Facilitation Lab

Facilitation Lab Charlottesville

Practice: Click by Jake Knapp

In Partnership With Miro

May 8, 2025
5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT​

Charlottesville, VA

994 Research Park Boulevard
Charlottesville, VA 22911
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this is your safe playground to push boundaries, explore new methods, and level up your facilitation skills!

At Facilitation Lab Charlottesville, facilitators and collaborative leaders come together to experiment, refine, and grow through real-time practice and role-play – because we believe that learning by doing is the best way to develop our facilitation muscle!

We use a tried and tested role play format called Practice Playground, which is a dynamic, hands-on process to help us sharpen our skills in a low-stakes and interactive way.

This is a rare chance to practice in a truly safe and supportive environment, where we can test new techniques, experiment, take risks, and get valuable, constructive feedback from peers.

This month we’re excited to partner with Jake Knapp Jake Knapp (author of NYT best seller Design Sprint) around the launch of his new book Click: How to Make What People Want. Click introduces the Foundation Sprint – 2 day workshop for starting projects the right way. We’ll be practicing the “Differentiators” a key activity from the Foundation Sprint. This exercise helps teams define what makes their projects radically different from competitors, setting the stage for successful innovation.

As a special bonus, we’ll be giving away two copies of Click to attendees. This book offers ten important lessons, a step-by-step playbook for the Foundation Sprint, and memorable stories from companies like Nike, Google, and Slack.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn a brand new activity and enhance your facilitation skills with practical, actionable insights. Reserve your spot today!

Make the most of your session
Come prepared to role-play and facilitate a new facilitation method or something you’ve been working on. We’ve found attendees who step up benefit the most because they receive tailored feedback, and leave with real growth and confidence.

ADDRESS:
CvilleBioHub
994 Research Park Boulevard
Town Center Four, 4th Floor
Charlottesville, VA 22911

Meet in the lobby of Town Center Four between 5:00-5:30pm.
May 8, 2025
5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT​

Charlottesville, VA

994 Research Park Boulevard
Charlottesville, VA 22911

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Interested in a private cohort for your team? Let us know

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About Facilitation Lab Charlottesville

Facilitation Lab Charlottesville is a monthly in-person meetup for changemakers, collaborative leaders, and facilitators across Charlottesville. Our purpose is to foster learning by doing in a psychologically safe environment, building a strong and supportive community of peers across the region. As Regional Lead, Shawn cultivates a space for experimentation and collaborative leadership development, with a focus on people-powered organizational change. Facilitation Lab Charlottesville is a global network of regions, including other virtual meetups organized by continent and in-person meetups organized by cities. See the region list for a full list of all active meetups. You can also join us in the Facilitation Lab Community Hub to stay connected with the facilitation community and get reminders of all upcoming events.

Agenda

Opener
An attendee will lead us through an engaging opener
Practice & Role Play
Attendees take turns role-playing as facilitators and participants as we practices different methods
Debrief
After some quiet reflection we’ll debrief the role-play and key learnings
Closer
An attendee will lead us through a purposeful closer

Who Should Attend

Experienced & New Facilitators
Who want to level up their facilitation skills and enhance their ability to effectively engage participants
Chiefs of Staff
Who want to align initiatives across departments and ensure strategic projects are implemented successfully
Product & Project Managers
Who want to steer stakeholders to the best outcomes and learn best practices in stakeholder management
Teachers & Trainers
Who want to design the most impactful learning and create engaging learning experiences

Key Takeaways

Gain hands-on experience with a spectrum of facilitation techniques, from classic to cutting-edge.
Receive immediate, constructive feedback in a nurturing environment to refine your facilitation skills.
Explore the depths of your existing facilitation knowledge and boost your confidence through low-stakes practice sessions.
Realize the potential to learn from anyone, appreciating the value of diverse experiences and perspectives.

Featured Facilitators

Shawn Mulligan
Drawing on a unique blend of experience in both the nonprofit and business sectors, Shawn specializes in helping organizations clarify their purpose, build effective teams, and create lasting impact. As a consultant for community change, his firm DESIGN CLARITY partners with nonprofit and business leaders to identify their most pressing challenges, develop clear and actionable strategies, and support them as they move forward. His collaborative approach and natural ability to connect people and purpose have made him a trusted advisor to those seeking to drive meaningful progress in their organization and community.

With over two decades of architectural expertise, Shawn is a licensed architect with a BArch from Virginia Tech in architecture and industrial design. He has led diverse projects across the US and Europe, from custom homes and furniture, to Net Zero Energy schools and campus master plans, with a focus on sustainability, wellness, and user experience. Beyond his design work, Shawn has served in nonprofit leadership roles, contributed pro-bono design to community projects, and built programs for organizations such as the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Building Goodness Foundation, Piedmont Housing Alliance, and the American Institute of Architects. His career reflects a deep commitment to connecting people, purpose, and place for the greater good.

In Partnership With

Miro
Miro is an online workspace for innovation that is visually reminiscent to whiteboards we have in meeting rooms. All the tools are located on the left side of the screen. And it allows you to add various content from texts to images, create maps and diagrams, and work with visual templates together with a team.

What People are Saying

"The community’s warmth and generosity in tending to me and the issue made me feel cared for and supported. Beyond the suggestions, which were immediately useful, the culture of the community makes leaning into that growth edge easier, and more delightful."

Katrina Mitchell
Senior Technical Advisor, JHPiego

“I just wanted to say thanks for the great session last night. Your feedback and suggestions were fantastic. I left very energized!"

Dan Corbin
Instructor at Pragmatic Institute
Photo Disclaimer

Please note that photographs, video & audio recordings will be taken throughout this event. These will be used by Voltage Control for marketing and publicity in our publications, on our website and in social media, or in any third party publication. Please contact our events manager if you have any concerns or if you wish to be exempted from this activity.