A facilitator's role is to ensure an effective process, not contribute directly to the task or lead the team. A facilitator sets the agenda, ensures a plan is made to complete the task, and observes team behavior to provide feedback. In contrast, a team leader directly contributes to achieving the task, supports individuals, and participates in reviewing the meeting outcomes. A facilitator manages the process, while a team leader leads the team.

2. A facilitator is not a team leader
A team leader usually… A facilitator usually…
• Sets agenda • Ensures an agenda is set.
• Plans the meeting • Discusses plan and advise
team leader/manager on how
the meeting should be run to
improve effectiveness.
• Contributes directly to achieve • Ensures that the team makes
the task a plan of the activities needed
to be undertaken and that
roles are allocated.
• Supports individuals • Observes team behaviour and
feedback to the team leader.
Provides in session
management of dysfunctional
behaviour.
• Participates in review of • Manages review of the
meeting / process meeting / process

3. A set of “consulting” roles
- what is your preferred role??
Counsellor Coach Partner
"You do it; “You do it; How can "We will do it
I will control the I guide you to find together and learn
process" the correct path” from each other."
Maintain control of process
Facilitator Teacher Modeller
"You do it; "Here are some "I will do it; you
I will attend to principles you can watch so you can
the process." use to solve this learn from me."
problem."
Reflective observer Technical adviser Hands-on expert
"You do it; I will "I will answer your "I will do it for
watch and tell you questions as you you;
what I see and hear." go along.” I will tell you
what to do."
Providing solution / answer

4. Key phases in the facilitation process
Before a workshop During the workshop End of/ after workshop
Prepare Focus Plan Do Review
Identify and define Agree purpose of Get agreement Facilitate group Review process
purpose, objectives, workshop and aim on process, processes and results from
roles, process and to contract with agenda and meeting
output of meeting Encourage
the participants timing
participation Agree on next
Prepare and contract “Contract” …. Prepare to be steps
on objectives, process • Objectives flexible Summarise,
and roles with project • Expectations Debrief with team
• Ground rules check for
SPONSOR • Scope agreement and leader
• Level of
participation push for action.
• Next steps

5. Hints and tips when facilitating
After
Before In the In the In the
meeting
meeting meeting meeting meeting
Prepare Focus Plan Do Review
• What levels of goal is • Engage the group • Plan the process (stages, • Separate emotions/issues from • Ask somebody else in the
appropriate? timings, milestones, people group to summarise (not
• Contract with the group
signposting) • Adopt the appropriate style you)
• What communication (ground rules).
with stakeholders is • Agree and draw the plan • Say what you see • Give a sense of closure
• Set shared/owned
required? but but be ready to be • Be flexible if you find the goalposts
objectives • Leave it on a high note
flexible shift
• Do I know my audience?
• Keep visible records as • Use the group‟s language and • Plan the next steps
• Ensure there is
• Do I need to manage you go for ground rules, terminology together
understanding and
people‟s expectations? objectives and output
commitment to the plan • Encourage participation from all • Think about your own
• Are my aims realistic? • Clearly define your role. • Use the full range of question types personal development
• Agree any roles or
Be sure understanding of (what did I do
• What is the best responsibilities. Delegate • Ensure visual aids and flipchart
„facilitator‟ is shared well/badly?)
environment? key roles such as a time writing is readable
(room, layout props etc.) • Set an appropriate keeper and a writing • Get all the issues out on the table • Gather formal and
emotional tone for the assistant
• What hidden agendas • Show respect and empathy informal feedback from
event
could there be? • Agree what will the group
• Voice others‟ opinions in neutral tone
• Consider asking the group constitute a decision and language
• What will be a good • Follow up the meeting
what they think the (e.g. majority vote,
agenda to put to the • Draw the fire and protect the with some communication
purpose is (may raise consensus, unanimous
group? vulnerable at a later date?
hidden agendas) agreement)
• What goes into my • Balance the discussion across the
• Involve everybody – build • Consider to use whole group
introduction?
commitment techniques like nominal
• What problems should I group technique, • Use the group creatively
• Test assumptions • Focus on the group‟s strengths
anticipate? solution matrices,
• Understand what the ranking, fishbowl and • Don‟t just hear the loud people
outcomes should be thinking hats
• Use the environment to your
• Get the group to own the advantage
responsibility to succeed • Use breakouts as a time to step back
and think at a higher level
• Don‟t be scared of silence
• The right outcome is more important
than an outcome!

