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Effective Training and

Facilitation Skills

Effective Facilitation Skills


The Effective Facilitator course focuses on the critical skills such as consensus building, keeping the group focused, generating energy, managing dysfunction and gaining agreement. Our approach to training, The TBLN Difference, ensures results through: practical techniques, dynamic, high energy instructors, and Interactive exercises and practice sessions.

What Attendees will Learn:

How to get groups to develop and agree upon workable, realistic plans or solutions to issues. Gain the tools and techniques to: create a vision that motivates people to action, engage groups in developing solutions and generate ownership that leads to results. Learn a comprehensive approach great facilitators use to prepare for success, get a session started, focus the group, use (not abuse) the power of the pen, gather information, manage dysfunction, build consensus, maintain high energy, close the session, and construct customized agendas.


Couse Objectives:

Define the role of a facilitator

ƒIdentify the key facilitation principles ƒ

Describe the best practices related to each principle ƒ

Provide students with facilitation practice and performance feedback

The 10 Principles “How to” Techniques

1. Preparing for Success

Cover all the bases

ƒ What are the ten bases to cover in preparation?

ƒ With whom do you talk? What do you ask?

ƒ What do you do with what you hear?

2. Getting the Session Started

Inform, excite, involve, empower

ƒ What are the four keys for starting the session?

ƒ How do you get the group excited and motivated?

3. Focusing the Group

Establish the course; avoid detours

ƒ How do you get the group focused immediately?

ƒ How do you avoid the question/silence pitfall?

ƒ How do you keep them on track and interacting?

4. The Power of the Pen

Use it, don't abuse it, make it theirs

ƒ What are the seven deadly sins of facilitation?

ƒ How do you avoid abusing the power of the pen?

5. Information Gathering Techniques

Know your tools and how to use them

ƒ What are the eight questioning techniques?

ƒ How do you use verbal pictures for better answers?

ƒ When do you use listing, brainstorming, grouping, etc.?

6. Dysfunctional Behavior

Conscious Prevention, Early Detection, Resolution

ƒ What are the four steps for responding to dysfunction?

ƒ How do you prevent dysfunctional behavior from occurring?

7. Consensus Building

Create and maintain a consensus-focused process

ƒ What are the five ways to drive to consensus?

ƒ How do you get the group building consensus from the start?

8. Keeping the Energy High

Set the pace, anticipate the lulls, react accordingly

ƒ What are the strategies for combating the lullaby times?

ƒ How do you keep the energy high over an extended session?

9. Closing The Session

Review, evaluate, close, debrief

ƒ What are the four critical activities in closing?

ƒ How do you ensure commitment to the decisions made?

ƒ How do you identify unresolved issues?

10. Agenda Setting

Adapt your agenda to address the need

ƒ How do you employ the principles to construct detailed

agendas for strategic planning, program design, status

reporting, issue resolution, and process reengineering 

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