14 Tips & Tricks Every Facilitator Should Know

Recently I attended a great workshop hosted by Jenni & Ole Jepsen about Xtreme facilitation. It was part of the XP Days Benelux 2015. The goal of the session was to learn why and how to step up your facilitation game. During the session, they shared “Facilitation Nerd Alerts” (FNA’s) and other tips & tricks for hardcore facilitators. Being a passionate facilitator myself I highly enjoyed them!

In this blog post, I’ll share the tips & tricks brought up by Jenni & Ole Jepsen, hereby taking the opportunity to add some of my own as well.

Facilitation Tips & Tricks

1. Choose an engaging format. Don’t tell people to close their laptops and shut off their phones. Choose a format that engages everyone in a way they don’t even consider using their laptops or phone.
2. Do as little as possible. It’s their training or workshop. Encourage learning by involving the participants continuously.
3. Focus on process facilitation. Don’t engage too much in discussions with participants. You’re the process facilitator. Focus on facilitating the discussions and in-depth conversations.
4. Make the flip charts readable. Bridge the distance between the people and the walls with flip charts and visualizations. Make sure people can read what’s on most of the flip charts from their own position. Create an environment that invites them to use the earlier created flip charts in discussions. This will help them to truly understand the content.
5. Make the results clear and visible. No matter what kind of session you’re facilitating, always make sure the most important results of discussions or exercises are clearly visible to everyone. This ensures clarity and prevents misunderstandings.
6. Balance appreciation & judging. Appreciate everyone’s input. Even if you disagree. At least it proves that someone is engaged.
7. Scribe word for word. When scribing, always write down the exact words the participants used. This shows you truly listen to them and you’re taking their input seriously.
8. Use nice stopping signals. Don’t shout STOP STOP STOP!!! But make the agreement with the group that when the facilitator raises a hand the ones who see this follow the example and stop speaking. This is an easy and gentle way to get the group's attention and move on.
9. Trust self-organizing capabilities. Don’t determine the group forming. Let them figure out the team composition for themselves.
10. Always have a ‘Plan B’. Let go of the plan if needed to improve engagement, and collaboration, and to ensure the desired outcome. Always have a ‘Plan B’.
11. Write in black and blue. Don’t write in green on a whiteboard. You can’t read it from a distance! Use black and blue for the words everyone in the room should be able to read.
12. Use music to create the desired atmosphere. Music is also a marvelous tool to get people's attention: when the music stops, the break is over; success is guaranteed!
13. Feel the energy of the group. As a facilitator, you should continuously be aware of the energy of a group. Are they engaged? Do they need a break? What kind of exercise do they need right now?
14. Use visualizations instead of words. People remember visualizations far better than a bunch of words. Even better, let the participants create their own visualizations! It’s not only fun but also very engaging and useful.

That’s it, 14 tips & tricks every facilitator should know. If you know other tips & tricks, feel free to share them! I might even add your lesson learned to this blog post 🙂

Originally published at www.barryovereem.com on December 20, 2015.