Entries by Naomi Devine

Summer Engagement Dos and Don’ts

by Naomi Devine, Senior Designer + Digital Engagement Specialist As summer is upon us, many of us are looking for ways to beat the heat and enjoy some time outdoors. One of the best ways to ensure successful public engagement during the summer months is to plan ahead. You will want to consider what activities or […]

Building Rapport, Quickly

by Naomi Devine, Senior Designer + Digital Engagement Specialist Establishing rapport (developing the positive relationships between a facilitator and participants, as well as amongst participants) is a critical component of meeting success. When it goes wrong, or if it doesn’t even happen, a meeting becomes flat and stale (who wants that?) or, at worst, derails […]

A quick, but powerful, tip for building rapport while learning to decide as a group

by Naomi Devine, Senior Designer + Digital Engagement Specialist One of the first challenges any facilitator has, when working with a new group (or working virtually), is building rapport, capacity and trust to make effective decisions together. This starts by helping shape group norms (expectations and social behaviours) at the very beginning of your time […]

Taking a deeper dive on why I swim in the cold, cold ocean

by Naomi Devine, Senior Designer + Digital Engagement Specialist On a windy and overcast February Friday morning I walked right into the Pacific Ocean. It was exhilarating. It was (surprisingly) easy. It was barely light out. I got a shoutout of approval from another early-morning person….jogger running by, I think. I’ve done the same thing […]

The Producer’s Role in Online Training

by Brittany Mason, Kristi Merilees, and Naomi Devine – Delaney Producers 2020 was a year of adaptation for us here at Delaney, as it was for most people. For us, that meant taking public engagement and facilitation training as well as events online because of COVID-19. We wanted to share some of our lessons learned, […]

Survey Says: Virtual Academy

by Jessica Delaney, Principal, Engagement + Strategic Communications Thank you to everyone who took our survey. Congrats to Katie who is the winner of the goodie bag that will be shipped out this week. Here’s what we heard for every training option. Technology matters; make sure the technology works The training is must be engaging; consider using breakout groups […]

Let’s engage, let’s do a survey

by Danielle Armengaud, Specialist, Research and Communications How often have you heard engagement and a survey be joined as if they were one and the same? While there are many online and in-person engagement techniques to choose from, online surveys have become increasingly popular, especially during this COVID-19 time where in-person events are simply not […]