5 Techniques to Level Up Your Facilitation Game

Facilitation is one of the most important tools I use to do my work. There are parts of it that come naturally to me. I’m a good listener, and I’m also good at synthesizing information and grasping connections between things. Other parts of my skill in facilitation are the result of lots of training and practice. I have extensive training in the Technology of Participation (ToP) methodology, plus exposure to and practice with a variety of other approaches. I like to mix and match my facilitation methods to suit the needs of the group I’m working with and my own personal style. If you’re seeking to keep building your facilitation skills, here are some techniques that work for me regardless of the method I'm using or the group I’m working with.

1. Discuss your facilitation plan with the project sponsor (and possibly others) ahead of time.

I always find it worth it to finish my facilitation plan far enough ahead of time to allow me to discuss it with my project sponsor. Their insights into how things might be received by the group and what has worked well or gone poorly in the past are so useful in designing a session that will actually accomplish the objectives. If I’m aware that there is a disconnect between how the sponsor and team perceive things, I might also run the facilitation plan past a team member. Be thoughtful in who you ask to do that so as not to exacerbate the disconnect.

 The questions I ask during these review conversations include:

• Do you think the way I’ve framed these topics/questions will make sense to the group? How could I rephrase them to be clearer or resonate better?

• Are there any interpersonal dynamics I should be aware of in advance? What does that mean for how these large/small group activities will work?

• Are people carrying baggage related to this topic? Are there difficult or negative past experiences that might impact how they respond?

• What would a wildly successful session result in? Do you think this facilitation plan will get us there?

2. Use the 10 second rule.

After asking a prompting question, I typically allow for about 10 seconds of silence before rewording the question or nudging the group. That can feel really long when you’re standing in front of a room listening to the crickets chirp – but the reason it works is that you aren’t the only one who is likely to be uncomfortable with that long a silence. In most groups I work with, 10 seconds is more than enough time for someone in the room to decide that they can’t take it anymore. That person starts talking and typically others follow.

I like to do this because it demonstrates that I am there to listen to the group and will leave space for them to talk. Some people are internal processors, and it takes them a little time to gather their thoughts. Sometimes, the question I’ve asked gets at underlying tension or requires some vulnerability and people need to gear themselves up for that. This shows that I’m willing to give people the time they need. It also lets the group know that I am not going to use up the time for them with empty filler conversation. A successful facilitation is a shared responsibility, requiring participation from the group in addition to preparation from the facilitator.

3. Prepare at least two versions of every discussion question you’re going to ask.

Sometimes the 10 second rule doesn’t work, and that’s usually because the way I asked the question didn’t make sense to the group. I always come prepared with at least two different versions of all my key prompting questions, sometimes three if I have some history with the group and know this is a topic that it’s hard to find shared language around. For example, I might start by asking: “What are the strengths of your current practices that you want to build on?” If that question doesn’t generate much discussion, I could rephrase it as “What’s working really well about how you’re doing things now that we need to make sure we don’t break?”

I prefer to ask the question a different way rather than giving an example. I have made some uninformed decisions about which examples to use in the past and inadvertently signaled that I was on one “side” of an active point of conflict. I’ve also had people read way more into the examples that I give than I intended, ending up distracted as they try to figure out the “secret message” they assumed was contained therein.

4. Check whether the notes you take accurately capture what participants share and invite them to help you get it right.

It’s really important to me that I accurately understand what people share and that the notes and other outputs from the session are true to what the participants were trying to say. Sometimes I misinterpret what people are saying, perhaps because of a lack of subject matter expertise in their field, or perhaps because my biases and opinions are clouding my ability to really listen. I start sessions by letting people know that I sometimes get it wrong with what I write on the board, but I really want to get it right and would love for them to let me know when I’m missing the mark and help me do better.

I then reinforce that throughout the session. The questions you’ll hear me ask most often as a facilitator are variants of:

• If I were to record that as ________________, does that accurately capture what you’re saying?

• I wrote ________________. Is that right or am I off base?

• Can you help me summarize your point?

5. If people get distracted by a different topic, start a “parking lot.”

We have probably all been part of meetings that get totally derailed when someone brings up a topic other than the one we’re theoretically focused on. When someone brings up something and I don’t see how it relates to the topic at hand, I usually ask something like, “This could be because I’m not an expert in your field, but I’m not seeing how that connects. Can you help me understand?” If they can explain the connection, great. I learned something new and now we can have a more complete discussion. If they can’t explain the connection or acknowledge that it’s a tangent, I start a parking lot and list it there. I’ll often say something along the lines of, “Sounds like that’s an important thing to circle back to in the future. I’m making note of it here so we don’t lose this point.”

Then I hang the parking lot sheet far away from the place where I’m writing the notes on our main topic. I have found that putting the parking lot right next to the main notes is distracting. People keep seeing that other thing that was on their mind and have a hard time shifting back to the primary topic. However, if it’s 10+ feet away, perhaps hanging on an adjacent wall, folks are better able to return their attention to my original question.

Sometimes the tangent actually is the most important thing to talk about in that moment. If people keep bringing up that topic, or perhaps someone says, “I really think we have to figure that out before we can answer your other question,” I seek permission from the group to pivot. For example, “Sounds like it’s going to be hard to be productive with this conversation until we resolve that other topic. We have [this much time] left in our session today. Do you all think we should shift focus, knowing that means we may not/probably won’t accomplish our original goals for this time?”