A simple guide to facilitation: how to prepare for it and what to avoid

What is facilitation

“The word “facilitation” comes from the English facilitate, which very accurately reflects the essence of the process: the first task of the facilitator is to facilitate dialogue, discussion, and help make it constructive.”

Mark Rosin

psychologist and founder

A facilitator is a good negotiator and psychologist who knows how to set up a team to communicate and helps resolve all internal conflicts. But facilitation is effective not only in stressful situations. It helps the business understand what the company’s mission is, how employees see it, and what new directions can be developed.

Collect feedback

Offline method: Ask the audience to raise their fist and show a certain number of fingers one, two, three times. This will symbolize how productively they spent their time and how much they received a return on the efforts they invested in the process. Five is the highest, one is the lowest.

Online method: Online or written assessments must also be assessed on a specified scale: from the smallest number to the largest. This helps the facilitator to analyze the group's impressions and prepare for the next meetings.

How to Prepare for Facilitation

Select a presenter . It's not only important that your candidate understands the topic and remains objective, but also how well received he is by the group.

Get to know yourself better . Answer the following questions:

• What are your personal beliefs, values, stereotypes in relation to the topic being discussed?
• Can you be objective in this discussion?
• What role should you take on as a facilitator?
• How can you establish trust and openness in a group?
• How can you show that you respect other people's opinions?
• What are some ways to tactfully resolve conflict?
• How to make the discussion go smoothly?
• How can you encourage participation in the discussion without dominating any group members?
• What will you do if one of the participants shows disrespect towards another?
• What to do if you don't know how to respond to a comment or question?

Determine the goals of the session.

Make a plan for the discussion: determine the size of the group, try to understand how familiar and close the participants are with each other, decide whether the conversation will be in a formal or informal tone. Plan when exactly you will address the key points of the discussion.

Pay attention to the place where you plan to hold the session: it should be comfortable enough for all participants to communicate with each other, not just with you. Tip: People sitting in a circle tend to talk more to each other rather than focus on facilitating.

Prepare some interesting questions to start the discussion, as well as the materials you might need for it (whiteboard, markers, paper).

Why is it important to forgive employees' mistakes?

Various trainings also advise to forgive mistakes of valuable employees in all cases where this is possible without much damage to the company.

This is important because the employee who has stumbled will appreciate the loyal attitude towards him and try to justify the trust. However, it is important not to overdo it with forgiveness; if an employee makes mistakes too often, then perhaps he is simply not competent enough.

Whether you spend money on expensive training on motivation, leadership, management and facilitation or be skeptical about it, considering it a waste of time, is your personal choice. It is important to check the qualifications of the trainer and contact certified specialized centers. You should be wary of freelancers or organizations that do not have their own specialists, inviting someone all the time.

Where to start the session

Familiarize participants with the purpose and structure of the discussion , making sure everyone is on the same page about what the session will be about, when it will end, and what will follow. For example: “Today we will discuss the conflict between department A and department B. We will talk in small groups for an hour, then spend another half hour in general discussion. We will close at 5:00 pm and anyone who wishes to continue the discussion is welcome to stay. If there are many interested, we will continue our discussion on Thursday at 15:00.”

Explain your role as a facilitator - someone who must remain neutral and objective, purposefully develop the discussion, and create a comfortable environment in which everyone can participate in the conversation. This does not mean that you yourself are neutral in relation to the subject of discussion, but, as a facilitator, you should remain so in the group.

Select the desired tone. It is important to create a safe and open environment where others feel they can share their views honestly.

For example: “I am here to help you discuss this topic. We gathered to learn something new from each other, to understand how and what each of us thinks and feels. To achieve this, we must try to connect with each other. My goal is to help you have a discussion where all opinions can be expressed in a safe and comfortable environment. This does not mean that we will not have contradictions and even some tension, but I hope that you will openly express your opinions. I understand that this is a challenge to ourselves - to share our painful, internal problems and show vulnerabilities, so each of the participants must follow certain rules of discussion so as not to offend opponents.”

Ask participants to introduce themselves and tell them a little about themselves.

Set ground rules and be sure to check with the group that everyone can adhere to them. Here are some options:

• Use I-statements: This will show your point of view and keep you from generalizing what others are thinking or feeling.
• Respect other people's points of view: our goal is not to convince others of your idea, but to bring it to the table.
• Maintain confidentiality: what is said in session stays in session.
• Avoid unnecessary conversations and focus on the main discussion.
• Express your disagreement without criticizing your opponent. Remember that people often take criticism personally, so avoid sarcastic or derogatory comments.
• Don't interrupt each other.
• Remember that all questions are good questions. Ask them, even if they seem stupid or too simple to you.
• Don't think for other people. Ask again, clarify.

