A year ago…
Annabel Crabb entertained us from the stage.
We listened, laughed and shared breakfast plates. ‘Social distancing’ was a new phrase and we weren’t practising it. I am pretty sure nobody would have had a mask in their pocket or handbag.
Crabb joked she was living on the edge by catching planes to different cities to talk to large groups of people. It was a breakfast to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020. Little did we know it would probably be our last big gathering.
This year’s IWD will be just a little different.
I’ll be working before breakfast, co-facilitating a workshop for Canadian women, to help them balance their professional and personal life. On Friday, I’ll be ‘on’ at 4am welcoming 50 to 200 people to the workshop that will finish in time for me to be on my yoga mat by six.
The first one is in French and we do it all again in English the next day.
It doesn’t feel like work. It’s a wonderful combination of creativity, visuals, design and collaboration with a fellow facilitator who lives on the other side of the world.
And I get to play in French. I’m not fluent but I’m told my accent is good enough for people to forgive my grammatical mistakes. Jean-Claude, my French conversation partner for the last 14 years, is probably more excited than me! He moved back to France just before the pandemic hit and we’ve continued our weekly conversations on Facetime.
My tools of trade still include markers, a flip chart and drawings but my toolkit has expanded to include a microphone, lights and a webcam.
Music is more important than ever online. This year, it will be with a touch of sadness to play Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman. I cried when I heard about her death last year. We sang along to it at our nightly ‘call to curfew’ at our apartment block towards the end of Melbourne’s l-o-n-g lockdown (112 days, 16 weeks, 3 months, but who’s counting!).
One year ago, I was excited about speaking at a conference in New Zealand. This year, I’ll be beaming into the homes of people all over Canada.
The workshop is the brainchild of Laure Cohen, based in Montreal. We met through a global facilitation festival, hosted by the amazing Myriam Hadnes. Myriam interviewed me on her podcast and I was so thrilled when she asked me to write the foreword for the second edition of her podcast e-book. None of us had met a year ago.
Not long after leaving the IWD breakfast last year, I fretted about whether I’d ever create a workshop again. This year, I get to play across time-zones and cultures and still get to do yoga.
If your engagement could do with a creative boost, here’s a few ways I can help:
Mine my blogs for ideas, free tips and step-by-step workshop processes. Scan my library of blogs here.
Join me at my Backstage Lunch and Learn on Thursday 11 March, 12pm – 1pm. It’s all about workshop design and it’s free. Comment below or email me with ‘BACKSTAGE’ in the subject line and I’ll send you the link to book.
And if you’re ready to jump into designing great workshops, join me at my Backstage Masterclass. Every Tuesday, 12pm – 1.15pm, starting 20 April. All the details and early bird registration here.