Facilitating with Style

Overview:

An excellent facilitator is one who can plan and design efficient meetings, understand and manage group dynamics, and (perhaps most importantly) motivate diverse viewpoints towards agreement and consensus. An excellent facilitator can listen as well as lead. The workshop, Facilitating with Style, presents both theoretical and practical applications of the skills needed to work productively with groups.

Who Should Take This Course:

Anyone who needs to bring a disparate group of people together to solve problems or achieve common goals. This course would be particularly useful for staff members gearing up to facilitate a company retreat.

Course Objectives:

Participants will learn how to define, determine, and use the following:

1. The Facilitator's Roles and Responsibilities
2. How Groups Work (includes a Group Analysis Checklist)
3. What Kind of Session Are You Facilitating?
4. Agenda for a Facilitated Session
5. Outcomes & Actions Plans
6. Managing Interpersonal Group Dynamics
7. Problem-Solving Procedures
8. Evaluating the Facilitated Session: Lessons Learned

Course Design:

Facilitating with Style is taught over one and a half days of lecture, demonstrations, and exercises. During the class, participants will be given numerous opportunities to practice their facilitation skills in a supportive, friendly environment. On the second morning, they will each conduct their own facilitated session with other class members. Additionally, they will be provided with a variety of tools and templates that they can adapt for their own facilitated sessions back at work.