few cases of Quebec maple syrup and I got my cans out of her trunk on Monday afternoon. We spent a few minutes talking about the... by Beth Cougler Blom | Jun 1, 2015 | Facilitation, Professional development
At a facilitation skills session that I offered at a conference last Friday, the group participated in nine interactive activities in 1 1/2 hours. The first activity was so simple, and something people very often don’t do. As the group wandered into the workshop... by Beth Cougler Blom | May 29, 2015 | Facilitation
I’m in the middle of a two-day conference in Tsawwassen, BC and I have one idea to share about a presenter’s responsibility to her participants. I feel like I could write a whole manifesto on this (maybe someday I will!) but for now here’s just one...