In my year of ‘letting-go’ in 2009 … here’s a quick anecdote from a workshop I facilitated this week. I was confronted by a workshop participant who challenged the ‘core’ reason we had come together as a group.  My plan, not surprisingly, didn’t prepare me for this … responding in the moment was all I could do. I called on an Improv principle of ‘accepting offers’. The offering was ‘the challenge’ and I found it a struggle to ‘let-go’ of a strong urge to respond with an equally strong challenge of my own – that would have been easy for …

I love this post by Chris Anderson over at The Long Tail. Who would you choose to read … a passionate amateur or a professional doing his/her thing? Chris says that in a world where we all have equal access to tools of production … “Amateurs self-select for the job. Professionals are selected. For most jobs, volunteers beat draftees.” Chris goes on to say … “To me that’s the difference between amateur and professional content: the first may not be polished, but it’s driven by the sort of intense interest that cannot be faked. The second may be better written, …

As I slowly re enter the world of consulting, blogging and twittering, I find myself in a very different head space compared to a few weeks ago. What’s changed? For one, the end of the year brings about the annual ‘reframing’ that we all try for size. Some call it a New Year’s resolution. Last year, my wife and I decided on a New Year’s theme of “do 1 less thing”. Notice that our theme is not a goal or a target like ‘run that marathon’. New Year’s goals are futile and rarely materialise. So what’s my theme for 2009? …

This one-day training will equip you to create Insanely Great Slideshow Presentations. As a facilitator of workshops, I see more presentations than most – and many can be easily improved. After all, it’s all about communicating your message to the audience. This training is hands-on and uses your own real-life example – a slideshow that you have prepared already or one you have to give soon. We will help you unearth your core messages and prepare slides that support those messages. Delivered by Viv McWaters and Geoff Brown, experienced facilitators and presenters, you will learn about the effect on the …

With Christmas over and New Year fast approaching, it’s time to take some time to go ‘off’-line for a while. First, some reflections on 2008 and Blogging … When I scan through my posts, I am noticing 1 prevailing theme … Visual Thinking. Not just thinking on my part, but ‘creation’ of visual content on the web. Much of it relates to the the work I do as a facilitator and some of it to my hobbies. The lines between my ‘work’ and ‘hobbies’ are blurring as each year passes and that is a GREAT thing. I love what I …