Anyone who has been in the business world for a while has probably experienced a few painful facilitation sessions, plagued by conversations going in circles and little to nothing being accomplished. With today’s reality of back-to-back and double-booked meetings, the value of participants’ time has never been greater. The good news is that meeting time can be better spent, resulting in quicker decision making and less time to implementation. How? There are two key ingredients to achieve an effective facilitation session – a good facilitator and careful session preparation, execution and follow-up.
A good facilitator is not just the “person in charge.” Rather, he or she provides structure and organization to sessions. Understanding that collaboration among participants is a key to success, the facilitator should create an atmosphere of trust and professionalism. A facilitator’s primary responsibility is to extract information from subject matter experts and other participants by probing and asking relevant questions.
The following is a list of some of the key qualities a good facilitator should demonstrate:
- Confidence – speaking clearly and with confidence establishes authority and earns respect
- Ability to extract information – asking the right questions is a key to surfacing important topics and issues that need to be addressed
- Ability to listen – careful listening allows the facilitator to repeat and summarize what others have said, in order to validate or establish consensus prior to moving forward
- Flexibility – facilitators should plan on addressing all items on the agenda, however be willing to change pace or topics based on the direction of the discussion
- Sense of timing – important to know when to bring a discussion to a close, when to change the topic, when to “parking lot” an issue, etc.
- Sense of humor – it never hurts to provide a little humor to lighten the group’s mood, especially during disagreements or discussion of dry subject matter
While experience is one of the best ways to improve facilitation skills, thoughtful preparation will almost always guarantee an effective session. Thorough preparation allows for productive sessions, with little or no confusion about project goals and subject matter. Many “common sense” activities are overlooked during preparation and can lead to disorganized sessions, with potential for participant frustration.
The following is a checklist of items to consider during facilitation preparation:
Pre-Session
- Secure a sufficient meeting space – if a projector or other equipment is required, be sure it will be available for the session
- Verify participant list – based on the subject matter to be discussed, the participants with knowledge in that area should be invited for discussion and validation during session
- Create an agenda – validate the items on the agenda with the project leader ahead of time
- Gather and prepare handouts or deliverables – double check the readability (format, size, etc.) and validity of all documents; always bring handouts for the session
- Email agenda and handouts prior to session – give an opportunity for review 1 – 3 days prior to the session in order to boost productivity
During Session
- Arrive early – distribute agenda and handouts, set-up laptop/projector, etc.
- Begin with introductions – especially for first time meetings or if a new participant is in session
- Establish ground rules – share roles and responsibilities with group (silent observers, etc.), communicate method for using an issue “parking lot,” and review the format of facilitation sessions
- Review agenda items – provide a high-level overview of what will be covered before taking a deep dive of individual items
- Utilize projector – It is often helpful to project documents being discussed as a way of keeping session participants focused
- Utilize white boards or flip charts – Whenever possible, use visual aids to assist understanding and to ensure consensus and validation
- Capture information – either assign a scribe, or capture session information yourself as it is discussed, so that deliverables can be updated during or after the session
- Utilize an issues log – assign issues to participants and ask them to be responsible for follow up
Post-Session
- Update issues log and email to group – participants may reply with resolutions to issues. These can be updated prior to the next session
- Follow up on action items – always follow up as soon as possible post session, so as not to lose the train of thought or momentum created during session
- Create or update deliverables – update based on information captured during session. Be prepared to review and validate these updates in the next session
With a good facilitator providing solid preparation, execution and follow-up, painful facilitation sessions can become a thing of the past.
Additional tips and techniques on different aspects of facilitation will be discussed in future articles.
