Notes from PD Session on Facilitation: Tips and Techniques

A great deal of the discussion was in regard to preparing for your session in advance - really focused on getting to know who your client is in advance:

• questionnaire
• focus group
• survey

Pre-work and pre-communication was an important (if not more than) the actual session.

First part of the session - content and purpose (vital)

Set the agenda - layout the whole session - base it on the precommunication, survey or focus group - use their language and their words. Brings the group together.

Disruptive technology or negative start - how do you center yourself and the group after a negative start - good idea to ratify the agenda and get the focus back to the task on hand.

Look behind the behaviour - get to the heart of the problem (if any) before a session.

Set norms - be prepared to change the agenda

acknowledge that there is a problem or an issue - don’t pretend that it isn’t happening.

Prework - Critical to the Whole Session

What questions should be asked or should be sent out to the group in advance:

Logistics/housekeeping

• how many people
• special needs
• technology required/available
• gender
• age
• roles
• breaks/food
• how much time
• location
• issues
• strengths & experience of the group

Purpose

• clarify purpose
• context
• climate
• history
• work culture

Outcomes/Objectives

• deliverables
• next steps

Critical Questions:

1. What is your sense of purpose/outcome/levels/profile

2. Needs based questions - what do I need to know about the group

Session

There are three things going on (generally) in a session: content, process, and yourself - you have to think of yourself as neutral - nothing is about you!! Be constantly checking in with yourself during a session - what is going on - check back with the group - trust the group.

But what if… you need to step in or have input as an expert?? Why would you need this:

• safety of the group
• dynamics are not okay

Try and feed back to the group before you take off facilitator hat

Try to pull suggestion/solutions out of the group

If there is another “expert” in the group - try and bring them in

Try and get the information from the group and as a last resort - add the expert voice or advice that is needed - but make it very clear from the group that that is what you are doing!!

Co-facilitation model is an excellent idea - frees 1 facilitator and 1 notetaker

Notetaking is very very vital

Key Skills

• Facilitating is an art not a science
• get to the point where you trust yourself
• nimble, flexible, be willing to change things up
• read the audience - trust the group
• trust your sense of what is happening
• hold onto the insight piece

Problems that may come up

• You may not be able to get there in their time allotted
• many need to renegotiate with the group
• audience/group may not know what they want

How assertive should a facilitator be?

•  need to be assertive enough to take a step back - be able to read the group and make adjustments - facilitating is not passive

Facilitators need a lot of tools in their toolkit - a lot can happen during a session - need to be able to switch things up if necessary - trust in your ability to read the group and trust your abilities as a facilitator.

Keep to the agenda

Leave enough time for closure and next steps

Think of session lilke an accordian - pull the session in or push it out as necessary

If small groups are important to the session - have a strategy in advance of how you are going to get them into small groups

Have a warm activity to focus the group

Don’t give out your notes in advance

Think of how you will want groups to report back - many different strategies - world cafe, flipcharts, exhibit wall, round robin, key questions etc.,

Neutrality does not mean being passive

Think of ways to create transitions - shorten up your time, change things up, synthesize

Key Tips/Tools

• be really really attentive to the group/participants
• stay alert - constantly be checking with yourself re: how its going etc.,
• its not about power
• its not about you

Things to pay attention to:

Monopolizer - don’t give into one or many. Try and bring it back to the group - if not not able to take it offline or deal with at a break.

16 June 2010 ·