Facilitation Training

Facilitation is the art of assisting groups to work more effectively in accomplishing a purpose such as decision making, conflict resolution, mission design, planning a project, changing corporate values or structure, celebrating, teambuilding, etc. It is distinguishable from mediation in that it does not necessarily involve conflict and generally involves larger numbers of people. 

The typical facilitation workshop is intended to teach participants to neutrally assist in process design and implementation to make groups effective. These skills may be used internally within a company or other organization by people who find themselves in formal or informal facilitative roles or simply wish to learn to operate more effectively in group processes. The skills are also helpful to those who act as more formal, external facilitators. The individual topic areas (facilitation) covered in a longer facilitation workshop can be isolated and combined as desired by the client in shorter formats.

Facilitation Workshop

A typical facilitation workshop examines the nature of facilitation and the facilitator’s role, different group purposes and models of facilitation and key steps for planning, process design and framing of an agenda to promote collaboration and achievement of outcomes. These sessions also explore and provide opportunities to practice critical group management skills, the roles people play in groups, communication skills relevant to group management and participation and interventions to manage difficult behaviors in a group setting. We apply these skills within the framework of a collaborative model including phases and tools for group decision making, learning and achievement of other outcomes, with plans for effective follow through and implementation.

Individual Facilitation Training Topics

  • Identifying different facilitator types and roles
  • Assessing the purpose of a group
  • Interviews, preparation and process design
  • Stakeholder identification and involvement
  • Framing issues and agenda setting for collaboration
  • Choosing a decision making method and finding common ground
  • Effective and ineffective groups
  • Common group needs, roles and dynamics
  • Energizing group process
  • Key meeting facilitation skills
  • A map for consensus based decision making
  • The art of listening
  • Promoting and testing for consensus
  • Keeping groups on track and on task
  • Dealing with difficult personalities and group tensions
  • Maximizing group creativity
  • Tools for sorting, prioritizing and evaluating ideas and information
  • Bringing group process to conclusion
  • Promoting follow through and accountability