Date:  Wednesday 28 October 2020              Time:  12 noon              Length:    60  Minutes 

Presenter/s
Mark Collard

This session is designed for:         
Emerging facilitators                      Still developing                   Wisdom Keeper                  Everyone

Will this session be recorded?                                       No        

Session Outline

Most group facilitators believe that those activities which they add to the start of their programs are the ‘ice-breakers.’ Or worse, they think that ice-breakers are a waste of time, and add little value to their program outcomes, so they dispense with their use. These views could not be further from the truth, nor supported by the latest science and research.

In this practical, interactive workshop, Mark Collard will present a series of fun and simple group activities (requiring little if any equipment) which professional group facilitators can immediately integrate into their existing programs for the purposes of “breaking the ice,” to help their training participants feel more comfortable with and engage in their learning.

Mark will reveal the five essential attributes of every successful ice-breaker, and model their use during the session. This session will likely challenge many of your pre-conceived ideas about what an ice-breaker really is, and how they should and should not be used.

Participants in this short workshop will learn a wide variety of very simple, highly interactive and wholly non-threatening group activities which they can use immediately in their setting to ‘break the ice’ and prepare their groups for a more challenging training experience.

Key Learning Objectives

Share a series of simple, non-threatening group activities that are designed to break the ice in group situations.

Explore the five critical ingredients every experience that aims to “break the ice” must exhibit.

Discuss the latest science and research which supports the building of connections before content as a powerful approach to education & facilitation.

How this session contributes to the AFN Community of Practice

It will immerse AFN members in an innovative approach to education that will inspire and equip them with a bunch of really simple, non-threatening and most of all fun group games and activities.

Toolkit takeaways

Access to dozens of free activities featured on the world’s largest online database of group games & activities.

Bunch of new interactive group games that they can use in their setting easily and immediately.

Speaker Biographies

Mark Collard
Mark is one of the most respected and experienced experiential trainers and consultants in the world.

Based in Australia, he is the founder and director of playmeo, a small professional development company that creates training workshops and resources that help people connect.

Over the course of his 30+ year career, he has delivered more than 2,000 program days and presentations which have helped 100,000+ people have fun and connect meaningfully with others in 11 countries around the world.

He is best known for his remarkably fun training workshops, interactive keynote presentations and his three best-selling activity books including No Props No Problem,  Serious Fun and Count Me In.