Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. This is not to argue that you need an outside facilitator with all of the characteristics a good facilitator, only to make the point of who should not facilitate. A facilitator suggests ways and uses tools to help the group move forward, but makes no decisions for the group. Unless the co-facilitator for help, don’t fight them for control of the room. How to be a Good Facilitator While Coaching in a Group Program. This is an essential read for first-time facilitators. As a facilitator, your talk time should be less than 40%. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. The answers to the questions on complexity and effort will help you think through who might be your best internal facilitation candidate. A good facilitator must be 100% awake and present – listening, looking, and sensing at all times. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(116436, 'b589ee53-26db-4e44-99de-969f61006d61', {}); Internal facilitators can save time and reduce the complexity of getting an outside facilitator up-to-speed on your business, internal language, team members and nuance of operations. What’s the objective of the session and how complex will the path be to get there? Good Luck! This approach helps keep discussions challenging and professional while delivering a better outcome. • On the facilitator computer, select "Manage Participants" on the ZOOM toolbar. To get the group back on topic, ask participants to link the conversation to the issue you are discussing. This article has been viewed 42,466 times. Each participant has the same expectations and is accountable for the same level of preparation and engagement. The facilitator guides a discussion of the topics laid out in the meeting agenda, with the purpose of moving the team towards a common goal. A facilitator has a wide range of tasks to perform in order to ‘make things easier’ for people who participate in a facilitated discussion: Support individuals within a group in understanding their common objectives. Rhythm Systems 1111 Metropolitan Ave, Suite 330 Charlotte, NC 28204. They do not influence or lead the group to an outcome. Home / Facilitation method / Facilitation / What qualities make for a good facilitator? Have you allowed the internal facilitator time to prepare within their daily schedule? Thus, if you are a facilitator, you will need to put aside your views and lead the event from an … This will allow key individuals to participate fully in the listening, thinking, observing, and participation needed for business planning success. Use visual aids to enhance and reinforce. See the list of participants on the right and mute the one who is unmuted. Today, I’m going to outline those steps for you so that you know where you need to start. Have an outline or a curriculum. Here's how to be a good facilitator in a group coaching program. This is the first in a series of post on facilitation - what makes a great facilitator and what are the necessary skills. Following these workshops, they can then begin to deliver the Active Citizens training programme to local communities around the world. Why is it that we roll our eyes with disdain when our calendar is loaded with meetings, and more specifically, why do we dread the planning meetings that are so important to our strategic success? Facilitation may sound fairly straightforward, but there is an art to getting it right. Be prepared. Facilitation by definition is an activity which makes easy the tasks of others. Use your personal experience as an example when appropriate. How To Be A Great Facilitator Facilitation tips. These duties often include setting the agenda, making sure that the meeting remains on track, and ensuring that participants cover all the necessary topics. ), Fearless in questioning to challenge thinking and create new possibilities while not steering the discussion or offering opinion, Is not rigid in process and will allow necessary conversation to happen for forward progress, Will hold the group accountable to the clock. 2. Debrief the workshop. Is the facilitator familiar with your planning methodology? Facilitators who are not normally part of your week-to-week meetings probably won’t be satisfied with your “usual” outcomes. It does not mean that they will add content to the discussions. It also involves adequate meeting space and resources to conduct the meeting, and that participants are provided sufficient lead time to attend. Job duties revolve around making the meeting process run smoothly. The terms are essentially synonymous with each other. As a facilitator, you need to help set a tone for the behaviors and … At first glance, it appears a good move, so let me get you P-A-I-D U-P on the additional reasons to get your senior leaders out of the facilitation process: P – Participation. A facilitator should guide participants instead of leading the meeting themselves. If you do, you’ll pay for it all year (or quarter) based on the plan developed and the pain to get there. Since not all teams have a member with good facilitator characteristics, don’t be hesitant to reach out to us for a great virtual planning session or in person facilitation. He ensures inclusion whereby each member can participate and scans nonverbal cues through behavioral observations of the group. When you are in charge, it is hard to be an active listener, which is extremely important to bring out all the great ideas from the team and cover every relevant point of view. Facilitating with another person is an excellent way to improve your capabilities as a teacher, trainer and facilitator. 3. Using a facilitator who isn’t part of the session creates an “even” playing field, allowing all individuals to participate fully. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. An impartial facilitator can recognize the cues and help to control missteps. Following are some tips for effective facilitation. 