Services Karen Gimnig Professional Facilitator

Classes and Courses

Classes offer the best return on investment of both time and money. They are an opportunity for individuals to engage with their values for group participation and build the skills needed for creating the community of their dreams. Classes combine a dash of content presentation with a healthy dose of processing time and and lot of discussion. The format invites vulnerability, sharing and growth.

Classes are organized to allow for flexible participation. Each session is 2 hours. Each course is 4 sessions. Participants are asked to commit to a full course. A Series is made up of 3 courses and participants can choose to take one or two courses, or complete the whole series. Some series must be taken in order, others work well with the courses taken in any order.

All classes are offered on zoom. Generally classes are open and include participants from different communities. Thus, in addition to the content in the class, participants have the opportunity to meet and interact with communities across the country.

Classes are currently available on the topics listed below.

The Conflict Series

Conflict is an opportunity for growth available to every member of every community at some time or another. Learning to do conflict well is essential to thriving as a community and as an individual within a community. This 3-part series covers basic tools for working through conflict using the Imago Dialogue process and strategies for helping others in conflict while giving participants time to explore their own experiences of conflict and discover areas where they can improve their connections with others. It is taught in three parts, which must be taken in order:

Part 1 - Communication for Conflict (Imago Dialogue)

Part 2 - Supporting Individuals in Conflict

Part 3 - Facilitating for Two People in Conflict

The Culture Series

Replacing society's individual and competitive culture with one that is cooperative and relationship-supporting takes work and learning. This series covers 12 key elements of building a cooperative culture: Self Work, Building Trust, Personality Differences, Sharing Feedback, Seeking Understanding, Vulnerability, Emotional and Cognitive Intelligence, Giving & Receiving, Individuals Need Community, Embracing Differences, Blocking, and Conscious Power. The three parts may be taken in any order.

The Facilitator Series

Every community has meetings and every meeting is better if those who are participating have studied facilitation. (Note I include all participants of meetings, not just facilitators!) This class explores the role of a facilitator, the challenge and vulnerability in leading well, and strategies for facilitating meetings that build relationships and move ideas smoothly through a proposal process. It is taught in three parts with Part 1 as a prerequisite for Parts 2 and 3. (Parts 2 and 3 can be taken in any order)

Part 1 - Role of Facilitator

Part 2 - Facilitating Meetings

Part 3 - Facilitating Processes