Facilitation skills
One of the most useful, interesting and valuable learning experiences I've ever had
Esther Meyerson, Personnel Manager, Kings College
We deliver two day courses for 8-10 people and three day courses for 12 –14 people. In each case every participant has the opportunity to facilitate a twenty minute session and receive high quality feedback and live coaching from the tutor and other participants.
What is facilitation?
- Facilitation v directing - pros and cons
- What does a facilitator do?
- What are your current strengths and weaknesses as a facilitator?
- What kind of events do you facilitate and what sort of challenges do you face?
Beginnings
- Four things to do at the start of any meeting
- Groundrules – what, why, how and when
- How to handle introductions
- How to get people involved
Outcomes and structure
- The importance of a clear outcome
- Task v developmental outcomes
- How to decide on an agreed outcome
- Qualitative quantifiers
- How to structure a session
- Open space and other structures for larger groups
Trust and rapport
- Presence and how to develop it
- Why trust matters
- How to build trust and rapport in a group
- The four components of trust
- Three perceptual positions and how a good facilitator can switch from one to another
Energy and state
- How to monitor the group's energy and state
- Why state matters
- Changing state with words
- Changing state with physiology and movement
- Ten activities for getting people actively involved
Keeping things on track
- How to stop people drifting off track
- How to handle note taking and minutes
- How to ensure action points are agreed
Dealing with conflict
- Practical tools for dealing with conflict between group members
- Practical tools for dealing with conflict between individuals and you
- Sleight of mouth techniques, including the positive intention method
Decision making
- Four approaches to decision making
- Understanding organizational politics
- Tapping into your intuition
Creativity
- The four stages of creativity
- Twelve creative techniques
- How to get the group in a creative state
- Tools for creativity and problem solving: brainstorming, metaplanning, force field analysis, Ishikawa, ranking and rating, process mapping
Influencing skills
- Five influencing strategies and when to use them – tell, sell, problem solve, negotiate and coach
- Seven keys to influence
The psychology of change
- How to promote change at the level of attitudes and beliefs
- The five diagnostic questions
Endings and action
- Tuckman group stages
- The best facilitator style for each stage
- How to end groups
- How to ensure worthwhile action follows