6. Session 10: Facilitation
Techniques

7. Different techniques can be used to vary the atmosphere and
focus in the group
Driving forward
Create confidence & trust • Scaling
• Systemic thinking • The Consultant
• Who are you? • Questioning
• Change of behaviour • Take a break
• Parking lot
Opening up creativity
• Ask the guru
• SCAMPER
• Forced relationships
• Brain writing pool Narrowing down options
• Ideal world • Lists and voting rights
• Prop analogies • Grids
• Thinking hats • Filtering
• “Yes, and..”
• Set unrealistic goals
• Handling crisis

8. Systemic thinking
 This exercise enables the group to warm up to each other and also demonstrates
how people interact with each other dynamically in an organisation
 How to run the exercise:
 Ask all the people in the group to choose two spots in
the room and stand directly in the middle of these two
spots
 Now, ask everyone to choose one spot and one person in
the group, and then stand in the middle of the spot and
the person
 Then, ask everyone to choose two persons in the group
and stand in the middle of these two persons

9. Who are you?
 This exercise provides an easy and quite fun to get to know the group members, and is also
quite useful to get people to start talking to each other about other things than work
 The main point of the exercise is to group people who have something in common – and
then change the subject and establish new groups
 An example:
 “Everyone that lives in a house gather by the window, and everyone who lives in a flat assemble by the door.
The rest of you can go to the whiteboard and gather there”
 “Now, everyone who has a main background from HR gather by the window, everyone with a main
background from sales go to the whiteboard, while everyone with a background from consulting goes to door”
 Etc
 Other subjects can be e.g. nationality, where you were born, number of siblings, how many
subordinates you have, favourite colour, type of pets or how many different line managers
you have had in your career..

10. Change of behaviour
 This exercise enables the group to warm up to each other and also demonstrates
how difficult it is to change established patterns
 How to run this exercise:
1. Ask the group to walk around until you say “stop”, and start walking again when you say “walk”
2. Say “stop” and “walk” a couple of times (“walk”, “walk”, “stop”, “walk”, “stop”, “stop”, etc)
3. Inform the group that “stop” now means walk, “walk” means stop
4. Say “stop” and “walk” a couple of times (“walk”, “walk”, “stop”, “walk”, “stop”, “stop”, etc)
5. Repeat 1-4 above, but this time use the words “jump” and “make a curtsey ”
6. Now, say all the words in random order (stop, walk, jump, make a curtsey) - remember that
“stop” still means “walk”, and “jump” still means “make a curtsey”

11. Ask the guru
 Seeing the problem through someone else’s eyes brings a
totally new perspective
 How would the following people approach this problem?
 Hans Christian Andersen
 Charles Darwin
 Walt Disney
 Richard Branson
 Napoleon
 Madonna
 Take initial ideas and keep forcing developments - often
the best ideas are not the immediate ones

12. Example - inspiring new ways of
thinking
Guru = Madonna Implications for the car:
 Changes image Make it more sporty
Adverts to get it noticed
 Controversial
Consider movements -balance/suspension
 Dances
Consider implications for driver image
 Acts
Sound systems
 Sings Possible to change colours regularly
 Fashion Use lighting to show best aspects.
 Concerts Win awards
 Number One Associate with stars that stand for quality
 Raunchy

13. SCAMPER checklist
This can be used once a few ideas have been tabled.
This is for both building on ideas and generating new ones.
S ubstitute – one idea for another
C ombine – ideas to make a better one
A dapt – change the idea or the problem
M aximise/minimise – make it bigger or smaller
P ut to other use – use the idea for something else
E liminate – eliminate or go-around the problems, don’t solve it
R everse – think how you could make it worse!

14. Forced relationships
Take a word or images selected at random, and try to force a relationship
between it and the issue in hand – what new insights are generated?
Acupunctur Snow
Wall Street Formula 1
e boarding
Oscar
Tabloids Dentistry Nutrition
night
Soap Space
Cruiseliners Plumbing
operas travel
Example: Find a name for a new - best seller - drink.
Using the words above, the following names spring to my mind: Summer
cruise, nutrition bomb, snow powder…

15. The brain-writing pool
1. A problem is presented to the group.
2. Each person writes down four or five ideas on an A4
sheet. These are then placed into the centre of the room.
3. Each person then picks one of the idea sheets and builds
on the ideas to develop further ideas.
4. The process can be repeated for three or four rounds - it
can help to play music while this is happening to
stimulate creative thinking!
5. The facilitator then captures and categorises the ideas.

