Whether emceeing, moderating, convening, training, or leading, a great facilitator is almost invisible. The project, training, or meeting seems to bloom right before us spontaneously. The facilitator creates and holds the space for other people and ideas to flourish while completing the agenda on time. Miraculous. It’s almost like a soft wind: invisible yet powerful; containing, shifting, buoying, orchestrating.

A great facilitator exemplifies "expression in service of…"

A great facilitator knows when to let go of any goals in favor of a more pressing issue: they read the room, know the greater context, and can see when something isn’t working.

I think of this as “BeHolding.” We, as facilitators, HOLD the space as we BEhold what is taking place. Our attention is rapt; we notice every dynamic and emotion while keeping track of...Read on.

Last week I wrote about the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute Summit. The number of great communicators I was lucky enough to observe was mind-boggling. Here are a few skills and techniques I witnessed: Extreme Preparation. The whole team, from the University of Cincinnati leadership to the student leadership, started twice weekly meetings in January to prepare. As an actor and coach, I know that early and thorough preparation takes us 95% of the way to fluency and confidence. I am often met with clients who are just “too busy” to prepare. And I get it! We prepare during our sessions, if need be. And, when I have the luxury to work with people and organizations who jump right in without hesitation to work through every kink, dot every i, and do so with gusto, I know I’ve found my people. I think that’s why I love stage actors—we are completely IN from warm-up to set strike. Intention: We were lucky that our focus, our intention for the event was crystal clear: to connect people who knew, loved, worked with, studied with, and were influenced by Dad’s work in leadership, with the UC students, staff and faculty. We wanted everyone to know what it was like to be in Dad’s presence. As Pat Zigarmi said…Read on.

This week I was honored to witness an almost indescribable panoply of great communicators. We started with a hybrid virtual/in-person Warren Bennis Leadership Institute Council meeting with 30 people, which included Tom Peters, Ken Blanchard, Joline Godfrey, Joan Goldsmith, Pat Zigarmi, Doug Conant, Ken Cloke, Cynthia Cherrey, Bob Castellini, Dick Thornburgh, Raj Sisodia, and Betsy Myers. As the Chair of the Council, my job was to introduce this esteemed group to the University of Cincinnati’s WBLI leadership team, internal Advisory Board, and student leaders. We could have gone on for days. The enthusiasm and generosity of the Council members filled the room with love: they shared their stories about Dad/Warren, about their passion for leadership development, and the extraordinary moment we find ourselves in today when great leaders are the critical ingredient on all fronts: political, environmental, societal, global, and economic. From there, we moved to a panel discussion with …Read on.

“Do you want to buy a bumper sticker? M&Ms? Gatorade? A ball cap?” These kids look so sweet! And we want to support them, right? But what if we do not actually want any of those things? We can say, “No. No thank you. No.” In last week’s post, You Can Always Ask, I encourage us all to ask for what we want, knowing that people can say ‘no.’ We all have a right to ask. And we all have a right to say ‘no.’ But for whatever reason, this simple clarity of boundaries can be hard for us. A friend recently revealed that for the last five years …Read on.

Yesterday a client asked what kind of chairs the panelists would sit in—she was concerned that they would be the typical “club chairs” favored by many organizations: over-sized, deep-seated, bulky arm chairs. She was wise to ask. Club chairs are perfect for anyone six foot and over. The rest of us (the average height for men in the US is 5’9” and for women, is 5’4”) can find ourselves swallowed up, lost in the nether reaches, falling deeper and deeper into the chair and struggling to pull ourselves out. On stage, we want to be present, alert, poised, and full of confidence. What to do?…Read on.

A few quick things to do before any interview…Read on.

At a memorial service for my father at the University of Cincinnati, a man, now in his 60s, told a story I’d never heard. Every week for four years, my father hired a student to drive him 1.5 hours to Columbus to meet with the Ohio State University system and the Governor. One week, the Ohio system would present their arguments for denying the University of Cincinnati entrance into the system. The next, my father would present his position. This man, then a student/driver, remembered a week when the Ohio System reps spoke with slides and graphs and mimeographed handouts for 2.5 hours. The next week, my father spoke for less than two minutes saying something like: “The purpose of higher education is to… Read on.