Happy Holidays from GIVE Network!

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Social Dancing & Facilitation

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As I return from my weekly social dancing classes on Sundays, my mind wonders what this experience is teaching me about facilitation... let's start by unpacking what actually happens in class.  As you enter the class, it is a warm and welcoming feeling - people hug, say hello as if they have known each other a long time... there is usually a five min chit chat time before the class begins!  Our instructor Aamir teaches us a new step set for the dance form we are learning (Waltz or Rock n Roll) in a sequential way. He first demonstrates how the step looks as danced with a partner - when we first see this - we are both "wowed" and "howed"... meaning we can imagine how it will feel when we do this effortlessly and then our enthusiasm is crushed by the thought of the complexity of the step! Aamir then breaks up the full step into parts and teaches the leads and followers the step separately. We are able to slowly get comfortable with how each one of us has to move w...
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What happens when 250 facilitators gather in one space?

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" I have never seen so many extroverts in a single space..." one of the volunteers captured the essence of the 9th IAF India Conference in Pune! I thought I was energetic as a person and as a facilitator, last weekend I was with 250 facilitators who were at a whole new level! Or it is just what happens when facilitators come together :)  IAF - The International Association of Facilitators is a very old institution dedicated to the building process facilitation practice across the world. Their India hub is very active. Though I had been following IAF for a long time, I finally decided to attend this year's annual India Conference. Totally volunteer led, it was a beautiful example of co-creation of an intentional gathering for a community of practitioners  - with clear purpose; an engaging design that spoke to the participants' needs; a steady way of engaging folks right from when they registered; the physical space designed for connection, exchange & learning; and...
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What a rolled up chart reminds me about facilitation?

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Sunsetting, wind blowing, birds chirping....amidst all this I was on my third round of the jog in a beautiful sports complex near our home. I was happily focused on working my muscles as my son played footie with his friend in the same area. I was happily surprised at how my usually tied up body was open to its third round of a jog and wanting even more. And what enabled this was the fact that I did a mini version of a yoga routine that my sister had been teaching me online. As I was imagining the muscles in my body building and being thankful for the morning stretches, the image of a rolled up chart paper popped up in my head. People who work with chart paper/ flipcharts will relate to this pain point - you open up the chart to write and its sides keep turning in to one side . It is sooo annoying but completely predictable! Happens every time! And then pause and remember to roll the chart the other way, leave it for a bit and voila! The paper straightens out ready to be written/ drawn...
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