Let's sum it up

Facilitation is not just another fashionable “trick”, but an effective tool for solving team problems. It helps create a shared understanding of company goals, prevent conflicts, plan and make decisions.

This approach to group processes works if you follow the rules:

• Maintain neutrality, do not take sides.
• Give everyone a say, trust the wisdom of the team.
• Use visualization.
• Involve all participants in the work.

Do you want to develop further, competently plan larger and more complex projects? Come study for programs for the development of managerial hard and soft skills in order to spread the straw where now everything is given with battle and overtime. Anna Lavrova and other practical speakers will teach you how to work with requirements, form a budget, take into account risks and share project documentation templates.

During facilitation

Stay neutral. Typically, facilitators do not express their opinions, but help group members share theirs. Your role is to facilitate the group discussion, but if you have valuable ideas that could help, ask someone else to act as a facilitator and join the group for a while.

Learn to listen, not talk. Avoid offering “expert opinion.” Even if the participants in the discussion turn to you for advice, try not to give an answer right away, but first bring it up for general discussion. Try not to touch on your own triggers - issues or topics that cause a strong emotional response in you.

Control the process. Another of your jobs is to acknowledge group members' contributions to the discussion. Thank you for the ideas put forward, pay attention if it is difficult for a person to participate in a general conversation. Several effective techniques for controlling discussion:

• Suggest a brainstorming session so that the whole group, rather than individual members, identifies the pros and cons.
• Divide the participants into two subgroups, ask them to develop one of the arguments for or against.
• Ask everyone to express their opinion in a circle and indicate what exactly they agree with the previous speaker.
• Watch out for those who don't follow the rules and redirect their discussion in the right direction.
• Remember that people tend to speak abstractly when dealing with uncomfortable topics. Seize these moments and encourage participants to share real experiences rather than make assumptions.
• Be patient: there may well be a pause in communication, which is also important for thinking about the situation.
• Observe the participants and look for nonverbal clues: who talks too much, who, on the contrary, remains silent, who constantly interrupts others, and who is bored or angry?
• Protect people and their ideas from attacks by other members. If the conflict escalates, ask everyone involved to agree to disagree and move on to another topic.

What is the difference between presentation and facilitation

Although the facilitator must have presentation skills, his task is still different. A list of key differences will help you stay relevant as you work.

The emergence of the method

Facilitation is a process and group of skills that facilitate effective discussion of a complex problem or situation. It helps the group facilitate internal communication to accomplish tasks, solve problems, or reach agreement.

The facilitation process increases the effectiveness of group work, the involvement and interest of participants, helps to unleash their creative potential and prepare to implement the decisions made. This process stimulates participants to more productive mental work than a training, seminar or other forms of training.

Facilitation can also be considered as a teaching method in which the trainer-facilitator takes an equal position with team members, helps them independently find answers to questions and master skills. Successful facilitation includes pre-preparation, planning and implementation.

The main goal is to respond to business requests: collect information, analyze problems, generate ideas, clarify tasks, find solutions, agree and make choices, plan actions.

Facilitation products are decisions that the group captures on paper, digitally, or in photographs. Facilitation should result in changes in the organization or team.

A facilitator is a specialist who is responsible for the quality of the process, is not interested in the outcome of the discussion, does not represent the interests of any of the parties present and does not participate in the debate. Its purpose is to support the group in completing its tasks and to lead it to a common understanding of issues, conclusions and solutions.

This is the leader of a series of meetings who organizes, directs, stimulates and optimizes the process of searching for information, processing it and making decisions based on it, according to the task assigned to the group. In this process, the facilitator filters his stereotypes of perception, does not express his view of the problem, does not offer his own solutions or methods of action. It provides the means by which the group independently accomplishes its tasks.

Independent search for information and solutions motivates, ensures more effective assimilation and analysis of information, and speeds up the decision-making process. And if this is a learning process, it contributes to more effective development and consolidation of acquired knowledge and skills. This is why the role of the facilitator is limited in its impact on the group's results.

Key points

To be effective, a facilitator must know when to take the lead and when to remain neutral and not interfere. This balance is quite difficult to maintain! The key success factor is experience and proper preparation, during which the process should be planned in advance and management steps should be thought through. In addition, the focus should remain on group dynamics and results rather than on intermediate issues and individual opinions.

Facilitating discussion is a fun, rewarding and important role. Successful writing will require time to think about the process and the topic. It also doesn’t hurt to master the skills necessary to host the event and complete it successfully. Being a facilitator is a responsible activity that you can be proud of. And if you successfully master it, you will enjoy the flow of ideas and successful results.