Through the eyes of a clown

Explore the roles of facilitator and communicator using clown and physical play  

Run by Rachael West, The Engineer Who Ran Away to the Circus and strategic facilitator.

This workshop is a unique opportunity to use concepts from performance and clown to help you delve into your role as a facilitator and communicator through physical practice, play and reflection.  

In this session you will:   

• explore the intangible aspects that make good facilitators and communicators stand out: how to read a room, build connections with people, and create the kind of energy that encourages interaction
• play with the relationship between clown and facilitation to find new ways to create a safe space for creativity and new ideas
• examine how to use games and theatre-inspired activity to engage and stimulate ideas
• develop an awareness of your physical presence in front of a crowd
• practice presence, connection and readiness to deal with what comes up
• learn a structured approach to delivering the right message in the right way 

Leave with a new sense of your role as a communicator and your ability to guide a group to a shared outcome in a positive and playful way. 

Maximum 12 participants.  

This half-day session is a trial of a longer, intensive workshop that will run in Lille, France, for the first time in March 2011. It merges two workshops that I have tested in London over the past year, Clowning for Facilitators and Improv for Technical People.  

I've proposed January 12 but am very flexible, so if you are interested but cannot make this time, please let me know and I will find a time that suits as many people as possible. 

The course is free but if you come along I'm hoping that, firstly, you will learn something that you won't find elsewhere and, secondly, that you will be able to offer feedback on your experience, my teaching and suggestions for a name for the course! 

About the facilitator

Rachael West spent more than seven years facilitating change and strategy projects in the built environment, public sector, third sector and social enterprise, and encouraging teams to see the world upside down and back-to-front. She holds a degree in Engineering (Civil and Construction – first class honours) from Curtin University and was the 2001 recipient of Engineers Australia’s Digby Leach Award. 

In January 2010 Rachael ran away to the circus in Sheffield to explore the use of performance and physical creativity in the workplace.  This workshop is just one of a suite of training she now offers to promote innovation and lateral thinking.  Rachael has run Improvisation for Technical People and Clowning for Facilitators for a diverse range of clients, from electrical engineers in Western Australia’s public sector to social entrepreneurs in London.

Rachael is also the author of What My Body Wants.

To contact Rachael West about training or to talk about collaborating, email rachael.westheafer@yahoo.com.au or visit the Strategic Creativity website.

A big thank you to Projenco

Thank you to Projenco for very generously providing the venue.  Projenco are experts in strategic relationships, offering consulting, facilitation, training and coaching.