FACILITATION SKILL TRAINING

Facilitation Skills

Exemplary Trainers

What are the discrete characteristics and competencies that distinguish exemplary

instructors?

Helpful Attitudes & Values

• My mind-set won’t help them

• Everybody is human, unique with potential

• It’s OK to teach

• No one best way

• People never argue with their own data

• Facilitators can’t win arguments

• Silence is OK

• Don’t push the river

The Facili-training Rainbow

process

monitoring

brainstorming

facilitating

discussion

Socratic

direction

teaching

demonstrating

presenting

HIGH LOW

HIGH

Contribution to Content

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Socratic Direction Examples of Socratic questions include: Questions of clarification

What do you mean by _______? Let me see if I understand you; do you mean _______ or _______?

Could you give me an example? Could you explain that further?

Questions that probe assumptions You seem to be assuming _______. Do I understand you correctly?

All of your reasoning depends on the idea that _______.

Questions that probe reasons and evidence Why do you think that is true? What are your reasons for saying that? What led you to that belief?

What is a facilitator? • Literally means: ‘making things easy’

• A person who helps a group or team to:

Achieve results in interactive events

By using a range of skills and methods

To bring the best out in people as they work together

Focus on the process of how

Interpersonal Skills/Basic Facilitation Skills

listening

questioning

language &

communication

using

feedback

conflict handling

Facilitator’s Role: Overview

• cope with uncertainty

• use power of credibility to help address issues

• be calm in times of emotion

• support and counsel others

• be understandable

• mobilise energy

• surface difficult issues and help others to do so

• take themselves less seriously

• empathise