Great facilitators are a wonder to watch. They keep a meeting or training event lively and productive even as they effortlessly fend off efforts from participants to take over the meeting, derail the positive mood, or otherwise disrupt a successful event. You may have wondered, "How do they do this? I am actually enjoying this workshop!" Although the speaker doesn't promise to teach you how to develop into world-class, professional facilitators in this single session, he will reveal a number of the most common mistakes that could sink any workshop, no matter how well it's going. These mistakes span the facilitation blooper landscape, from using inappropriate humor, to ignoring obvious tension in the room, to ending late. Successful facilitation involves a delicate balance of keeping a strong hand on the proceedings while understanding and using human psychology to your advantage. During this fast-paced session, we will focus on motivation, facilitation, handling difficult participants, visual aid development and use, and storytelling. You will have the opportunity to assess your blind spots and the reasons why. Think of this session like taking your car in for service. You've driven it for some time; now the technicians (the speaker and your fellow attendees) can run it through a series of tests and provide some timely feedback. Some of the mistakes uncovered will be surprises, while others may create cause for pushback. Nevertheless, you will "drive away" with multiple methods for connecting with your audiences.