What is a facilitator?
• Literally means: ‘making things easy’
• A person who helps a group or team to:
• achieve results in interactive events
• by using a range of skills and methods
• to bring the best out in people as they
work together
• focuses on the process of how
What a facilitator is NOT
• participant in the team
• team leader
• team organiser/administrator,
• negotiator on the team’s behalf,
• servant who simply does the
bidding of the team
• expert trainer
Role: Conductor
Role: Impartial Helper
• belonging to no
political coalition
within an
organisation
• being seen as
having no stake in
the outcomes
Facilitator’s Role: Overview
• cope with uncertainty • be understandable
• use power of credibility to
help address issues • mobilise energy
• be calm in times of emotion • surface difficult
• support and counsel others
issues and help
others to do so
• take themselves less
seriously
• empathise
Group
processes:intervening
• model appropriate behaviour
• ensure involvement
• enable understanding
• keep a task-related focus
• push for action outcomes
• manage time
• ensure that a record is created
Interpersonal Skills/Basic
Facilitation Skills
language &
listening
communication
using
feedback
questioning
conflict handling
Ten Commandments of
Effective Listening
1. Stop talking 6. Have patience
2. Put your people at 7. Hold your temper
ease
3. Show you want to 8. Don’t argue or
listen criticise
4. Remove distractions 9. Ask questions
5. Empathise
10. STOP TALKING
Questioning
Use O P E N to probe:
☛ “Who, why, what, when, how?”
Co-operation
Results