How to train new facilitators a step by step guide

How do you protect folks who are worried their ideas will be attacked or mocked? How do you hold back the big talkers who tend to dominate while still making them feel good about their participation? There are urgent problems and issues we need to tackle and solve in our communities. But for groups to be really successful, we need to spend some time focusing on the skills our members and leaders use to make all of this action happen, both within and outside our organizations.

All that said, one of the key things I’ve learned as a facilitator is that plans are also made to be changed or even broken. I’ve run many in person workshops where I realized the needs of the group had changed and so had to mix up my agenda. On one occasion with a virtual group, another more important discussion came up and we collectively decided that this new topic was a better use of our time.

How do you chair difficult meetings?

Depending on the organization, they might have facilitation as a part of their formal role or known skillset. But if you assume that you might be missing something that Bob sees, you will be curious about the connection Bob sees between his comment and the topic at hand. You’ll want to go over these with folks as well to get their input and check that these are the desired outcomes they’re looking for.

Also, if you don’t get some basic information about who is there, you may miss some golden opportunities. For example, the editor of the regional newspaper may be in the room; but if you don’t know, you’ll miss the opportunity for a potential interview or special coverage. The only exception may be latecomers who arrive after the introductions are completed.

Save time designing your next workshop

There is no single approach to facilitation, and every group has different needs and considerations. What works for a group of internal team members may not work for external stakeholders with a different level of familiarity with your organization or product. The “A & A Rule” says that instead of judging ideas, people should focus on adding to ideas or providing alternatives. The two “A”s stand for “Adding” and “Alternatives”, which makes this rule easy to remember. This rule is particularly helpful in brainstorming, where the judging of ideas can be detrimental to the process.

• Joe Dumas and Beth Loring wrote a great guidebook that is an essential read for anyone interested in facilitating a usability session.
• Remember that any workshop, meeting or training course has a goal and objective in mind, and any tool or approach must be in service of the process and those goals.
• When latecomers straggle in, don’t stop your process to acknowledge them.
• This is a context in which small changes can lead to dramatic improvement, making it a good place for beginners to build up their facilitation muscles.
• If you have a large group or a lot of topics to cover, you may find your meeting stretches well over an hour.
• Ask key questions about what outcomes need to be achieved with stakeholders and your team before the session.

If we go deeper, we can trace the relationship between motivation and self-management theory — shared goals, accountability,  and boundaries. The skills of a good facilitator include maintaining an open mind and not criticizing ideas and suggestions offered by group members. A facilitator should be skilled in asking questions that are open-ended and encourage discussion. In this post, we took a critical look at why most meetings that most organizations hold simply don’t work. Nothing says “I don’t respect your time” more than starting way late or a meeting that runs way over the allotted time.

How to train new facilitators – a step by step guide

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Let’s review which skills are required for a facilitator to perform effectively in each step of the process. In the next paragraphs, we will go through some of the essential facilitation skills, through the lens of the “head, hearts, and hands” framework. If you’re self-employed and the facilitator role is something you do part time alongside other work, your independent accountant letter should specify what, if any VAT you are entitled to claim for. All facilitators must have a group agreement in place to decide how the group will operate, how it will handle any disputes within the group, and to confirm each members’ roles. The facilitator and members should all keep a copy and submit only on request.

Engage with the community

Nowadays, facilitation techniques are an essential toolkit for a good manager, whether you’re using Agile or classic techniques. In this article, we discuss facilitation theory and structure, who facilitators are, as well as their key skills, techniques, and responsibilities. Often, people use facilitation techniques or processes while conducting training, workshops or meetings in another role, and later develop and leverage those skills into being a facilitator. Workshop plans, for example, often include icebreakers to introduce the session, activities to help a group generate ideas and stay focused, and then techniques to create shared understanding, and converge on a solution. Designing and planning a workshop agenda is a skill in itself, and it absolutely one you’ll want to cultivate on your path to being a skilled facilitator.

Check with the group to make sure they agree with and like the agenda. You never know if someone will want to comment and suggest something a little different. This builds a sense of ownership of the meeting and agile team facilitation lets people know early on that you’re there to facilitate their process and their meeting, not your own agenda. However, there are situations when a facilitator does have a natural interest in the content.

characteristics of good facilitation

The best facilitators are in contact with their clients throughout the process and may even get in contact with some of the participants. Good communication at all levels is absolutely integral for a good facilitator and anyone involved in group facilitation. If you are facilitating a meeting, participants will assume the timekeeping role is 100% up to you. But you can also decide to share the burden of facilitation with the group, for example by assigning another person to be the timekeeper.

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Communicate clear guidelines and instructions

Effective facilitation of a discussion involves the recognition and employment of different perspectives and different skills to create an inclusive environment. In order to do so, it is important to consider the features of effective discussions, and conditions that promote small group interaction and engagement. Discussion is a powerful mechanism for active learning; a well-facilitated discussion allows the participant to explore new ideas while recognizing and valuing the contributions of others. This experience of working with people, helping them collaborate and participate is a key skill when it comes to being a facilitator. If helping a group achieve a shared goal is something you’re good at and gets you excited, maybe you’re cut out to be a facilitator! Remember that all experiences of group processes – whether you are a leader or participant – are relevant and can be called upon in your future facilitation.