ThoughtLab: The Campfire Method: How to Help Groups Open Up, and Connect deeply
💡 ThoughtLab: Join our interactive webinars where speakers share research, projects, theoretical models, or lessons learned on L&D-relevant topics. Dive into new insights with the community.
✨ Participation: This session is ideal for L&D professionals looking to enhance their facilitation skills.
You know the moment. You're about to start a session with a group that doesn't know each other well. You need them to engage. To connect. To feel safe enough to participate. And you know how you start matters.
So you try an icebreaker. And the energy drains from the room.
In this hands-on session, Jan Keck, author of The Campfire Method, will share a different approach. Instead of breaking the ice with a sledgehammer, you'll learn how to melt it, gradually building warmth and trust the way you'd build a campfire.
🎁 KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Why most icebreakers create resistance instead of connection (and what to do instead)
How to design intentional moments that get participants to engage without being forced in the spotlight
How to get people to uncross their arms, lean in and connect deeply
This is not a lecture, but a highly participatory session. You'll experience the concepts firsthand through interactive activities, then unpack how to apply them to your own work.
About our Host:
Jan Keck
Author of The Campfire Method | Facilitation Skills Trainer | Workshop Facilitator | Experience Designer | TEDx Speaker
Jan Keck is driven by a simple belief: real, deep connection beats small talk, every single time.
With his deck of Ask Deep Questions cards that has touched lives worldwide, Jan's journey is about gently guiding people toward meaningful engagement, building trust, and fostering deep connections. He believes that you can warm up your meetings without cheesy activities, build trust without trust falls, and facilitate vulnerable conversations without participants feeling like they're in therapy.
He's been lucky enough to share his ideas through a TEDx talk and has been featured on platforms like CBC News, Breakfast TV, and HuffPost. But for Jan, the real success is in the stories people share about the connections they've made, about those magical moments when strangers realize they're not alone.
During the pandemic, Jan taught thousands of trainers, facilitators, and educators how to recreate the "magic" of in-person gatherings online and turn the dreaded Zoom fatigue on its head.
Now, he's channelling his insights and experiences into his first book, The Campfire Method, where he shares his framework for warming up gatherings in a way that's authentic and inclusive, without making anyone feel left out (especially the introverted, shy, and quiet folks).
After living in Canada for 16 years, Jan recently moved back to Germany with his wife, their dog Cookie, cat Linda, and their son Mika, to be closer to his family.
See you there, Angela and Barbara