Growth Activity:
Exercising Positive Recall

Your mindset and how you choose to think about things influences your actions on a daily basis. For example, when you channel the emotions associated with a positive memory, it can boost your self-confidence when facilitating (or whenever you might need it), and help you to perform your best. This is called Positive Recall.

This is an activity you can do alone, or with a partner. It will take around 10 minutes working individually, 20-30 in pairs. Make sure to write down the answer to each question! If working in pairs, one partner interviews the other, writing their responses. Then, switch roles.

Step 1: Recall your most successful facilitation.

Step 2: Briefly describe the experience.

Step 3: Answer the following questions.

• What are you seeing as you recall this?
• What are some sounds you remember from this experience?
• What were you doing during this experience?
• What were other people doing during this experience?
• What were you feeling during this experience?
• What are you feeling now as you recall this?

Next, review your answers and mine them for the emotions and physical cues in this positive memory. How did this affirmative experience make you feel or influence your mindset? Were you standing, sitting, moving around? Internalize these feelings so you can call them up before your next facilitation.

Positive Recall is a tool to bolster trust and confidence in yourself and your abilities. By identifying and connecting with the feelings associated with a positive memory, you are able to reinforce the knowledge that you already have everything you need to succeed.

Go through the activity with other experiences:

• Recall a time when you felt a sense of community.
• Recall a time when you had great rapport with your audience or team.
• Recall a time when felt a strong sense of purpose with a group.
• Recall your most successful collaboration.

Add each of these to your facilitation suitcase for the option to fine tune your Positive Recall to specific situations.