Modern facilitation acknowledges that not everyone will be engaged/energized the whole time. It’s not humanly possible! Relax expectations and release the pressure on yourself and participants on this. 3 things to include in your session ‘process design’: 1. Build engagement gently throughout rather than smashing people with it first up. Keep things safe, keep building on it. 2. Include activities, processes and collaboration experiences that suit cognitive, cultural and participative diversity; beyond the usual dated tropes and tricks. 3. Allow the rise and fall of energy during the session - like circadian rhythms - so the session is interesting, relevant and delivers impacts, and not a side show of ra-ra entertainment.

Turn it into a game! Divide the group into smaller teams, set the tasks for each team, define the rules of the game, the scoring system, and give them time to prepare their pitches! Provide them with props, flip charts, markers or digital tools to make their pitches more fun and engaging! When the preparation time is up, sit back, facilitate, and watch the sparks fly and the creative juices flow! Allow time for questioning and rebuttal, and get ready to share a summary of the key points raised by all the teams. At the end of the session, go around the room and ask for key takeaways or learning points, and be prepared to be surprised by the different things that different participants pick up along the way!

I always prefer starting my session with the real case study, it gives a natural environment to the students to brainstorm. To my surprise, every time I started with a case study, my student came up with amazing ideas.

Encourage bold ideas! Model the energy required to help people get excited about the topic. Ask for ideas that may seem wild. And keep it fun.