Group Facilitation Skills
Torc offers a 2-day training course on group facilitation skills, focussing on how to manage group meetings harmoniously & productively.
Other servicesOverview
It is impossible to be part of an organization today and not attend meetings. Staff & stakeholder meetings, project and coordination meetings, brainstorming and planning meetings — they all take time and require specific skills to effectively manage the broad range of group dynamics involved.
Facilitation is the secret weapon. It is a subtle way of working with a group that enables and empowers members to harmoniously participate, contribute, discuss, decide and act – collaboratively.
With its focus on asking rather than telling, and listening to build consensus, facilitation works its magic in harnessing the power of group diversity – even of conflict.
This workshop has been created to make core facilitation skills better understood and readily available to participants.
At its core, is a strong emphasis on studying & practicing the behaviours, tools & techniques that are specific and unique to different situations – and to the inevitable variability characterising individual viewpoints.
Objectives
- Distinguish facilitation from managing & directing
- Identify the competencies linked to effective facilitation – in both small and large groups
- Monitor and evaluate one’s own facilitation style
- Learn specific process tools to ensure meetings move forward productively
- Manage the meeting environment, handling group dynamics – perspectives, motivations & conflicts
- Provide positive reinforcement, encouraging open participation
- Use effective questioning skills and techniques.
Content
- Learn about group norms – how they form and sustain
- Explore the differences between facilitation and other approaches – instruction, management, direction
- Assess your levels of facilitation skills – in regulating the interactive flow at meetings
- Appreciate the holistic nature of communication – words, tone, questions, gestures, body language
- Role-play some key facilitation interventions – ice-breakers, break-out sessions, handling interruption, parking out-of-order questions, etc.
- Learn the language of facilitation – supportive, non-adversarial, non-judgmental
- How to apply probing techniques – repeating, restating, rephrasing, restructuring points
- Develop ‘active listening’ and empathy skills to better tune in to others’ concerns
- Use outlining diagrams – storyboards, mind-maps, fish-bones, swim-lanes
- Learn a menu of structured tools to force objective decision-making – Nominal Group Technique, The Delphi Method, Consensus Card, Paired Choice Matrix, Criteria Rating, etc.
- Examine the relevance of seating and other “set-up” arrangements – & how to deal with “problem participants”
- Study/discuss relevant case-studies illustrating best-practice facilitation behaviours..
- Prepare and role-play a facilitation segment drawn from a typical group meeting, currently being contemplated in your organisation.
This course is suited for
Senior Managers, Middle Managers & Team Leaders
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