Effective Facilitation: Guidelines for Facilitation

© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved.
Effective Facilitation

© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved. 4
Contents
1. Creating a Positive Atmosphere
2. Keys to Maintaining Control
3. Adult Learning
4. Session Leader’s Role
5. Co-Facilitation
6. Presentation Techniques
7. Managing the Content
8. Handling Difficult & Sensitive
Situations
9. Using Questions to Involve
participants
10. Listening
11. Keeping Participants Balanced
12. Monitoring Exercise Activities
13. Managing the Process
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Creating a Positive Atmosphere
• Avoid embarrassing any of the participants. Inaccuracies
can be surfaced without direct reference to the person
who made the error. (“Does anyone have another
opinion?” “I see that some of you disagree. Let’s hear
what you think.”)
• Indicate up front how you plan to handle questions. (“I
hope that you’ll ask questions as we move through this
session. If I have to ask you to hold your questions for a
short time, we will get back to them later in the session.”)

Adult Learning
3

Session Leader’s Role
• Encourage discussion, but control it.
• Stimulate, guide, and summarize the discussion by
asking questions, restating comments, and summarizing
remarks.
• Ensure that participants understand and explore the
comments.
• Work with the group to identify key issues, discern
patterns, ensure that all relevant considerations and
interpretations are evaluated, and develop solutions.This document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:

Co-Facilitation (If Two Session Leaders Are Assigned)
• Plan and prepare your modules so that the session will
proceed smoothly.
Ensure that one session leader does not lead the class for too
long.
Capitalize on individual strengths.
Decide where the “non-performing” session leader will be located.
Decide how and when the second session leader will intervene or
join in during the session (for example, making notes on
flipcharts).
• Remember that session leaders must support each
other.

Presentation Techniques
• Eye control:
Avoid “tying” your eyes to either your notes, the ceiling, or any
one thing or person. Start with one person and then shift to other
individuals.
Avoid the “ping-pong” effect – looking in rhythmic fashion, side to
center to side and back.
Make contact with individuals through your eyes.
Avoid turning your back to the group.

Managing the Content
7

Handling Difficult & Sensitive Situations
• When two people try to speak at the same time,
recognize one and tell the other you will get to him or her
in a minute. Then remember to get the second person’s
comments.
• Get both sides of a question. When two people are
strongly opposed, call on others for opinions.
• If reference is made to an actual potentially ethical
situation, exercise great care. Deflect the discussion as
soon as possible. Then, offer to speak with the
participant off-line.

Handling Difficult & Sensitive Situations
• Recognize the signs of resistance:
Excessive questions to make a point rather than to gain
understanding.
Side conversations.
Perfunctory performance in team activities.
Questions or comments to trap or baffle the team leader.
Sleepy appearance when there is no reason for fatigue.
Disruptive or inappropriate behavior (leaving the room, reading
the newspaper, doing other work).This document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:

Using Questions to Involve Participants
• Open-ended questions:
Invite broad response and elaboration.
Begin with “how” and “why”.
Are useful in probing.
Allow explanations.
• Interpretive questions:
Extend comments to a logical conclusion.
Invite amplification.

Using Questions to Involve Participants
• Reflective (paraphrasing) questions:
Are asked to achieve clarity or deeper understanding.
Restate your understanding in question form.
• Questioning techniques:
Be patient and wait for someone to respond when you ask a
question.
Listen carefully when a participant volunteers an answer. Don’t
show whether you agree or disagree. Simply refer ideas back to
the group for evaluation, confirmation, or modification.
Try not to embarrass participants using questions.

Listening
10

Keeping Participants
Balanced
11

Monitoring Exercise
Activities
12

Monitoring Exercise Activities
• Provide time checks during the exercise to help keep the
participants on track. For example, “You have five
minutes to finish your task.” Limit the time checks since
too many interruptions can be annoying rather than
helpful.

Managing the Process
• Flipcharts (con’t):
Turn to a flipchart when you are ready to discuss it, but don’t
leave it up after you have finished discussing it.
When recording participant comments on flipcharts, label them
with headings so that the group does not miss or forget the
significance of the items on the flipchart.
Listen carefully.
Use a flipchart to record when emphasis is necessary, so you can
refer to material at a later point, or if you need to review or build
on a point.
Take the time to write legibly and boldly.

Managing the Process
• Projector:
Go through a dry run with the projector beforehand to ensure that
it is in good working order.
Test the screen image to be sure that every participant can see.
Test the projector to be sure that the room lights do not have to
be dimmed.
Be familiar with the projector and any written notes before making
a presentation.
Do not stand in front of the screen and block the participants’
view when discussing the contents on the screen.

Other Presentations You May Like…
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END OF PRESENTATION
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