Change worth noticing

I learn just as much as participants in my Masterclass series.

In week one, which is about nailing the purpose of a workshop, a participant asked me if I’d diverted from my plan for the session.

I’d just shown them my storyboard (pictured). It was a great question that forced me to quickly reflect on what we’d just done together.

I remember feeling like we ‘missed a beat’ as a group – the discussion went slightly off on a tangent I didn’t expect. I’m usually relaxed about following the lead of a group down a surprising pathway. Who knows? We might uncover some real gems, particularly when we’re working through a tricky problem.

But if I followed that tangent, I may not have given my Masterclass series participants the content they needed to ‘practise purpose’ in the week before our second class.

So, I introduced a story that was not in my plan after one of their comments, “That’s a bit like when……” and got them back on track.

Thanks Dan. If he hadn’t asked me, I might not have noticed what I changed, and missed the opportunity to finesse the framing for that activity for the next Masterclass series.

His question will also have a long-lasting impact on my practice. I’ve now added it to the set of reflection questions I ask myself after every workshop I either facilitate or in which I’m a participant (by the way, reflecting as a participant is so important! I’ll talk about that next week). My new reflection questions are:

What did I change? Why? How did it work?

I’ll share the full set of full set of reflection questions in week 4 of the Masterclass.

I wonder if you changed something mid-course recently? It doesn’t have to be a workshop. Maybe you changed what you were going to say at a meeting or in a speech you gave at a friend’s birthday party. I’d love to hear if you did and what impact it had.

If you’re wondering if the Masterclass is worth it, here’s a few snippets of what participants in my first Masterclass series said:

“Jacinta will show you how to plan and deliver an engaging and worthwhile workshop, plus a host of tips and trick to add some extra zing!” Nicola Holland

“Definitely do it!” Dan Christie

“The whole session is a learning experience - tips in action - and can be used in different ways across the workday.” Louise Ingall

“Engaging, effective use of the training time, quick learnings along the way. Well worth the investment of time.” Anna Paris

Join me for the next one: Tuesday 20 April – Tuesday 11 May, 12pm – 1.15pm, four Tuesday in a row with a small group of just 8.

All the details and to register, are here.