Retooling yoU: Openers: How do you bring ideas into the room?

Retooling yoU is a series of online workshops to help you launch your facilitation practice in 2025. Presented by me, Brian Tarallo of Lizard Brain, each workshop will bring you a different aspect of what it takes to build, launch, and grow your practice as a facilitator. We'll cover both facilitation methods and what it takes to run a facilitation business.

How do you bring ideas into the room? How do you make sure people are speaking their mind, and not just saying what they think the boss wants to hear? How do you overcome groupthink? How do you ensure you’re hearing the ideas from everyone in the room, regardless of rank?

In this Retooling yoU, we’ll cover Openers: methods designed to bring as many ideas into the room as possible. We’ll cover the protocol and pitfalls of traditional brainstorming, and look at new online and in-person variations that make use of the participants’ diverse perspectives.

About Retooling yoU
I'm launching Retooling yoU because 2025 has seen massive churn and upheaval in the DC area. I firmly believe that when one door closes, another door opens, and this may be the time for you to finally launch your facilitation practice. I'm not charging for this workshop, but I will be inviting a "Pay-What-Feels-Right" donation during the workshop. To quote Reinventing Organizations author Frederic Laloux, "I cannot know what [this] is worth to you, so a fixed price does not make much sense. Pay-What-Feels-Right is an experiment in abundance where I trust that when I give, I will also receive. In my mind, Pay-What-Feels-Right is not free. It's an invitation to give what feels right for the value you've received and/or the support you want to give me to continue doing my work."

About Brian Tarallo
Hi there. I'm Brian. I'm one of the co-founders of NOVA Scribes, and I'm the managing director of Lizard Brain. I specialize in visual and virtual facilitation. I've got more than a few certifications in facilitation, including:
IAF M|CPF - International Association of Facilitators Master Certified Professional Facilitator, one of 78 globally
INIFAC MCF - International Institute for Facilitation Master Certified Facilitator , one of 80 globally
IFVP-I MVP - International Forum of Visual Practitioners – Institute Master Visual Practitioner, one of 8 globally
INIFAC CVF - International Institute of Facilitation Certified Virtual Facilitator
MBTI® MP - Meyers Briggs Type Indicator Master Practitioners, one of 160 globally
PMI PMP - Project Management Institute Project Management Professional
...plus a bunch of other certifications for tools and assessments. Starting as a Peace Corps volunteer, I've been facilitating since 2001. I'm the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller, Surviving the Horror of Online Meetings. In 2023, I was awarded an IAF Facilitation Impact Award.
My work is primarily with the federal and state government, defense, engineering, and healthcare industries.