Creative Facilitators know that starting a session with an icebreaker will illustrate the behavior of making lists and making choices. There is also value in planning an energizer during your session that will help to recharge your resource group.
Especially for facilitators who lead sessions for the same participants all the time, energizers can surprise and delight your team while helping you lead the session more effectively.
Just recently, I observed a session where the resource group began to lose focus. In spite of the detours that were being offered, it was obvious from the slow flow of ideas and the amount of off-topic discussion that the group was fatigued.
The facilitator simply asked everyone to stand up and walk around the conference table until she said stop. She made it fun by pretending to stop the group a couple of times. By the time she said "stop," the participants were energized and ready to focus on making a longer list of ideas.
The next time your session slows down, consider using one of these simple energizers to kick it back into high gear.
- Line Up - Ask participants to form a straight line. Instruct them to group themselves based on your suggestion when they hear you clap twice. For example:
- Clap twice. "Line up by the number of siblings you grew up with."
- Clap twice. "Line up by the first letter of the city where you were born."
- Clap twice. "Line up by the number of years you've been in your current job."
- I Love a Parade - Play some music and ask participants to walk around the room. Ask them to move in a specific way. Stop the music when everyone in the group is in a different position than where they began. Ask that they move to that seat. Some examples of how you might ask them to move are:
- March like a drum major in a parade.
- Wave their arms above their heads.
- Imitate a movement you model for them.
Contact Creative Resources for more help with energizing the resource group.