The teambuilding activity is over. The group is circled up and looking at you. It's time to debrief - - to help the group make sense of what just happened and apply lessons "back in the real world". I call this "debriefing"while others might call it processing or reviewing or reflection.
When I started in the field of experiential learning, it was the debriefing that gave me the greatest challenge. Learning how to lead the activities was a breeze compared to debriefing. Whenever I observed a skilled leader work with a group in the debrief session I thought I was witnessing magic.
This is where Michelle Cummings steps in (that's Michelle in the picture). She's the coauthor of a great new book entitled "A Teachable Moment -- A Facilitator's Guide to Activities for Processing, Debriefing, Reviewing and Reflection".
On April 7, 2005 I interviewed Michelle about her book. She offers some great insight on how to become a more effective facilitator of teams, especially when it comes to debriefing the activity.
Listen to the 30-minute interview here (mp3 file).
Download michelle_cummings_mp3_sm.mp3
I really appreciate the effort to guide the student to have a health life style.
Posted by: christo | April 15, 2005 at 04:56 AM
We've added the 'body parts' processing tools and Michelle's book to our wish list.
Just what we need....
All the best
Ian & Lesley
Posted by: Ian Disley | December 27, 2006 at 11:39 AM
great advice Michelle is inspiringly practical
Posted by: adalberto palma | April 18, 2009 at 09:26 AM