February 2025 After 18 years of informally supporting my business, I am beyond excited to announce that my wife, Susan Murphy, has joined me as the new part-time Business Manager at Barefoot Facilitation Inc.! With four decades of experience in administrative and legal support roles, Susan has honed her expertise in office management, client relations, and operational efficiency. Her […]

January 2025 This month I had an injection. And it was a complete honour! No, not THAT type of injection. Rather, a small “dose” or reminder of the power of actively, engaged community members in helping to shape the health of communities across Nova Scotia! Congratulations to the Community Health Board volunteers across our province

December 2024 On October 29, 2024, nearly 200 construction industry professionals gathered in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to build support systems and inspire the next generation of leaders at the Construction Association of Nova Scotia’s inaugural Stanhope Simpson Insurance Women inConstruction Forum. The theme was Connect. Support. Inspire. The program created a space for forging new

Bali: a land of sprawling beaches, lush rice fields, and a spirituality that seems to hum in the air.  For three weeks, I had the immense privilege to wander throughout this island paradise, soaking in its beauty and culture. But beyond its stunning landscapes, Bali offered me something far more valuable—a humbling lesson in kindness

October 2024 I facilitate a lot of conversations about what contributes to effective interpersonal communication. We always discuss the impact your body language has on your conversations, and eye contact is one of our most powerful tools. Eye contact helps to establish trust, convey confidence, and demonstrate attentiveness. It allows us to connect with others

  Sharing feedback, especially criticism, can be tough. Delivered incorrectly and you can drain people’s energy and motivation, while vague praise does not help either.  Using a feedback planner can help you organize your thoughts before your meeting and is a useful tool for giving clear feedback. Like any new skill, it takes practice to

It’s my new, favourite quote! Because in our work at Barefoot Facilitation Inc. we’re all about helping people to come together to engage in “conversations that count”. In other words, “conversations that matter” or that are meaningful. You’ll see us facilitating group conversations, hosting training conversations or emceeing large event conversations. And they all have

July 2024 Many groups and organizations are using principles to held guide their decisions and actions. Good Principles make sure that everyone’s  decisions match the group’s goals and values. To see if a principle is effective before using it, you can check if it follows the G.U.I.D.E. method developed by Michael Quinn Patton. For those

June 2024 As a group process facilitator, I go through buckets of markers. And I’ve learned that my approach to using coloured markers on white boards and flip charts really matters. It’s not just about what looks pretty! Picking the right colours and using them well can help participants stay engaged, understand better and remember