Facilitator comes from Latin word meaning
“the one who makes things easy”.
Facilitation is the art , not of putting ideas
into people’s heads, but of drawing ideas
out.
A good facilitator is one who talks little.
When the work is done, the aim fulfilled,
they will all say, “We did this ourselves”.
I am nervous
Be prepared
Practice, practice, practice
Participants in their underwear
Greet everyone when they
arrive
Start sitting down/hide your
nerves
Fail to prepare &
…. prepare to fail!
People have experiences to share Offer praise & encouragement
Get participants to answer questions
asked by other participants
Silence is ok. You don’t have to fill it!
NOTE: Not everything can come from participants – share your knowledge/deliver content
We have one tongue and two ears
so that we can listen
twice as much as we speak
Nod you head
Yes, I understand, OK, tell me more
Eye contact
Facial expressions
Check Understanding; what you are
saying is …
4. Your energy = their energy
5. Time Management (balance with process)
6. Stay focused on the topic
“Parking Lot”
Pairs, buzz groups Supportive group Encourage within and outside the group
“You look like you wanted to say something” Ask direct question: tell me about your
experience with … Praise & refer back to their ideas
No one speaks twice until everyone speaks once
give them something to do
Take notes & summarize
Write on the flipchart paper
Thank you … like to hear from others / gender / age / location
Same group together
Talking stick
Speaking cards – if desperate!
Talk to them outside. Group Rules
Don’t take sides/be objective
Bring out as many ideas as possible
Participants will disagree!
Your job = summarize at the end
Correct facts, not opinions
Your opinion not that important
Get to know each other
Pass the pen
Discuss and agree roles and
activities
Pay attention to small group
work
PREPARATION
LISTEN
ENERGY
PARTICIPATION
STATEMENTS
Most important is that group reaches clear decision
A good trainer speaks more than listens
Anyone can be a facilitator
The key job of a trainer is to pass knowledge
Good facilitator answers all questions
Definition of a facilitator is “one who teaches others”
A good facilitator corrects facts, not opinions
A good facilitator changes sessions or ends early if group too tired
A good facilitator communicates clearly their position/view on issue
being discussed
Flexible Encourages humour
Patient Humble
Confident Inclusive; gender sensitive
An encourager An enabler
Affirming of everyone’s knowledge Sensitive to needs of others
Willing to learn from mistakes Dynamic, a motivator, energetic
Summarising other peoples ideas Accepting
A good, clear communicator A good listener
Says when they don’t know Watches non-verbal communication
Makes participants feel valued & encouraged
slideshare.net
flickr.com
Deloitte & Touche, 2010
Whitmore/Stevenson: Strategies for
Engineering Communication, 2011