Facilitation’s Post

Looking for a simple way to invite feedback from participants during your in person session? Here's a simple techniques that Francesco lifted and shifted from Training from the Back of the Room.

If you're a facilitator how do you understand the real workshop brief? To help you, here's a discussion guide and a checklist. https://lnkd.in/e4wipwB6

Tired of interruptions during your online workshops? Set the tone with my three simple steps... 1. Be Specific: Instead of asking participants"What do you think?", try "Type your answer in the chat with what you think we should do." Sometimes people don't engage when they don't understand the instructions 2. Set Boundaries: Define the "no-go" areas to maintain the flow of discussion. For instance, ask participants to turn off their cameras or send a private message if they need to step away. If they decide to announce having to leave in front of the group, it may decrease morale. 3. Be Open: The whole point of team-building is that others get to contribute so let participants make some of the rules. Besides, you'll get questions that can uncover gaps of knowledge that even the best feedback forms might miss. Remember, setting boundaries isn’t about being difficult—it’s about creating clear communication for a smoother session. Though this solves some communication problems, learning how to ask the correct kinds of questions is essential to get a high level of engagement So stay tuned for that next time!

On this 💫🌐 #ThrowbackTuesday, let me emphasise a 'stock-taking' post about #facilitation #videos that I published in order to help people navigate what is facilitation, why, how etc. 🎁 In that selection, there's some tips and tricks, useful skills, and a couple of other useful references suggested also in comments by Anja Ebers 📂 Like all such Throwback Tuesday posts, this post is now a little dated, so with this I also invite you to share any more recent videos that you find really helpful to explain what #facilitation means, brings, how it manifests itself etc. 👉 Taking stock: facilitation videos 🌐 https://lnkd.in/eZ5swdJx

Here are some nice ideas if you are planning to host a workshop.

Facilitation hack. Have them say it in their own words. Who doesn’t know the rounds in workshops when the third person says: “Most has already been said.” or “I don’t want to repeat what the others have said.” My response is always the same: “Please do; I would love to hear you say it in your own words.” Why? Because it has several positive effects: -> It makes them own it and value it as their contribution -> It is never entirely the same because they will always add nuances if they say it in their words -> It makes them reflect on additional angles -> It equals the playing field -> It increases psychological safety because nobody has to wonder what they “really” think. So, invite them to say it in their own words even if it has already been said (several) times before, and you might even want to explain why you do that so they do not think you are just a pain in the behind. Enjoy! #facilitationhacks #facilitationskills #facilitation #humandynamics

Looking for a new workshop kick-off exercise with guaranteed participation and laughs? I highly recommend you try Drawing Toast. I was exposed to Drawing Toast last year in one of our client workshops at RUSH; I've seen a lot of creative kick-off exercises before but this one stuck with me. What's great about this exercise is that there is no wrong way to approach the task and it's highly relatable. We've had everyone from corporate heads to engineering folks participate and it levels the playing field because everyone knows how to make toast. It really helps get the creative juices flowing (even from self-professed "not creative" people) and highlights how differently everyone's brains work. Curious? Here's a how-to for setting up this easy and effective session: https://lnkd.in/g-3mey7v Cameron Brodie Simon Thomas Alaina Luxmoore

