Enhance Your Facilitation Skills: Three Transformative Workshops from NCDD Friend Interactivity Foundation

The Interactivity Foundation, a trusted partner of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD), is offering three powerful online workshops this summer to help you elevate your facilitation and dialogue skills. Led by expert facilitators, each session provides hands-on access to exclusive activities from the Collaborative Discussion Project (CDP) Toolkit—tools you can use right away to foster more effective, inclusive, and creative group conversations. From deepening your listening skills, to navigating complex civic challenges with systems thinking, to energizing collaboration through improvisational techniques, these workshops offer something for facilitators at all levels. With each session priced at just $40 and limited in size, early registration is encouraged.
Read more in the blog post below.

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The Interactivity Foundation, a valued friend of the NCDD coalition, is offering three exceptional online workshops this summer that promise to elevate your group facilitation and dialogue skills. Each workshop provides exclusive access to new Collaborative Discussion Project (CDP) Toolkit activities—practical resources you can immediately apply in your own work.
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Whether you're a seasoned facilitator or just beginning your journey in dialogue and deliberation, these workshops offer valuable insights and tools to enhance meaningful group discussions, even in challenging contexts.

Workshop 1: Listening to Improve Collaboration

• Facilitator: Dr. John Igwebuike
  
• Date & Time: July 10, 2:00–4:00 pm EDT
  
• Cost: $40
  
• Register: interactivityfoundation.org
  

This foundational workshop explores listening as a powerful yet underutilized tool for transforming dialogue and improving collaboration. Dr. Igwebuike will guide participants through practical strategies to strengthen listening skills, even in contentious discussions where tensions run high.

In our polarized times, the ability to truly hear and understand different perspectives has become both more challenging and more critical than ever. This workshop provides concrete techniques to help facilitators and participants create space for genuine understanding, laying the groundwork for more productive collaboration.

​Workshop 2: Thinking Through Complex Issues to Support Civic Action

• Facilitator: Dr. Lori Britt
  
• Date & Time: July 17, 1:00–3:00 pm EDT
  
• Cost: $40
  
• Register: interactivityfoundation.org

Dr. Britt introduces participants to a new systems-thinking activity designed to help groups map community issues and identify high-impact intervention points for meaningful civic action. This workshop is particularly valuable for those working on complex social challenges that require collaborative problem-solving.
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The systems-thinking approach helps participants move beyond surface-level discussions to understand the deeper patterns and relationships that drive community issues. By identifying leverage points within these systems, groups can focus their energy on actions that create lasting, meaningful change.

Workshop 3: Creativity in Collaboration

• Facilitator: Dr. Don Waisanen
• Date & Time: August 7, 2:00–4:00 pm EDT
• Cost: $40
• Register: interactivityfoundation.org

Drawing lessons from improvisational theater, Dr. Waisanen shows participants how to unlock more adaptive, joyful, and innovative collaboration—even during challenging times. This workshop includes exclusive access to a new CDP Toolkit activity specifically designed to set the stage for generative dialogue.
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The principles of improv—such as "yes, and" thinking, embracing uncertainty, and building on others' ideas—offer powerful tools for creating collaborative environments where creativity can flourish. Participants will learn practical techniques to help groups move beyond defensive postures into spaces of genuine co-creation.

​Why These Workshops Matter

Each workshop addresses a critical aspect of effective dialogue and deliberation:

• Listening forms the foundation of all meaningful dialogue
• Systems thinking helps groups tackle complex challenges strategically
• Creativity unlocks innovative solutions and maintains engagement
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Together, these skills create a comprehensive toolkit for anyone seeking to facilitate more effective group processes, whether in community organizing, organizational development, or civic engagement.

​Exclusive CDP Toolkit Access

All workshop participants gain exclusive access to new activities from the Collaborative Discussion Project Toolkit—practical resources developed and tested by the Interactivity Foundation. These tools can be immediately implemented in your own facilitation work, extending the value of each workshop far beyond the two-hour session.

Investment in Democracy

At just $40 per workshop, these sessions represent an exceptional investment in your professional development and our collective capacity for democratic dialogue. The skills and tools you'll gain can be applied immediately in your work, whether you're facilitating community meetings, leading organizational discussions, or supporting civic engagement initiatives.

Register Today

With summer schedules filling up quickly, we encourage early registration for these popular workshops. Each session is limited in size to ensure meaningful interaction and personalized attention from the expert facilitators.

The Interactivity Foundation's commitment to advancing dialogue and deliberation aligns perfectly with NCDD's mission. These workshops represent an excellent opportunity to deepen your skills while connecting with a community of practitioners dedicated to strengthening democratic participation.
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Don't miss this chance to enhance your facilitation toolkit with proven strategies from three leading experts in the field. Register today and take your dialogue and collaboration skills to the next level.

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The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation is proud to support the important work of the Interactivity Foundation. For more information about NCDD and our network of organizations advancing dialogue and deliberation, visit ncdd.org.