036 - How to find the perfect facilitator for your workshop - with Kirsty Lewis

Episode 036 is special because we are shifting perspectives: Kirsty Lewis, founder of the School of Facilitation joins me for a conversation about how corporates or "clients" can find the most suitable facilitator or trainer for their needs.

After a corporate career, Kirsty started her own training, coaching and facilitation business. Since 2012, Kirsty grows and nurtures her tribe of expert facilitators and trainers to grow and develop their skills together. 

In our conversation, we take the perspective of a client and assess what they can do to find the most suitable facilitator or trainer for their needs. We discuss various questions clients could ask to get a better picture of the person they aim to hire. We also discuss under which circumstances it makes sense to use internal facilitators, pair them with an external facilitator or hire externals uniquely. 

Don’t miss the part when Kirsty shares what fellow facilitators and trainers can do to find their perfect client.

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Feeling inspired by the conversation in this episode? We can have our own - take a seat at my virtual table as part of a Mastermind Group.

Questions and Answers 

[1:58] How did you get from sales to facilitation?

[6:08] What topics can be covered by internal facilitators and for which shall we hire externals?

[8:16] Would you apply the same reasoning to facilitators?

[9:35] How can corporates assess whether they need a trainer or a facilitator?

[14:55] How can you do-design a session with your client given their time restrictions and lower experience? 

[16:31] Do you think we can design a full agenda for someone else to facilitate? 

[18:14] How do you know that you can trust the facilitator to find the balance between too much and too little guidance? 

[19:06] What are the different 'energies' you can be looking for in a facilitator? 

[26:38] Why do workshops fail? 

[32:28] To what extent is the facilitator responsible for the outcome?

[35:10] What's your favourite exercise?

[40:36] How can corporates find the right facilitators for their needs?

[42:13] How can we as facilitators evaluate fellow facilitators? How do we know whether someone is good?

[46:19] How can we distinguish between someone having a different style from having poor skills?

[48:52] Is there anything else you would like to explore?

[51:35] How much time would you recommend clients to count for the preparation work?

[53:36] What are the pros and cons of pairing an external with an internal facilitator?

[55:32] If someone in the audience fell asleep after minute one, what shall they learn from our show?

Links to check

• Kirsty's School of Facilitation
• Episode 034 with Sean McGuire on Billboard Design Thinking