081 - What if more Facilitators Mastered the Art of DJing with Howard Gray

Creativity is the string that weaves through most (if not all) facets of life. As a facilitator, you design workshops that bring people together around a specific theme. If you think about it, workshops are a lot like parties, and every party needs good music. In many ways, facilitators are similar to DJs because they both create an experience for a group of people in hopes that it moves them from the mental place they were before to the new and refreshed place they are now. I wanted to explore the analogy of designing workshops like a mixtape further, so I invited Howard Gray onto workshops work. Howard’s work focuses on “amplifying creative people and businesses to increase discovery, access, connection, and opportunity.”  Howard and I talked about what facilitators can learn from DJs about workshop design to create even better workshops that participants will remember for a lifetime. Find out about: What you can learn about workshop design and facilitation from a DJ How to design a workshop like a mixtape Why you should pre-plan your workshops but be open to adjusting quickly when necessary Why you need to focus on the experience you create for participants What makes a great mixtape and how you can translate that to a fantastic workshop design How the movie storyboarding exercise works How to get better at “reading the room” Don’t miss the next show: Subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player. Questions and Answers [01:26] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? [03:26] If you had to put a hashtag on your own forehead, what would it be? [04:32] What did you learn from your DJ career about workshop design or facilitation? [08:56] To what extent does a DJ adjust their set to fit the room? [11:10] What would make a workshop fail? [13:28] What is your strategy to prepare for this diversity that you will face? [15:36] Do you research the groups you’re facing? [18:12] What do you think is more important, the facilitation, or the design aspect? [24:31] What makes a good mixtape and how can you translate that to a good workshop design? [29:46] With the shift from offline meetings to online meetings, did you adjust the design of the sequence with more contrast or less contrast? [32:52] How can we expect someone to make the mental shift just by putting a different URL in the browser? [35:55] What is your favourite exercise? [40:35] How would the world of facilitation look if more facilitators would master the craft of a DJ? [44:28] When you say, “reading the room,” do you think it’s based on intuition or is it something facilitators can learn to do? [50:03] What do you hope listeners will take away from our conversation? Links: How to DJ properly by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton Connect to Howard: Howard’s website Howard’s LinkedIn Howard’s Twitter Any thoughts? Share them with us! Support the show ✨✨✨ If you miss the "workshops work" podcast, join us on Substack, where Myriam builds a Podcast Club with monthly gatherings around old episodes: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/