Cyndi Maxey - Fearless Facilitation: The Ultimate Field Guide to Engaging (and Involving!) Your Audience

Contents

Cover design by J. Puda

Maxey photo by Rick Mitchell

OConnor photo by Steve Ewert

Copyright 2013 by Cyndi Maxey and Kevin E. OConnor. All Rights Reserved.

Published by Pfeiffer

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Maxey, Cyndi.

Fearless facilitation : the ultimate field guide to engaging (and involving!) your audience/Cyndi Maxey and Kevin OConnor.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-37581-5 (pbk.); 978-1-118-41750-8 (ebk.); 978-1-118-42061-4 (ebk.); 978-1-118-56651-0 (ebk.)

1. Business presentations 2. Business communication. I. OConnor, Kevin, 1947- II. Title.

HF5718.22.M328 2013

658.452dc23

2013001289

Acquiring Editor: Matthew Davis

Director of Development: Kathleen Dolan Davies

Developmental Editor: Susan Rachmeler

Production Editor: Michael Kay

Editor: Rebecca Taff

Editorial Assistant: Ryan Noll

Manufacturing Supervisor: Becky Morgan

To my Chicago neighbors, who have fearlessly facilitated lifelong friendships and steadfast support of my work.

Cyndi Maxey

For Ross Keane, who taught and modeled facilitation for and with me, and to Howard and LouEllen Horwitz for letting me do it!

Kevin OConnor

Preface

OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS, we have collaborated on books and articles that explored and documented our love of communication, presentation, and leadership. We have facilitated countless workshops together and coached and developed presenters and leaders who were on the same team. Associations like American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and National Speakers Association (NSA) provided opportunities for us to speak about our work and create new ideas along the way.

The idea for this book began with a presentation we called Fearless Facilitation at the 2009 NSA conference; the intent was to encourage professional speakers to let loose and let the audience in. The response was positive, and so we continued to perfect the concept of fearlessness while involving a group. We delivered new, expanded versions of the presentation for trainers and leaders at the ASTD international conferences of 2010 and 2011 and then proposed the idea to Pfeiffer as a potential book. This is our fourth book together, and we are honored you are reading it.

Many times leaders and presenters can be so wrapped up in what they say and what is on their slides that they wait until the very end to state: We have a few moments for questions. This is a tremendous mistake and a disservice to audiences who really do want to talk and not just be talked at. We offer this book to you in the same light.

Be fearless and let your audience in!

Cyndi Maxey and Kevin E. OConnor

Chicago, Illinois

Fall 2012

Acknowledgments

A BOOK IDEA NEVER COMES to print with a respected publishing house without the inspiration and support of many people.

To begin, we would like to thank Mark Morrow for his professionalism, enthusiasm, and wise connection to Pfeiffer/Wiley; Matt Davis for his belief in us and the theme and the audience for this book; and our agent, Jay Poynor, for representing us with caring attention and wisdom for the past ten years.

We would also like to thank our great families for their interest and support: Ryan Maxey, Phelan Maxey, Corbbmacc OConnor, Lanty OConnor, and Rita OConnor. We love you and appreciate your enthusiasm for our writing careers.

Finally, we are grateful to all who contributed stories, interviews, poetry, or experiences to make this book come alive with professional applicability: Leon Adcock; Therry Adcock; Dianna Booher; Dennis DeBondt; Loren Ekroth, Ph.D.; Walter Eppich, MD, M.Ed.; Linus Erkenswick; Fred Friedman, JD; Randy Gage; Georgia Gove; Bob Gilbert; Ken Johnson, Pharm.D.; Dr. Alan Kaplan, MD; Madalyn Kenney; Dr. Mehmood Khan, MD; Diane Kubal; Helen Meldrum, Ph.D.; Kay Minger; Dr. Domeena Renshaw, MD; Miriella Saucedo-Marquez; Kenny Sevara; Terry Sheeler; Bryan Silbermann, CAE; Jane Sweeney; Ricky C. Tanksley; and Dr. John Vozenilek, MD.

Thanks also to editorial support from Corbbmacc OConnor, OConsulting Group, Alexandria, Virginia and to the animated illustrations throughout from Robert Parker, student at Columbia College Chicago.

About the Authors

CYNDI MAXEY, CSP, (MA, Northwestern University, communication studies) has owned Maxey Creative Inc., a communication training and consulting firm, since 1989. She is a professional speaker and coach, and she holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation awarded by the National Speakers Association, held by fewer than three hundred women internationally. A career-long member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and a leader in ASTDs Chicago chapter, she has spoken frequently at ASTD international conferences on presentations, training, and communication.