Facilitation Tools

by Cyndi Maxey (Author), Kevin O'Connor (Author)

As the workforce ages and younger trainers and managers emerge, facilitation skills take on a new importance and, with the increased use of social networks, new facilitation skills are needed. Written by two facilitation gurus, this book shows how to make any learning environment come alive. It outlines proven guidelines any trainer can use to unify groups, inspire creativity, and get audiences, teams, and colleagues to speak up, talk back, participate, and engage in meetings.

Front Jacket

If you are a facilitator with years of experience or just getting started, you will learn what it takes to create and deliver a high-powered presentation that is tailor-made to draw in your audience members and get results every time. Once you set the stage to include and connect with your audience, you will trigger memory and action like never before.

Fearless Facilitation is filled with easy-to-implement presentation techniques designed to appeal to all types of participants. You will learn how to break the fourth wall (the invisible wall that separates you from the audience) and engage your audience through dialogue. In addition, the authors show not only how to involve participants in the conversation but also what to do when they grow silent or argumentative.

Throughout the book a personalized coach helps you with answers to common questions, specific scenarios, and past nightmare experiences. The coach helps to clarify the text, calm any fear, and take the next right step. And, to further illustrate how to become a skilled fearless facilitator, the book is peppered with interviews with masters of the craft of facilitation and engagement.

Praise for Fearless Facilitation

Maxey and O'Connor inspire readers to engage with audiences as collaborators. Experienced facilitators will be motivated to take new risks; beginners will feel prepared to actively engage an audience.
--Kathleen M. Galvin, Ph.D., Communication Studies Department, Northwestern University

Fearless Facilitation is a blockbuster resource for engaging even the most challenging audience with confidence and purpose.
--Judy L. Schueler, Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, University of Pennsylvania Health System

Through this book Maxey and O'Connor have actually facilitated a process for you to become a better facilitator. These two not only know what they're doing, they've put together one of the most practical books on the market. Read it and then go facilitate something!
--Ron Culberson, MSW, CSP, speaker, humorist and author of Do It Well. Make It Fun

Back Jacket

If you are a facilitator with years of experience or just getting started, you will learn what it takes to create and deliver a high-powered presentation that is tailor-made to draw in your audience members and get results every time. Once you set the stage to include and connect with your audience, you will trigger memory and action like never before.

Fearless Facilitation is filled with easy-to-implement presentation techniques designed to appeal to all types of participants. You will learn how to break the "fourth wall" (the invisible wall that separates you from the audience) and engage your audience through dialogue. In addition, the authors show not only how to involve participants in the conversation but also what to do when they grow silent or argumentative.

Throughout the book a personalized "coach" helps you with answers to common questions, specific scenarios, and past nightmare experiences. The coach helps to clarify the text, calm any fear, and take the next right step. And, to further illustrate how to become a skilled fearless facilitator, the book is peppered with interviews with masters of the craft of facilitation and engagement.

Author Biography

Cyndi Maxey, CSP, owns Maxey Creative Inc., a communication consulting firm. She is a professional speaker, facilitator and coach and holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation with National Speakers Association.

Kevin E. O'Connor, CSP, is a speaker, consultant, and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes at Chicago's Loyola University and Columbia College of Chicago. Kevin is also a Certified Speaking Professional.

You don't have to believe in Tarot to use it — and neither do your participants. Set aside the fortune-telling and what you're left with is 78 cards of rich, evocative imagery — images that have sparked stories and meaning since the first cave paintings.

That's the whole idea. People look at a card, say what they notice, and use it to reflect on a challenge, a decision, or how they're showing up. There are no right or wrong interpretations. The cards aren't the lesson — they're the catalyst. Because it's so different from training-as-usual, Tarot naturally captures attention and gets people seeing familiar problems through a fresh lens.

The Tarot for Training Facilitation Set includes:

• Tarot Deck with beautiful, evocative imagery, plus an "Easy Tarot" guidebook. The guidebook isn't necessary for the activities, but it's an interesting resource for anyone who's curious. The full 78-card deck consists of 22 big-theme cards (The Tower, The Star, Strength) plus four elemental suits covering energy, relationships, thinking, and results.
• Facilitation Notes — a 6-page guide that includes:
  • Tips for introducing the use of Tarot in your training
  • A handful of ready-to-run activities, discussion prompts, and card-selection tips
  • Delivered as both a printed booklet and an instant download, so you can start designing before your deck ships

Put the cards to work to:

For 3 to 30 participants, try one of these activities:

• Open with a check-in — "Pick a card that reflects how you're showing up today"
• Debrief a session, project, or retrospective
• Weigh a choice with a two-card pull — the path taken vs. not taken
• Explore past/present/future with a three-card spread
• Deepen coaching and one-on-one conversations

Why Tarot for Training?

