Facilitation Lab
Lead the Room
Facilitation Skills for Impact and Influence
With Douglas Ferguson
In Partnership With Women in Product, Austin
September 23, 2025
5pm - 7pm CDT
Leadership isn’t about titles—it’s about your ability to bring people together and make conversations count. Women in Product and Voltage Control are teaming up for this interactive session, using a Lean Coffee format so the discussion centers on what matters most to you.
Think of the real challenges you face day-to-day—like how to engage quiet teams and energize meetings, manage stakeholders and facilitate alignment, or turn contentious debates into collaborative breakthroughs. These are the kinds of topics we’ll troubleshoot together, with practical facilitation tools you can take back to your own work.
You’ll leave with fresh techniques and perspectives to help you lead the room with confidence and impact.
Think of the real challenges you face day-to-day—like how to engage quiet teams and energize meetings, manage stakeholders and facilitate alignment, or turn contentious debates into collaborative breakthroughs. These are the kinds of topics we’ll troubleshoot together, with practical facilitation tools you can take back to your own work.
You’ll leave with fresh techniques and perspectives to help you lead the room with confidence and impact.
September 23, 2025
5pm - 7pm CDT
Interested in a private cohort for your team?
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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
Douglas Ferguson
Douglas Ferguson is an entrepreneur, educator, and human-centered technologist. He is the founder and president of Voltage Control, a facilitation academy that develops leaders through certifications, workshops, and organizational coaching focused on facilitation mastery, innovation, and play. He has helped transform leaders, innovators, and creatives from Nike, U.S. SOCOM, Google, the Air Force, Gap, Tesla, MSU, Church & Dwight, Apple, Adobe, Dropbox, Fidelity, Vrbo, Liberty Mutual, Humana, and SAIC. Douglas is a thought leader and author of four books: Magical Meetings, Beyond the Prototype, How to Remix Anything, and Start Within.
In Partnership With
Women in Product, Austin
We are excited to create, educate, and empower a global community of women product managers who build impactful products here in Austin, Texas.
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.
