University College London Hospitals

The Creative Facilitator

This one day course was designed to give people the skills and confidence to dynamically engage their audience and inspire creativity. The participants came from a variety of professions, and working together with our trainer in a safe and supportive environment they explored fundamental facilitation techniques that could be applied in a variety of contexts.

Skills covered included:

  • How to make connections across different groups and personalities
  • Techniques and strategies to energise groups and encourage creativity
  • Awareness of your communication style and habits for increased personal impact
  • Creative facilitation techniques – how to work as an ensemble, how to lead a creative process
  • Techniques to help maintain the flow of discussions and control the agenda

Feedback

A participant from University College London Hospitals shared their experience with us. 

  • What made you choose Central for facilitation skills training?

    A colleague who I worked with on one of my research projects recently moved to RCSSD from the University of Chichester so I curiously had a look on the website to see where he’d moved to. Central had impressive alumni and when I came across the courses they sounded like something that I could benefit from.

  • What changes have you made since attending the training?

    I conduct a lot of research workshops and present at conferences. This is something you aren’t taught as a healthcare researcher so I’ve learnt on the job. This day was brilliant at showing me how it should be done and building my confidence.

  • ​​​​​​​How has the training benefited you/your team/organisation?

    I have gained more confidence and I can now share these facilitation skills with other members of the team. I recently hosted a workshop with some international colleagues. I felt I had the skills to be able to create a more relaxed atmosphere and encourage audience interaction.

  • What in your opinion is the value of creativity in the workplace?

    Working in the NHS with limited resources we are always thinking creatively for our research, especially as many of our participants are unwell at the time of data collection. Using creativity makes the serious business of data collection more interesting for participants so giving their time becomes more rewarding. I associate creativity with positive adjectives (fun, happy) and if our work environment is positive it has the potential to improve retention, so I think creativity is very important.

  • How have Central’s workshops helped to inspire your creativity?

    I quickly realised on the course that other people have the same anxieties as I do but they could just present themselves better. The workshop facilitator and the group worked really well together so the whole day was an inspiration. I now have the confidence to do it myself!

  • ​​​​​​​Do you have any other thoughts about our training that you would like to share?

    This is a must do course for anyone in looking for creative ways to engage and inspire groups. The skills learnt in this course are transferable to all aspects of presentation and workshop delivery. It gave me the skills to present to non-scientific audiences who can benefit from learning about our research.

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