Description

If you’ve ever found yourself in a frustrating, awkward, or downright pointless meeting, this latest episode of the Now Go Create podcast is for you. Host Claire Bridges explores facilitation mishaps she’s encountered over her decades working as a creative director and professional workshop lead and facilitator.

Drawing from real (anonymised) stories in client brainstorms and workshops, Claire Bridges reveals why even the most seasoned facilitators still get it wrong sometimes, and what they’ve learned through every’“facilitation mess-up.’ She dives into 7 common, messy realities that can derail great ideas: unclear briefs, unspoken criteria, resistant participants, hierarchy issues, tricky personalities, and windowless rooms that kill creativity.

You’ll walk away with practical fixes, honest advice, and the confidence that if things go sideways, you’re definitely not alone.

Key Takeaways:

1. Preparation is everything. If the brief is fuzzy, your session will flounder. No amount of facilitation magic can save a dishonest or incomplete brief.
2. Agree on criteria upfront, always clarify what “good” looks like and the non-negotiables before diving into idea generation.
3. When people don’t want to be there, whether due to politics, lack of context, or simple resistance, find ways to regroup and reset the room (which can be as simple as a coffee/tea break).
4. The loudest or most senior voice shouldn’t dictate outcomes. Try silent brainstorms, the 1-2-4-all method, and clear ground rules to support psychological safety and equal participation.
5. Set and share “rules of engagement”. Use frameworks, brainstorming rules to keep sessions on-track, encourage wild ideas, and create safety for experimentation.
6. Don’t take resistance personally. Participants’ attitudes often have nothing to do with you - focus on maintaining your energy, professionalism, and supportive “scaffolding.”
7. Physical space matters, the venue, environment, and even the coffee can impact a workshop. Acknowledge discomfort, adapt on the fly, and prioritise participant wellbeing.

Something to Try:

Before your next workshop, spend extra time sharpening the brief and agreeing success criteria with the group. Make your brainstorming rules visible – print them, write them up, and refer back to them to reinforce psychological safety.

If resistance surfaces, call a break. Step away, regroup, adjust.

And if you’re stuck in a windowless room with bad coffee and low energy, let people get some air or grab a proper coffee. Ten minutes of goodwill can unlock far more creativity than forcing another half hour of effort. It could be the difference between ideas that land and ideas that never take off.

For more ideas and practical tips, follow @NowGoCreate on social media, and don’t forget to follow or subscribe for future episodes focused on unleashing creativity at work. Now go create!

About Claire Bridges:

Claire Bridges is Chief Spark and Founder of leading creative training consultancy Now Go Create, whose philosophy is that everyone can be creative.

Claire worked as a PR agency Managing Director and Creative Director working with global brands including Starbucks, Kellogg’s, Unilever, P&G and Danone in her previous PR career. Upskilling individuals, teams and organisations with practical creativity tools is Claire’s mission.

She’s one of only 250 people globally to hold an MSc in Creativity, Leadership & Innovation, and authored an Amazon best-selling creative handbook In Your Creative Element based on her academic studies.

Claire and her hand-picked team of experts have worked on thousands of creative projects and trained over 50,000 people around the world since starting Now Go Create in 2011.

Connect with Claire:

Website: https://nowgocreate.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowgocreate/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NowGoCreate

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claire-bridges-b6205b14

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk