Facilitation is the art of making things happen by bringing people together to achieve a shared goal. A great facilitator has a set of skills and behaviours that help to make a session come to life, making it interactive, pacey, and upbeat.
Today, we’ll explore six key skills of facilitation, with an emphasis on simplicity, pragmatism, and trust, which can be helpful for both new and experienced facilitators.
1. Connection
A great facilitator needs to connect with their participants, creating an environment that is safe and inclusive. This requires reassurance, enthusiasm, and flexibility in approach. By allowing participants to contribute within time constraints, the facilitator can help them to see the value of what they are doing.
It’s important to keep in mind that people are more likely to participate and engage when they feel that their contributions are welcomed and valued.
2. Trust
To create a safe and inclusive environment, it is crucial to establish trust with the participants. This means maintaining a credible presence and creating an environment where participants feel comfortable contributing, interacting, and being challenged.
One way to build trust is by bringing real-life context to the session’s content. By grounding the session in the experiences of the participants, the facilitator can help them to see the relevance and importance of what they are doing.
3. Stretch
A great facilitator needs to stretch people’s thinking by asking purposeful questions, rather than telling them everything. This means challenging individual thinking and engaging the participants as a whole group.
The facilitator needs to be confident in handling tough questions and guiding the conversation toward a shared goal. By challenging the participants to think deeply, the facilitator can help them to expand their thinking and generate new insights.
4. Navigation
Navigating through the process and timing is crucial for a successful facilitation session. The facilitator needs to pay attention to patterns, rather than individual thoughts, and maintain engagement throughout the day.
This means ensuring that participants know what they are doing and why at any point. The facilitator needs to adapt to specific needs and be prepared to adjust the session’s flow based on how the participants are engaging with the content.
5. Fun
A great facilitator needs to make the session fun. This means being aware of the energy level and adding theatre to the room by using games, music, videos, or other interactive elements.
By creating a fun and engaging environment, the facilitator can help participants to feel energised and action-oriented, leaving the session feeling motivated to put their new insights into practice.
6. Reflection
finally, reflection is essential to the process. It is important to pause at intervals throughout the session and specifically at the end of the day to ensure that participants leave with a clear “call to action” having learned new insights from the content.
This helps to ensure that the participants are able to put their new knowledge into practice and make a real difference in their work.
Summary
The art of facilitation is a complex and nuanced skill that requires a mix of talents and behaviours. The six key skills of facilitation: Connection, Trust, Stretch, Navigation, Fun, and Reflection are essential for making any facilitation session a success.
Whether you are new to facilitation or have years of experience, these skills can help you to be confident in your ability to make any session come to life. So go out there, be confident, and have fun!
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