You're faced with diverse audience needs in facilitation. How can you tailor your approach effectively?

Preparation is key to any successful facilitation. Regardless I have done the same topic how many times, I will set aside time to prepare. I treat every facilitation as the first and last, it's my way of showing respect to learn, share and grow together. Understanding the needs of the projector sponsor and the audience is massive. It gives me indication of their emotional states when they come for my workshop. Whether it's positive or negative, I want to be mindful that facilitation is never one size fits all, I want to be there to support their learning, if they allow me. I would incorporate different activities to create experiential learning and time for personal and group reflections which is powerful

Facilitating diverse audience is a perk. It helps in building good discussions, learning and understanding different perspectives. We can use the following strategies to make the sessions effective. 1. Start the session with an icebreaker to know about the thought process or the audience. 2. Conduct a few activities related to the topics to make them comfortable. 3. Set the expectations before starting the topics. 4. Bring them on the topic if they get distracted. 5. Keep reiterating as per the requirements.

Set expectation is imperative. While everyone's needs in the room must be respected, group learning is about learning together. Hence we must share some common goals and manage the expectations if the goals are not aligned. By setting expectations, we also create a safe space where participants feel comfortable to share and be open to others' sharing. I would always love to have the project sponsor to open the session to set the tone. I feel the group becomes more engaged when they hear what their leader's expectation for the training is so they can be aligned and supportive.

Es ist meine allererste Aufgabe als Moderatorin, dass sich alle Zuschauer ... Teilnehmer angesprochen Fühlen. Mein Mantra: Ja zum Publikum! Ich bin aufmerksam ... empathisch ... sozial kompetent ... Keiner sollte das Gefühl haben, er sei nicht wichtig oder habe nichts Wichtiges zu sagen.

To engage a diverse audience requires patience, respect and understanding. I would also check with them frequently, understand the different perspectives and create opportunities for the group to understand each other. This means the activities I created will allow more sharing and reflections on personal perspectives. When the audience is comfortable sharing, they will naturally be more open to learning. So, I would always focus and work on personal first then teams.

To adapt on the fly is important. Much as we plan to succeed, be prepared for the unexpected. If a particular approach is not resonating with the group, we should not be afraid to try something new. As seasoned facilitator, we should be able to discern and be courageous enough to try and experiment based on our experience. However if you are not an experienced facilitator or not familiar with a certain topic, I would suggest you get someone seasoned to shadow you so you can learn. Otherwise have a few more tools in your tool box so you can flexible and relevant, ensure everyone can benefit from the session. A professional facilitator should never be a one trick pony.

Be honest with ourselves. Did we do well, did we not? Getting feedback from the participants and project sponsor is important. We should reflect on their feedback and adjust accordingly. What's key to me is to be honest and to assess ourselves too. Ask ourselves if we had a great time with the participants. If we are, a high chance that the session went well. However, there is always something to work on. By reflecting on our performance and being open to change, we can become a more effective facilitator who truly enjoy and take pride in what we do!

When I learned the difference between hot, cold, and warm calling when people raise their hands, I found that to be extremely helpful for being sure all voices were included. Now, I explain what warm calling is (and why I use it), but I (a) give folks a way to indicate that they do not want to be called and (b) tell them that there will be other ways for them to share their thoughts and perspectives.