1. 1. % of people told us that this article helped them. In order to become effective in a career as a facilitator, and perform your job duties with competence, you need to posses a certain set of skills, including: • Able to gain a deep understanding of the goals of the program and the organization • Able to keep a group on agenda and moving forward 1. Any discussion or meeting to be held has some important participants whose hierarchy and role should be known to the facilitator. Being a better facilitator requires you to focus on the specific steps that will get you there. The key ingredients of effective meetings are preparation, good facilitation, good record-keeping, and appropriate follow up. An effective facilitator leads so that participants know the group is in charge, that their business is being conducted and in a way that enables each person to play a role. • If you are in a room with video conferencing equipment, check Today, I’m going to outline those steps for you so that you know where you need to start. Need a new plan for 2020 or preparing for 2021? Go on, close your eyes if you have to. senior team members), is one more reason you should exclude them from facilitation duties. An effective facilitator can get all of the team members contributing positively. This means that a facilitator must take good care of him/herself to maintain the energy required for the role. Establish a comfortable learning environment. Good luck and have a great planning session! Watch for your co-facilitator’s signal. Module 6 session 4 ; 2 Introduction. Hence, he/she needs to be equipped with some of the necessary skills. Find opportunities to facilitate with a co-facilitator and use each other as a source of learning. A good facilitator sees the group and its problems as unique. Get P-A-I-D U-P, consider complexity, time and effort, weigh candidates against the top ten characteristics, and give them time to prepare. Don’t choose your CEO or an executive team member for strategic planning. Disciplines of time, respect, outcomes, commitments and more will increase with measurement – especially when facilitated by someone not part of the session. Help people collectively move through a process. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Let me ask, have you used senior team members as facilitators? To be a facilitator, you should have the following skills and qualities: experience of writing and delivering training excellent communication and presentation skills hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(116436, '7fe214a2-4ab7-4241-b8db-c38765700fbc', {}); Now begin to think about how you choose your facilitator. An integrated security facilitator should be familiar with the workshop concepts of security and well-being of women human rights defenders, but … Last Updated: September 9, 2020 In short, they should concentrate on the group process so that your senior leaders can engage in the content of the discussion. What skills make a great facilitator? Ask for questions in an open manner – “What questions do you have?”. What is said in this room, stays in this room, Speak from your experience. Thank you. I – Impartial. For more than 20 years, I have facilitated many different kinds of meetings including project management meetings, strategic meetings, process meetings, and more. For more than 20 years, I have facilitated many different kinds of meetings including project management meetings, strategic meetings, process meetings, and more. Think of the following skill set as a checklist – ask your prospective facilitator how he or she performs each of these necessary functions to determine whether you are enlisting the appropriate professional. First impressions count; we all know that. The 5 Things a Good Facilitator Can Do. Luckily, many others have paved the way and are generous with their advice. ", https://er.educause.edu/articles/2006/1/the-psychology-of-learning-environments, https://susanfitzell.com/strategies-for-effective-group-processes-establish-ground-rules/, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow, Confidentiality. "The article helped me a lot to understand the steps, behavior, rules, tips and warnings to follow to become a good. Consider this: when senior team members facilitate your important planning meetings, it can cause participants to withhold agendas or thoughts, to resist challenging others, to not be challenged in their thinking, and to not be fully engaged. How to Conduct an Annual Planning Meeting, Annual Planning: 9 Tips to Focus & Align Your Team with a Great Plan, Annual Planning Playbook: 5 Steps to Create a Winning Annual Plan, How CEOs Can Avoid High-Cost Mistakes in Annual Planning, Rhythm Systems Annual Planning Resource Center, Photo Credit: iStock Photo by Getty Images. Consider a virtual planning session. Your duties are to empower the group to work through issues by listening to the varying viewpoints and asking probing questions. A facilitator is someone who facilitates a group of people so that they can make progress. You must be comfortable speaking in front of large audiences and handling a variety of personalities. Find opportunities to facilitate with a co-facilitator and use each other as a source of learning. - Join the 3 Day Work Week Movement - Work With Me Content Library Members Contact Us Book Your FREE Consultation Login. A skilled facilitator fosters collaboration and teamwork and manages conflict among team members. Ready to speak with a mid-market expert? Richard Smith (Certified Master Facilitator) recommends that if the co-facilitator seems to have missed a key point, the best time to share it is during a transition into the next topic. You can also "Mute All" participants; if so, you should have Chat available so participants can communicate. Listening skills are extremely valuable when facilitating a meeting with a large group. Allow the other person to “save face”. D – Discipline. To help you choose, here are the Top 10 Qualities of a good facilitator: Ability to stimulate interaction without bias Skill to create and maintain a safe environment for … Enjoy the experience! Know the participants. Practice what you want to say, how you will say it. Be comfortable with silence – it may be a time of thought. Use simple, straightforward words and sentences. