Crystal's Notes 4 May

Many of us are facilitators, without us realising it. We facilitate when we present at meetings, or when we conduct onboarding sessions and training workshops for our colleagues. If you’re well prepared with your slides and content, the presentation will likely go smoothly. But how can you make it more than just an exchange of information?

Switch Modes

As a facilitator, you will have to respond to comments or questions from your participants. Avoid being stuck in one mode. Other than addressing the content given, you can also address how they conveyed their responses (“What was it like sharing your goals with everyone?”) or comment on characteristics shown (“You seemed confident despite sharing earlier that you had fears about presenting! How did you overcome your fears?”) While content is important, learning how to focus on the process and the feelings is crucial to uncover the deeper layers of the audience’s experience.

Avoid Negative Priming

Don’t prime your audience with negative statements like, “You must be tired”, or “I know what I am going to say is not going to go down well with all of you”. Guess what happens when you do that? People are going to start to feel tired, or feel negatively towards what you are about to share, even before you start.

Take The Work Seriously, But Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

Don’t react personally to questions being asked or feedback that is given, even if it feels like they are targeting what you have been working on. This also means you have to stay out of judgement. When I was still teaching at NUS, I would wonder why students were not paying attention when I saw them on their phones. When I checked in with them later, I found out that some of them were taking notes using their phones, or searching up people I had mentioned. Imagine if I had lost my cool and called them out for being distracted in front of everyone!

Being able to facilitate powerful, meaningful workshops and experiences is a superpower – it helps to get people to speak up and engage, increases awareness and develops insight. At our intensive, 2-level facilitation course, we equip facilitators with the skills, mindsets and practical tools they need to create these experiences. Click here for more information, and join us when we run the programme again in the second half of the year. In the meantime, try some of these techniques the next time you have to facilitate a meeting, and let me know how it goes!

Much love,

Crystal