Facilitators Welcome

Most months Abundance League welcomes a guest facilitator to lead discussion about their project or passion. Topics vary, but the thread that ties it all together is how working together for the common good leads to abundance. For instance, we've had talks about compassionate communication and storytelling, which help people work together, and talks about public projects, like clothing swaps and cooperatives, that allow people build common wealth together.

Sometimes we have a guest artist whose work inspires a culture of generosity. The format for performances is similar to discussions, though performances may be longer than 15 minutes.

If you'd like to facilitate a discussion or perform at Abundance League, please e-mail gorenflo at gmail dot com. Check here to learn about the meeting format. Basically, facilitators get 15 minutes to present their topic and 30 minutes to guide discussion.

Below are some tips for facilitators based on what has worked well in the past. Feel free to add to these ideas in the comments.

• 15 minutes isn't much time to set up the discussion, so come prepared with a focused message. Find one or two things to focus on that you can convey in a memorable way.

• The presentation is set up for the discussion. We embrace the ethos of participation, so the discussion is important. Plus, at this point in the day, most people can't sit and listen for more than about 20 minutes!

• Talk about your topic in the context of your personal story. How did you come to the work? What does it mean to you? What impact has it had on your life and on others?

• Connect your topic to how your ideas can be used by members today to make their life better. Abundance League is about putting ideas into action.

• Have a short list of good questions to get the discussion going. One way to get discussion going is to ask how people feel about some aspect of your topic.

• Listen carefully to member announcements that precede discussion. Find ways to personalize your talk based on what members say in announcements about their passions, needs, and gifts. Connect your story to members' stories.