Interview with Floris Beijersbergen

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got involved with facilitating?

I was born and raised in the east of the Netherlands. My first study was a Master’s in Communication on the VU university in Amsterdam, where I graduated on entrepreneurship in Malaysia. I spent six months in Malaysia which made me to love the place forever. After University I graduated from Acting school.
My two passions Communication and Theatre made me to start working as a trainer and simulation actor and designing interactive workshops.

The interest in pure facilitation came to me about five years ago. I was working in Taiwan that time for a multinational and I saw more and more that facilitation helped them really to bring their teams of engineers further and be more committed. For me it was an eyeopener to see when either facilitation or training is the right thing to do.

How did you end up living in Finland?

I have been together with my Finnish girlfriend for about a decade and after spending many years living in Amsterdam, we decided to move to Helsinki. I really enjoy the new environment and the new culture, although to my perspective Finns and Dutchies have many similarities. The most enjoyable characteristic shared is a similar sense of humor.

A facilitator works with groups of people. As we are still struggling with the pandemic, how does that affect your work?

Working remote has created challenges and benefits in my profession. On one hand in my work as a facilitator when I interact with people, I really get to the personal level easier. Participants are in the comfort of their home and more in their natural environment than before. Less suits and more honesty. On the contrary I feel that many signals are easily missed, like nonverbal communication and lack of commitment. On top of that, after one year working remote, many people are starting to show online fatigue and related stress. It seems even more important than ever to really connect with each other in virtual meetings.

How would you describe yourself as a facilitator?

Fun, thoughtful, relaxed and confronting when needed.

Besides facilitating, do you have any other professional interests?

I highly enjoy different cultures and countries. I have an unlimited interest in behaviors of people in different places and how to understand them. On top of that I have a big passion for the underwater world; you can always wake me up to go scuba diving somewhere☺

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About the trainer:

For over a decade, Floris Beijersbergen has used his facilitation and training talent in many different settings. With a background in intercultural communication as well as theatre, Floris is helping organizations to develop their teams, implementing strategy and use interactive ways of working. 

Get to know Floris:  LinkedIn