With enormous pleasure, I was interviewed by Meg and Sam at Facilitating XYZ a few months back. It was super fun, and the two hours just flew by.

The live recorded interview with Mark Collard is now available online.

Two hours is a long time to sit and watch/listen anything. To save time, the video allows you to click a link to drop directly into the recording to view my responses to dozens of Meg and Sam’s questions.

Click this link to visit the Facilitating XYZ interview.

Fun, Play & Facilitation

Here is the Show Index to know what you can expect to learn (hyperlinks available on Facilitating XYZ interview.)

• Who is Mark Collard?
• How did Mark first come to facilitation?
• How have the populations Mark works with changed over the years?
• What has Mark’s transition been like from doing “direct service” to doing more “training the trainer”?
• How does Mark explain what he does to his friends and family?
• What led to Mark facilitating in China and what was that experience like?
• What are some things Mark learned from facilitating with a translator and working in a different culture?
• How simply asking for a volunteer can tell you A LOT about a group.
• When Mark is working internationally, how does he adjust how he reads and approaches a group?
• What are the ways that Mark starts a program that positions a group to have fun and play?
• What are some of the games or activities Mark offers during his “unofficial start”?
• How does Mark connect these warm-up activities during the “unofficial start” to the learning objectives?
• What characteristics help an experience effectively break the ice?
• How does Mark transition the group from having fun into a serious topic?
• How does Mark introduce himself at the beginning of a workshop?
• Is there such a thing as too much fun?
• What makes an activity non-threatening?
• What makes something an ineffective ice-breaker?
• If you’re doing a presentation that isn’t interactive, should you still do an ice-breaker?
• How does Mark approach training-of-trainers differently?
• What resistance does Mark experience with clients?
• How do you navigate power dynamics in groups and having to address social justice topics in the moment?
• How would you help someone who feels like power dynamics aren’t their job to know it is part of their job?
• Why would you encourage social justice educators (or any facilitator) who doesn’t use experiential education, to consider it?
• What has Mark learned about facilitation through playmeo?
• Mark shares a powerful story about playing and fun and playmeo’s ripple effect.

Rapid Fire Questions (from the Facilitating XYZ interview)

• Three words for facilitation
• One ground rule for the entire world that everyone would have to follow, what would it be?
• What do you still need to be reminded of as a facilitator?
• What do you do right before a facilitation and right after?
• What is a piece of facilitation advice for your 5-years-ago-self?
• What stresses you out as a facilitator and how do you handle that stress?
• What’s a unique place that you’ve facilitated?
• What’s a non-facilitation related experience every facilitator should have?
• What books do you recommend most to others?
• Online resource recommendations.
• Piece of advice for everyone listening.

Contributor Mark