workshops work
Welcome to “workshops work,” the podcast that transforms how professionals engage, inspire, and lead groups. Hosted by Dr Myriam Hadnes, a behavioural economist and facilitation evangelist, each episode dives into facilitation techniques and mindsets that make workshops successful.
Join us every week as we sit down with world-renowned facilitators and uncover their secrets to creating psychological safety, fostering collaboration, and sparking innovation. Whether you’re a Facilitator, L&D professional, HR leader, manager, coach or trainer, you’ll find practical tips, inspiring stories, and actionable insights to elevate your group dynamics.
From navigating conflict to unlocking creativity, “workshops work” blends theory with practice, ensuring you walk away with tools you can immediately apply. Dr Myriam Hadnes doesn’t just interview; she facilitates enriching conversations that shift perspectives and deepen understanding.
Let’s democratise facilitation, one workshop at a time.
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Visit https://workshops.work/podcast for a free 1-page summary of each episode.
workshops work
003 - What facilitators can learn from story telling - with Christopher Marks
In this episode, I talk to Christopher Marks, a storyteller and branding specialist. We talk about the art of storytelling and what it taught him about workshop design and facilitation. We talk about the importance of conflict for telling a compelling story and how we can craft exercises that will spark creativity and generate novel ideas.
Christopher runs Story Sprints with companies and entrepreneurs and currently sets up the Creator’s Club. He helps brands to put their audience first and is a multi-talent, silver bullet when it comes to writing, scripting, filming, directing and editing content.
Don’t miss the many practical advice on how to go through exercises and what mistakes to avoid. And don’t miss the great fun Christopher and I had to compare workshop participants to mini-volcanos! He has been my mentor and I am that he shares his knowledge in this episode to help you to deliver workshops that work.
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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
[1:25] Tell me what a storyteller is!
[3:13] What did you learn from storytelling for designing story sprint workshops?
[8:10] How do you create a safe space to get to the essence of the story your client wants to tell?
[11:32] Can you guide me through the process after the silent brainstorming exercise? How do you guide the group through clarifying questions?
[12:26] So, at this point there is no discussion about the individual ideas yet?
[17:07] How are you making sure that everyone is on the same page about the decision-making process?
[19:10] So, the heatmap kicks off a discussion on a deeper level?
[20:03] Can you share with the audience how you capture the key ideas and create meeting minutes?
[25:20] What is the one thing you do in your workshops that always works?
[28:12] Is this exercise run in silence?
[31:20] I wonder about the impact of the ritual of folding the paper together. What is your experience with that?
[33:51] What is the nutshell you want the listener to take home from this show?
Related links you may want to check out:
- Christopher’s webpages: www.christophermarks.nl | www.storysprint.nl | www.creatorsclub.nl
- Software to create transcript from recordings: www.trint.com (no affiliation)
- James Clear’s Blog post on Warren Buffet’s “avoid at all cost list” [29:10]: https://jamesclear.com/buffett
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