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. 3. This could include your industry, team knowledge, economic conditions, and current business challenges. The facilitator should be good at aorganisation and communications. 12. Transition smoothly from one activity or discussion to another. External facilitators can more likely probe for real answers without risking offense. And, your next consideration should be the characteristics of a good facilitator. How complicated is the scope of your session and how much effort is required to prepare, manage, and deliver objectives? All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. The facilitator doesn’t need to be an expert in the content - the “what” - of the meeting. Find out how we help high growth companies execute their growth strategies and win! The facilitator will also need to run meetings as well as potentially moderate online contacts to ensure that discussions remain on topic and everyone can be involved. A 'facilitator' by definition is a person who makes any action or process easier. The facilitator is both a mediator and an enabler. Give them a copy of our Meeting Facilitation guide; explain that they are to provide facilitation without taking the reins on content, and that they will be a process (not content) facilitator. Facilitators also must express an open, learning orientation to life. What qualities make for a good facilitator? Our responses are based on our unique experience. Focus your preparation time on questions to ask rather than answers to provide. In order to assist others, it is essential to have a good understanding of how information is communicated, so that problems and questions can be addressed, and solutions found. Effective facilitation can help your organization maximize its resources by getting the most from the people who work with you. Learn more... A “facilitator” is someone who acts as a 'lubricant' by helping a team with issues such as communications or problem solving but, typically, does not contribute to the actual content or management of a team's project (which is a team leader's function). Being a better facilitator requires you to focus on the specific steps that will get you there. You also need to have empathy and be an excellent communicator. Speak clearly, at a moderate pace and an appropriate volume. Now that you’ve P-A-I-D U-P, consider the complexity of your planning session. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 42,466 times. A good facilitator encourages open communication. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. After the Workshop – Lead Facilitator and Co-Facilitator. Sets … You must also prepare your chosen facilitator to succeed. A professional facilitator leads the deep discussions that are needed to create a plan with inputs from the entire team. Facilitators are there to help the group advance on both their individual and collective goals. In order to motivate and engage the learners you need to know … U – Usual. While there are a number of seminars, trainings and workshops to learn how to effectively facilitate or become certified as a facilitator, if you do not have the resources to hire a facilitator or become one, here are some tips to help get you started. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. They will need to arrange the location and dates of meetings, and help manage communications and marketing for the group. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. A – Accountable. Wait a full 10 seconds after asking a question. You Effectively Set Guidelines. Your internal facilitator should be chosen for their knowledge of your business and their facilitation skills. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Often a good choice is a high performer interested in their own personal development who is unbiased and who is strong enough to challenge your team during the process. This is not always the case for a peer. Once the choice is made, you’re still not done. The facilitator guides a discussion of the topics laid out in the meeting agenda, with the purpose of moving the team towards a common goal. Approved. Choose a person who will be objective and neutral throughout the process. Sensitivity to the feelings of the group: In any group, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, … Just because they are a great leader doesn't mean that they have all the qualities of good facilitator and can drive you to the desired outcome of your planning session. Respect others when they are talking. If you are also the designer of your online course there are things to consider that will help when it comes to facilitating the course. Instead, the facilitator is in charge of the meeting process – “how” the meeting will progress through the agenda topics. Feb 27, 2018. This means that a facilitator must take good care of him/herself to maintain the energy required for the role. Title: Qualities of a good facilitator 1 Qualities of a good facilitator. This will ensure they are confident in the process and tools (whether you use an outside coach or not). By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Being a facilitator. Online Facilitation: Top 5 Tips For Online Facilitators. Use “I” instead of “you” or “we”, There are no right or wrong answers. They make it look easy , but its not as easy as you might think. Know what you want to achieve and be able to clearly articulate the desired outcome. It’s not just technique: the facilitator has to understand at least some of the dynamics, past interactions, code words, and key events that underlie the group’s discussion. They’re more likely to press for well thought through (and defended) results rather than settle for less. A good facilitator must be 100% awake and present – listening, looking, and sensing at all times. If so, you’ve likely chosen the wrong person. Establish ground rules to encourage positive group interaction. 