Facilitation Skills

What is a facilitator?
• Literally means: ‘making things easy’
• A person who helps a group or team to:
• achieve results in interactive events
• by using a range of skills and methods
• to bring the best out in people as they
work together
• focuses on the process of how
 What a facilitator is NOT
• participant in the team
• team leader
• team organiser/administrator,
• negotiator on the team’s behalf,
• servant who simply does the
bidding of the team
• expert trainer
Role: Conductor
Role: Impartial Helper
• belonging to no
political coalition
within an
organisation

• being seen as
having no stake in
the outcomes
Facilitator’s Role: Overview
• cope with • be understandable
uncertainty • mobilise energy
• use power of
• surface difficult
credibility to help
address issues issues and help
• be calm in times of others to do so
emotion • take themselves less
• support and counsel seriously
others • empathise
 Group
processes:intervening
• model appropriate behaviour
• ensure involvement
• enable understanding
• keep a task-related focus
• push for action outcomes
• manage time
• ensure that a record is
created
 Interpersonal Skills/Basic
Facilitation Skills
language &
communication
listening using
feedback

questioning conflict handling

 Ten Commandments of
Effective Listening
1. Stop talking 6. Have patience
2. Put your people at 7. Hold your temper
ease
3. Show you want to 8. Don’t argue or
listen criticise
4. Remove distractions 9. Ask questions
5. Empathise 10. STOP TALKING
 Questioning

Use O P E N to probe:
 “Who, why, what, when, how?”

Use CLOSED (yes/no

answers)
to redirect/ summarise:
 “Are you saying that…?”
 Questioning
Use YOU questions
 How do you see this?
 What are your priorities?
 How important is ...... to you?
 Tell me more about ......?
 What if.......Why........How......?
 Using Feedback
Help participants to think through
these questions:

1. What did you do well?

2. What could you have done
even better?
3. What prevented you from doing
even better; what’s the plan to
do even better in the future?
 Conflict Handling
• identify points of agreement
• reformulate contributions to highlight
common ideas
• encourage people to build on others’
ideas
• test for false consensus
• test consensus for
relevance/motivation
 The Facilitraining Rainbow
1. How much interaction does the
facilitator have with participants?
2. How much does the facilitator
contribute to the content/outcome of the
session?
 The Facilitraining Rainbow
Socratic
HIGH direction
I facilitating teaching
n discussion
t
e brainstorming demonstrating
r
a
c process
monitoring presenting
t
I
o
n
Contribution to Content
LOW HIGH
 Cross-Cultural Dynamics
• Variable language skills
• Recognition of cultural differences
without reinforcing stereotypes
• Different cultural norms about
politeness and communication style ie
interruption & argumentativeness
• Awareness of perceived status
differences between cultures
• Loyalty towards one’s own cultural
group
 Code of Cross-Cultural
Conduct
• We appreciate & enjoy cultural diversity
• We accept that our own perceptions are
coloured by our own upbringing/culture
• We empathise with other’s view
• We are open-minded and we don’t
stereotype other nationals
• We openly discuss how our different
cultural backgrounds may be influencing
an issue
 Code of Cross-Cultural
Conduct
• We recognise and accept that physical
contact differs across cultures
• We recognise that language is a barrier and
make allowances without being patronising
• We always double-check understanding
• We plan our communication to eliminate the
negative and accentuate the positive
• We communicate in a clear, direct, honest
and open way
 Helpful Attitudes & Values
• My mind-set won’t help them
• Everybody is human, unique with
potential
• It’s OK to teach
• No one best way
• People never argue with their own data
• Facilitators can’t win arguments
• Silence is OK
• Don’t push the river
Good Facilitation Brings

Co-operation

Results