16. The ideal world technique
1. Identify and explain the problem.
2. Brainstorm a wish list of all the things which
solve this problem in an ideal world.
3. Hand out a selection of magazines to the
group, and ask pairs to build on ideal world
solutions using words and images - either
ripping out pictures or jotting down ideas.
4. Each pair presents their images and ideas to
the rest of the group for further idea building.

17. Prop analogies
Take a prop out of the bag and find away to link it to the problem
that the group is solving.

18. Thinking Hats
Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats® proposes six different
ways of thinking about an idea. By grouping the hats into 3
pairs you open up new angles by asking suitable questions
Information available Alternatives and
and needed creative ideas
Facts v Creativity
Feelings Intuition, v Overview of the
feelings and Structure process
hunches
Values and benefits
Why something might work
Strengths
v Cautions and difficulties
Weaknesse Where things might go wrong
s

19. Red and White – Facts v Feeling
White Hat - neutral and detached thinking
What are the facts?
What information is missing?
What further research do I need to do?
What does logic tell me to do?
Red Hat - intuitive thinking
How do I feel about it?
What's my gut reaction?
What's my hunch?
How should I investigate my hunches?

20. Yellow and Black – Strengths v
Weaknesses
Black Hat - logical thinking (negative)
What's the bad news?
What (factual, logistical, or ethical) problems do we see?
Where is the strategy weak?
What are the biggest threats?
Yellow Hat - logical thinking (positive)
What's the good news?
What benefits do we see?
What parts of our strategy demonstrate a strength?
What are we confident of?

21. Green and Blue – Creativity v
Structure
Green Hat - creative thinking
What are the possibilities?
What haven’t I thought of yet?
What are the other ways of looking at this?
-
Blue Hat - procedural thinking
Where do I go from here?
Is it time for a summary?
What are the consequences?

22. Scaling
• Used to rank for example performance on a scale from 1-10
• First you rank “as is” on the scale and describe WHY
• Then you increase the score by max 2 on the scale, and describe “to
be” and actions needed
• Finally you describe max on the scale and actions needed
10
•F
•G
7 ”To be” - areas of improvement
•D
•E
5
•A
•B ”As is” – what you are good at today
•C

23. The consultant
 Useful when the group is stuck, lacks energy, is frustrated, or in other ways needs
another perspective to move on
 Ask the group to gather in a corner of the room. Tell them that they are now
consultants with an assignment to analyse the meeting they just attended
 Help the group by asking them questions like
 “What sort of behaviour do you see in this group?”
 “Why does the group appear to be stuck in the same discussion over an over again?”
 “What sort of advice will you give the group (alt.: a special person) in the group to help them
move forward?”
 Note that the group members are not allowed to use names or personal pronoun.
Use e.g “the man in the blue shirt”, even if they are talking about themselves

24. Lists and voting rights
• Consider sensible criteria: e.g. likely market value, risk, speed to
market, fit with current brand positioning.
• Give everyone 3 votes and mark their choices against the long list
of ideas with ticks or stars – take the most popular ideas forward
for further development.
• Ideas can also be quickly classified into groups e.g fast to market,
high market potential etc
• This is an informal approach which has the advantages of speed
and buy-in, and provides a start point for screening.
• It‟s sensible to review all the ideas again later in order to ensure
nothing has been missed.

25. Grids
 Identify key criteria for evaluating ideas and set up
two-dimensional
grids to screen each idea (this works well with post-it
notes) Impact on performance
 Criteria should fit with overall strategy
Fit with existing
resources

26. Filtering ideas
 Eliminates the least useful ideas by filtering through
objective criteria
 Appropriate when the need to cut down the number of
ideas is more important than the need to preserve
their variety.
 Choose objective criteria to act as filters. The earlier
criteria should be designed to screen out a lot of ideas,
whereas later ones should provide more refined filters.
 Example:
 1st filter: Evidence of market need?
 2nd filter Ready for testing in under 6 months?
 3rd filter: Strategic fit?

27. What technique is the most appropriate depends on the situation in
question?
Driving forward
Create confidence & trust • Scaling
• Systemic thinking • The Consultant
• Who are you? • Questioning
• Change of behaviour • Take a break
• Parking lot
Opening up creativity
• Ask the guru
• SCAMPER
• Forced relationships
• Brain writing pool Narrowing down options
• Ideal world • Lists and voting rights
• Prop analogies • Grids
• Thinking hats • Filtering
• “Yes, and..”
• Set unrealistic goals
• Handling crisis