What a rolled up chart reminds me about facilitation?

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 on! Just like my body that needed that morning stretch to be able to jog, the paper needed that time to straighten! 

Think of the participants in our spaces.... when they walk in... they are like that tightened body or rolled up chart paper. They have been in a particular state for a while and they are entering into another space being in that same state. We as facilitators value the "arrival" time so much - because it allows the participants the time and encouragement to "stretch" / "straighten up" - to make their mental/ emotional/ physical muscles to be ready to engage in whatever we are doing in the space. 

The tendency is to skip this part - clients often will say why do you need this much time for the opening - people are ready to work - let's go.... they forget that as organisers they have been "stretched/ straightened" into the workshop zone since they have been seeped in it - planning it, preparing for it and by the time the workshop starts they are raring to GO! But the participants often are not at that stage. 

Many times, people who actually attend are not fully sure what the purpose and outcomes of the workshop was when they signed up. Even if people know what it is about, they do not take or have the time or the right information from the invitees to prepare themselves for the experience. Even if they prepare themselves, something happens just before they enter the workshop that destabilises/ distracts them. And even if they know what it is about, they are prepared, they are present as they arrive, the moment they enter the room, their "black hat" radar is up scanning the space/ the participants/ the organisers for any weird warning signs. It is not surprising they might find themselves out of place as many times the right people are not invited into the room. Some even will leave after the first tea break! 

These are real scenarios I have encountered through my years of facilitating diverse gatherings. While you cannot fully avoid any of these from happening, you can be ready to navigate them better through... 

* thoughtful discovery - asking why are we holding the gathering and who needs to be in the room to achieve this purpose and implement the outcomes...

* thoughtful design - what can we do to help people get in the zone even before them come, how can they feel a sense of purpose, connection and belonging as soon as they arrive in the space, how can they have a powerful experience that leaves them feeling their time was well spent and they made a significant contribution to what emerged...

* thoughtful delivery - facilitators and organisers being fully present in the space and to the people in the room - listening, connecting, integrating, learning, enjoying every moment (not on their phones/ laptops or with frowns, not running around fixing the AC or food menu or having side conversations...)

And even after doing the above...you still assume that you have curled up chart papers standing with you in the room as you begin.... so you take the time to help them straighten... you ask them to pause & breathe and connect with the space around them... you invite them to casually mingle and meet others around the room to see that they are actually ok to be around...you remind them to think about why they chose to come and what matters to them about this space/ this gathering... you invite them to think with you how you can co-create an environment that enables everyone's best thinking.... 

If we want the space to have meaning for us and the people who are joining it, if we want it to have some positive impact afterwards, if we want to create pockets of "ease, connection, collaboration" in this crazy busy and skeptical world.... we need time to straighten the paper!