Facilitation skills
This programme provides a highly experiential experience in developing core competencies in high impact facilitation that challenges and engages people on intellectual, emotional and behavioural levels. Pre-work – prepare a 5-minute facilitated session on a subject of own choice.
Level
The programme is appropriate for learners at entry, intermediate, advanced levels.
Objectives
- To understand what we mean by facilitation as a business tool
- To appreciate the importance of awareness of self and others
- To raise awareness of personal style and its impact on facilitation
- To identify and develop core competencies in facilitation
- To understand how to adopt a structured approach to facilitation
- To develop skills in facilitating discussions
- To clarify how to deal with difficult people / situations
- To appreciate the advantages / challenges of working with a co-facilitator
- To provide a range of facilitation tools and techniques
- To develop confidence in facilitation – demonstrations & 3 practice sessions
Process
Experiential Demonstration – Demonstrate core competencies in facilitation.
Self as Facilitator – Identify strengths, development areas and drivers. Feedback.
Practice One – Learners facilitate 5 min pre-work session – receives feedback on strengths and development areas – in a supportive, yet challenging environment.
What is Facilitation? – Defining facilitation. Dual focus on outcomes & process.
Facilitation Competencies – Introduce a comprehensive competency framework in facilitation behaviours – focus on questioning, informing, structuring, feedback, assessing, listening, supporting, challenging, summarising, building, silence, etc.
Influencing with Questions – Exercise to demonstrate our tendency to tell / instruct rather than ask / facilitate – value of a question-centred approach to make people stop and think – build capability in formulating high impact questions.
Styles of Facilitation – Impact of personal styles / characters on facilitation. Communication Styles – doer, actor, friend, thinker. Self-assessment. Impact of style on facilitation, self and others.
Facilitator as Communicator – Defining communication. Maximising personal impact – 3Vs model (verbal, vocal, visual). Advocacy vs. enquiry.
Facilitating Discussions – Four-step structure to facilitating dynamic discussions.
Practice Two – Learners to facilitate a 5 min discussion demonstrating facilitation competencies – feedback on strengths and development areas.
Design & Development – Review the facilitation process from need, design, development, delivery and evaluation. Identify design / development principles.
Co-Facilitation – Syndicate exercise on co-facilitation – advantages, challenges – awareness of impact of personal style on co-presenter.
Difficult People/Situations – Types of difficult situations. Effect on facilitator. Three-fold response – self-management, situation management, group management.
Practice Three – Working in pairs – learners prepare and facilitate a 10 min co-facilitated session – feedback on style, strengths and development areas.
Options
Programme can be adapted as a 1 or 2 day workshop for approx. 8 to 10 learners, with 1 or 2 facilitators – duration impacts on content / process.