Facilitate Proceedings » Facilitation Tips and Techniques

Why Professional Certification Is So Worth It

Susan Peryam — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:59:17 +0000

To certify or not, that is the question.
I’ve been asked the question “…why would I want to certify anyways, I’ve been in the profession for years.” My answer is simple…it is a matter of personal choice. I made that choice three times. During my first career I became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), years into my second career I became a Certified Quality Manager (CQM), and at the beginning of my third and current career I became a Certified Professional Facilitator.

As I reflect on the reasons I chose to become certified, I realize that my motivations changed over time. I sense that is a reflection of my personal growth.

7 Ways To Coax People Out of the Box in a Virtual World

Nancy Settle-Murphy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:25:08 +0000

Before the latest economic downturn, many of my clients would bring together people from all over the world, put them into a conference room with pots of coffee and carbo-loaded snacks, and kept them there until they emerged with a raft of creative new ideas. Now, with organizations imposing travel bans for most internal meetings, the question becomes: How can we translate this type of high-energy, face-to-face brainstorming experience into a virtual session where we wring innovative ideas out of each person, using a phone and a computer?

Facilitation by getting out of the way – Lessons from Open Space Technology

Julia Young — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:13:40 +0000

Open Space Technology is a meeting methodology that enables self-organizing groups of all sizes to deal with complex issues in a very short period of time. A quick description of this method of meeting preparation might be “the art of facilitation by getting out of the way.” Beyond its specific purpose and approach it offers useful lessons that apply to many kinds of meetings including virtual meetings and webinars. Here are five facilitation reminders drawn from Open Space.

Bad Manners in Virtual Meetings – Are You Guilty?

Julia Young — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:27:18 +0000

Twenty minutes into a one hour web conference I found my mind wondering. I was still listening (sure!) but I checked my email. Five minutes later I was working on a spreadsheet. When the facilitator asked the group a question I waited for someone else to answer so I could work out what I had missed. Does this sound like you?
Here are my top ten ground rules. They’re simple but easy to ignore, to the detriment of the meeting. Too often we take shortcuts with virtual meetings that we wouldn’t dare do if we were sitting down with others face-to-face.

Book Review: Managing Facilitated Processes

Julia Young — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:55:52 +0000

Managing Facilitated Processes
A Guide for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, Event Planners and Educators
Dorothy Strachan and Marian Pitters deliver a practical guide to planning and managing facilitated processess filled with checklists, examples and step-by-step resources for the new or experienced facilitator/consultant.

As the sub-title of the book infers, this guide is meant as a resource for a long list of practitioners in a wide variety of corporate, non-profit, educational, government and community organizations. Strachan and Pitters write in an approachable, organized way and I found myself reading the book from cover to cover before returning to the table of contents to drop back into particular chapters or worksheets. Many of the latter are available for download from a web site for easy access. The authors do not presume that the reader will have a lot of facilitation and project management experience and cover some fundamental aspects of defining and contracting for a facilitated process or consulting engagement. Their systematic and thorough approach also has value to experienced facilitators and consultants, however, and you certainly sense that their checklists and techniques are ones that they themselves use on every engagement.

Why Facilitators Must Practice Tough Love

R. Sridhar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:03:37 +0000

“What if we follow a different process instead of what you have told us?”

How do you respond to this suggestion, in the middle of a session, as a facilitator? This is a dangerous trap, but I realized it only after I got into it.

“Sure what do you have in mind?”

The participant explained his view. Soon enough the situation became a free for all and finally my client, who was the senior most person in the group, intervened and suggested a process step, something he does all the time in regular meetings. By that time I had lost control and I acquiesced. As you can imagine, the session was a disaster. My client was unhappy and I was miserable.

This happened years ago. After nine years in the business I do not fall into this trap any more. I have realized that as a facilitator, I can be open minded and listen to various views but I must stick to my process. The bottom line is this. I must know why I chose a particular process step and why it will deliver the goods. Here’s what to do when your process is under fire.

IAF: A Key Facilitator Resource in Challenging Times

Danuta McCall — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:18:42 +0000

Just wanted our community to know that the International Association of Facilitators Europe Conference will be held in the United Kingdom September 18-20 2009. If you are looking for a reason to visit the beautiful and historic city of Oxford (and partake of conference events in the hallowed Keble College, one of England’s most historic seats ...

Get Serious About Ground Rules: 7 Rules That Really Work

Nancy Settle-Murphy — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:24:28 +0000

Since time spent meeting virtually tends to be at such a premium, it’s especially important to establish ground rules that will help lead to a productive meeting. It’s usually a lot easier to inform people about ground rules than it is to enforce them. But if you develop a reputation for someone who is serious about providing an environment for a productive meeting through the use of sensible ground rules, you’ll soon find that your team will begin to create and zealously uphold its own ground rules, freeing you up from having to police them.

Here are some ground rules I typically use with my clients when I’m asked to plan and run their virtual meetings.

Cooked and Eaten: Growing as Facilitators from the Inside Out

Hector Rodriguez — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:55:13 +0000

Facilitate Proceedings asked me to report back on my experience at the North America International Association of Facilitator’s Conference in Vancouver BC. Facilitation has to do with knowing how to observe and intervene in group processes, using an array of models, techniques and tools but mostly knowing how to better use ourselves. I love sessions in which I learn new tools, but I mostly enjoy sessions that help me to realize my developmental edge as a facilitator.
Among others, I was fortunate to attend two great sessions: Dawna Jones’ session named “Cooked and Eaten: How to Transform and Grow from the Experience” and Larry Dressler’s session titled “Standing in the Fire: Facilitating Self when Things Heat Up.”

New Book from Dorothy Strachan and Marian Pitters

Julia Young — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:12:23 +0000

We are looking forward to reading the latest book by Dorothy Strachan and Marian Pitters Managing Facilitated Processes: A Guide for Facilitators, Managers, Consultants, Event Planners, Trainers and Educators. (Jossey-Bass/Wiley Publishers, 2009)

Based on the authors’ previous work, we expect this to be a comprehensive “must-have” guide to planning, designing and executing high performance interactive events.