Facilitation Tips: Pivoting Last Minute!

This morning, I was excited to facilitate our second virtual session on Introduction to CliftonStrengths for a beloved client.

About 30 minutes before our session start time, my internet went out. I reset my router but no luck. I called my husband at work and he immediately checked the Comcast website to find an internet outage had just been reported. Virtual facilitation worse case scenario!

I ran through my options and decided to try to call my friend @simrun who lives nearby to see if I could facilitate from her house. She picked up and immediately said yes! She and her husband welcomed me, gave me their workstation area, got me hooked up to the wifi, and made me feel like home as the clock ticks closer to my session start time at 11 AM.

Words cannot express how grateful I felt in that moment to have such gracious and supportive friends. It felt like a dream to be able to just pop by a friend's place in a much-needed circumstance after the mental gymnastics of the pandemic. I'm not sure we realize how tough it has been at various times during this pandemic to not have community support and care, due to various cycles of restrictions, quarantines, "maybe it's covid or maybe it's a cold" bouts of being sick. I'm a "feelings" type, so I still feel emotional some hours later about that fortuitous moment this morning that allowed me to start the session on time. So much love for you and your family @simrun!

Of course, since I facilitated on Strengths today, I have to mention that my friends are so good at de-cluttering their house and keeping it beautifully decorated and organized. It made me reflect on how a warm and inviting home can really encourage more moments of impromptu connection and support.

I'm grateful for the gift of both teaching and receiving in community through this latest virtual facilitation CliftonStrengths session!