Poster: 1-2-4-ALL 🥳 1–2–4-All is one of the most applied facilitation techniques from the Liberating Structure collection. Within 12 minutes, you can engage everyone simultaneously in generating questions, ideas, and suggestions. Regardless of how large the group is, you’ll engage every individual in searching for answers. We’ve used this technique with 12 participants during training and seminars with 100+ people. It unfolds open conversations and rapidly sifts ideas and solutions. We worked with Thea Schukken to capture the steps in one illustration. We hope you like the result. Use it as inspiration for your sessions! ## Tips: 🤔 Facilitate the silent self-reflection firmly before the paired conversations; 🚶♂️ Do it standing, with people walking around the room to form pairs or groups of four. Walking around is a great energizer, though; 🔔 Use bells (e.g., tingsha) to announce new rounds. ✅ In large groups, during “ALL,” limit the number of shared ideas to 3 or 4; 👉 Flip it! Make it a 1 (always start with individual reflection) 4-2-1-ALL 😃 😎 Go wild with a 1-2-4-2-1-ALL 👉 Try this variation: go from groups of 4 to 8 with consensus in mind. ❌ Don't over-explain the steps. Explaining 1-2-4-ALL shouldn't take longer than the exercise itself (yes, it's something I've experienced as a participant...) ## Bonus tip: use "lightweight" facilitation ❌ Don’t strictly timebox the 1-minute individual reflection, 2 minutes in pairs, and 4 minutes in a group of 4; ✔ Instead, give participants a timebox of 10 minutes and invite them to run a 1–2–4 themselves. They’ll manage; it’s not rocket science. Maybe the group needs one practice round, but after that, I’m sure they’ll manage to figure out the 1–2–4 parts themselves. Optionally, collect some big insights with the ‘ALL’ part. What is your experience with the Liberating Structure "1-2-4-ALL"? What other tips do you have?

New poster: 1-2-4-ALL 🥳 1–2–4-All is one of the most applied facilitation techniques from the Liberating Structure collection. Within 12 minutes, you can engage everyone simultaneously in generating questions, ideas, and suggestions. Regardless of how large the group is, you’ll engage every individual in searching for answers. We’ve used this technique with 12 participants during training and seminars with 100+ people. It unfolds open conversations and rapidly sifts ideas and solutions. We worked with Thea Schukken to capture the steps in one illustration. We hope you like the result. Use it as inspiration for your sessions! ## Tips: 🤔 Facilitate the silent self-reflection firmly before the paired conversations; 🚶♂️ Do it standing, with people walking around the room to form pairs or groups of four. Walking around is a great energizer, though; 🔔 Use bells (e.g., tingsha) to announce new rounds. ✅ In large groups, during “ALL,” limit the number of shared ideas to 3 or 4; 👉 Flip it! Make it a 1 (always start with individual reflection) 4-2-1-ALL 😃 😎 Go wild with a 1-2-4-2-1-ALL 👉 Try this variation: go from groups of 4 to 8 with consensus in mind. ❌ Don't over-explain the steps. Explaining 1-2-4-ALL shouldn't take longer than the exercise itself (yes, it's something I've experienced as a participant...) ## Bonus tip: use "lightweight" facilitation ❌ Don’t strictly timebox the 1-minute individual reflection, 2 minutes in pairs, and 4 minutes in a group of 4; ✔ Instead, give participants a timebox of 10 minutes and invite them to run a 1–2–4 themselves. They’ll manage; it’s not rocket science. Maybe the group needs one practice round, but after that, I’m sure they’ll manage to figure out the 1–2–4 parts themselves. Optionally, collect some big insights with the ‘ALL’ part. What is your experience with the Liberating Structure "1-2-4-ALL"? What other tips do you have?

Facilitation Tip: Give time back, never take it away! 👆 This is my golden rule as a Facilitator! When I'm facilitating sessions, I always try to start on time (although this might not be possible every time), and I ALWAYS finish on time or earlier. Finishing a session on time honours the people in the room and respects that they have lives outside of the workshop or meeting. Also, there's no better feeling as a participant than thinking you'll be in a session until 5pm and then being told by the Facilitator that you're done for the day at 4pm. A technique that helps me with making sure I can finish my sessions on time is... Time-boxing ⏰ It's a very simple technique that helps you manage time. For example, if you’re running an ideation exercise, set 10-15 minutes for it and move on to the next steps after the time’s up—no exceptions. This approach forces you and the team to: ✔ Focus and come up with ideas quickly. ✔Cut out circular discussions and keep moving forward. ✔Finish on time. Having 'not enough time' can actually be a great way to push people out of their comfort zones and encourage them to think in different ways. P.S. We use the Time Timer (see in the picture below) here at AJ&Smart to timebox our workshops. It's visual and it's cute! How do you manage time in your sessions?