Four Steps to Great Facilitation

With Marcia Baczynski and Betty Martin

1) Take care your own needs

• Check in with yourself prior to your event
• Make sure you’re rested, fed and hydrated prior to event
• Have someone there whose job is to support you
• Know your limits (eg, Don’t teach a workshop that requires emotional intensity if you don’t feel comfortable/capable of holding that.)

2) Create a strong, safe container

• People learn better when they feel safe
• Safety is created when things are predictable
• Strong opening
  • Introduce yourself,
  • Allow others to introduce themselves
  • Say the name of the workshop
  • Review guidelines
  • Give a sketch of what will be happening.
• Strong closing
  • Allow opportunity to verbally integrate what happened
  • Point out ways material is usable in everyday life
  • Give opportunity for appreciation/gratitude.
• Do what you said you’re going to do

3) Know your material

• Have an outline
• Do test runs of material prior to presenting
• Set expectations with your participants if it is new material (eg, “I’ve not taught this material in this format before, so I welcome your feedback.)
• Teach something you have experience in, not just someone else’s theory.

4) Balance freedom and structure

• Depending on the event, the ratio of these shifts.
• Allow for dialog, exercises, exploration as well as explanation and theory.
• The less structure you have, the stronger the sense of safety needs to be.
• If there is lots of structure, like taking participants step-by-step through something, the less “up-front” safety there needs to be.
• Be attentive to dealing with the unexpected (an art form unto itself!)

Foundations of Facilitation ~ Upcoming Dates:

• Jun 17-19, 2011 – New York NY
  Early Registration ends: May 17, 2011
• July 15-17, 2011 – Joshua Tree CA
  Early Registration ends: June 15, 2011
• Virtual Training Option – Ongoing Enrollment (for qualified candidates)

Two Ways to Register for Foundations of Facilitation!

1) Go to www.foundationsoffacilitation.org to sign up immediately!

2) Or call 334-202-2794 and we’ll be happy to sign you up over the phone.

“Of all the workshops I’ve attended, the [Foundations of Facilitation] Training has given me the most practical and useful tools to create and maintain direct, open and honest communication with EVERYONE in my life DAILY.” —Tracy , Alabama

“I took my first facilitator training 30 years ago, and it’s been a long, long time since I learned so much in one weekend.” — Ankha, Minnesota