When people think differently, they learn differently. And when they think in images, they remember more.

A hands-on debrief, reflection, and facilitation tool for corporate training

Ask a room to fold a piece of paper, and something shifts. Hands get busy, attention sharpens, and whatever people write on those folds tends to stick.

Instructional Origami™ is a facilitation and debrief tool for corporate trainers, facilitators, coaches, and educators. Written by Katrina Kennedy, the guide teaches ten simple paper folds you can drop into any training session, workshop, or team meeting to spark reflection, reinforce memory and retention, and re-energize the room. Each fold turns a passive moment into an active one — participants write their takeaways, questions, and action items directly onto the paper they fold.

Because folding engages the hands while learners commit ideas to writing, Instructional Origami works as a memory aid, a debrief and review activity, and an energizing opener or closer — all with nothing more than a sheet of paper.

What's Included

• 24-page Facilitation Guidebook
  • Ten facilitation folds, each labeled for its best use — memory, reflection, or energy
  • Step-by-step photo instructions and a facilitator script for every fold
  • A quick-reference chart to match the right fold to your learning objective in seconds
  • Ready-to-use reflection prompts and debrief frameworks — TABBs, I Like / I Wish / I Wonder, Start-Stop-Continue-Change, and more
  • Tips for in-person and virtual training, plus notes on keeping activities accessible to all participants
• 100 sheets of extra-large origami paper — 8-1/4" square, high-quality and two-sided in vibrant rainbow colors, so learners can write reflections on one or both sides.

When to Use Instructional Origami

This tool is perfect for: corporate training sessions, workshops, team-building, debriefs and closers, soft-skills programs, and classroom learning.

No cranes required — just paper, a prompt, and learning that lasts.

Developer, Katrina Kennedy Introduces Instructional Origami

FAQs

What is Instructional Origami? A facilitation method that uses simple paper folds to help training participants reflect, remember key content, and stay engaged. Each fold gives learners a place to write takeaways, questions, or action items.

Who is it for? Corporate trainers, facilitators, coaches, consultants, and educators who lead workshops, training sessions, or team meetings.

Do I need origami experience? No. Every fold includes step-by-step photos and a facilitator script, and the folds range from very simple to more advanced.

Does it work for virtual training? Yes. Most folds need only a single sheet of scrap paper, so they work on camera in remote and hybrid sessions.

by Tolulope Noah (Author)

Designing and Facilitating Workshops with Intentionality offers practical guidance, tools, and resources to assist practitioners in creating effective, engaging workshops for adult learners.

Author Biography

Tolulope Noah, EdD, is an educational developer at California State University, Long Beach, USA, where she designs and facilitates professional learning programs for instructors. She has 16 years of teaching experience, and she enjoys facilitating engaging workshops and keynotes about a variety of teaching, learning, and technology topics. Learn more at www.tolunoah.com.

by Amy Climer (Author)

Inspire collective creativity, drive innovation, and unlock breakthrough success. 

Do you struggle to inspire creativity within your team? Do you want to see your team excel in creativity and problem-solving? Dr. Amy Climer has brought forth the comprehensive roadmap for leaders to drive their teams toward unparalleled creativity and innovation. She offers actionable insights to unlock your team's potential. She gives you the tools to empower your team to consistently generate ground-breaking ideas.

A renowned innovation consultant, Dr. Amy Climer shatters the common belief that innovation happens by chance or magic. Through years of experience and research distilled into this essential guide, she demonstrates how innovation stems from a process. One that can be learned, practiced, and repeated. She offers her Deliberate Creative Team system as an intentional, structured process that yields innovative solutions. The book is packed with relatable stories, effective exercises, and productive tools designed to cultivate a culture of creativity within your team. She gives you the blueprint to inspire your team to hone their skills to be more creative⎯together.

If you want to lead a creative team that can innovate anytime it wants, Deliberate Creative Teams is the catalyst you need to leverage the power of collective creativity. This book empowers you to transform your team's creative potential, translating into unmatched success.