2. A good facilitator has some background in the issues, personalities, and challenges facing the group. If you can’t work with a co-facilitator for whatever reason, find someone who is prepared to be open and honest with you to sit and observe you and then discuss your facilitation / act as a sounding board afterwards. Our primary task is to minimize obstacles that could derail a meeting's purpose, making it easier for attendees to absorb the material. Although the facilitator may have extensive knowledge on the topic, the goal of facilitation is help the group move forward, not to convey knowledge (that’s training). How to be a Good Facilitator: Top 10 Qualities of the Best Facilitators [Updated for 2021], Ability to stimulate interaction without bias, Skill to create and maintain a safe environment for all to be engaged in the discussion, Has a natural gift for providing structure for discussion (parameters, objectives, time boundaries, etc. Self-mastery. The latter has to make sure your meeting is going well as a mission. Meeting planning goes beyond setting the purpose and objectives and deciding who should attend. Last but not least among the responsibilities of a facilitator is the recording of outputs, and of bringing these together, sharing them, and making sure they are actioned.The key to successful recording of outputs from an event is to be clear about what will be recorded, how and by whom. P – Probe. No one can fully participate in the process and discussions while also holding the duties of facilitating – no matter how good their skill. Facilitation Skills Required to be a Good Facilitator. 2. This article has been viewed 42,466 times. For instance, Brad Ty Nunnally’s article, Why the Best Designers are also Facilitatorsoutlines the qualities that facilitators should have, and how to improve. There is a significant responsibility on the shoulders of the facilitator. If you want to become a facilitator, you first need to determine if this career path is a good fit for your skills, interests and personality traits. Everyone has attended unproductive meetings, and being part of the system that created these conditions in the first place (i.e. But I have learned more from co-facilitating programs with other talented teachers, trainers and facilitators than in all the books I’ve read. Acknowledge the value of the person’s concerns. You’ll want an internal facilitator who can be coached when needed by an external coach. If you can’t work with a co-facilitator for whatever reason, find someone who is prepared to be open and honest with you to sit and observe you and then discuss your facilitation / act as a sounding board afterwards. How to Be a Good Meeting Facilitator: Preparation It’s often said that the devil is in the details. Being a coach means we are also facilitators. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Make sure they take time to set up the physical space, clarify the agenda and ground rules, balance participation, identify areas of agreement and unresolved concerns, ensure that decisions are accurately documented and that next steps are defined. As a facilitator, you should have a good eye for spotting when the group’s attention level as a whole is getting critically low. Are your meetings the butt of work-related jokes? This means that they will set meeting guidelines, manage group dynamics, prepare the structure of the meeting, confirm the objective with the CEO, utilize the company’s methodology for planning, and capture outcomes. In this case, 93% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. On top of looking around at participants, keep an eye on your … A skilled facilitator foste… Good meeting facilitators should endeavour always to create and facilitate meetings with a clear purpose and objectives, involve the right people, and use proven techniques to get the most out of the valuable time invested. Have you ever watched a good facilitator? If the following description sounds like you, then you’re probably well suited for it: • You enjoy leading and guiding others If you are confident and have a good time, others will too! Pay attention to learner motivation. In conclusion, set your facilitator up for success. Most executives are great at their jobs, but they don't have all of the qualities of a good team facilitator and may not be the best at facilitating a productive discussion. An effective facilitator remains fully independent of the group. Make sure that people's responsibilities are 100 percent clear, whether they are yours or others' involved.When you are recording and actioning, here are some things to remember: 1. Listen actively. A: You must have strong listening skills to do a good job as a facilitator. I am happy and encouraged by the efforts of this article. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Acknowledge that you hear and understand by paraphrasing. Usability and user-friendliness are vital if learners are not to be frustrated right from the start. Think about a time when you have had a team or departmental session and really accomplished the objectives. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/f\/f6\/Be-a-Better-Facilitator-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Be-a-Better-Facilitator-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/f\/f6\/Be-a-Better-Facilitator-Step-1.jpg\/aid641786-v4-728px-Be-a-Better-Facilitator-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":306,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"485","licensing":"