How do you continue developing as a facilitator?

An important point to note in Facilitation is that it's not about giving knowledge but more about helping people learn. The word "Facile" comes from "Easy" in French. It's all about making it easier for people to learn, creating a conducive environment and rousing their curiosity

Ask for “feed forward” feedback from participants on what they valued about how you facilitated — and what’s an idea that would make the experience even more valuable for them. Where possible, watch and learn from peers you admire. I learned and continue to learn so much from watching great facilitators deliver the same content in unique ways, especially when they bring it to life with relevant brief stories.

Not sure if the FIRST step to developing is to set goals. The first step is gaining an understanding of what facilitation is and excellence in that field. The a never-ending learning journey. After facilitating for 25 years I decided to have myself tested against the Core Competencies for the International Association of Facilitators and gained my CPF status. That was in 2007 and I'm now a Master facilitator with the IAF. My goal is to be the best facilitator I can be for my clients and participants - that means keeping up to date and setting new goals as the field changes and as I mature in my practice.

The best way to facilitate something, is to practice your content personally. It should not be something you only “know” but more something that you have lived and you live. And obviously apply what you have learnt in that improv class you were in. Two o three years of improv. That’s my advice. Life indeed is completely improvised, as they are all the group sessions that you’ll have to facilitate.

Be open to feedback from everyone. Watch other's facilitate and if they do something that grabs your attention, ask them about it. Read, watch, absorb everything you can and experiment with new techniques. Always stay curious and look to grow.

Ask for Feedback This is one of my favorite ways to grow. Feedback can be informal, or formal. Informal feedback might include taking 2 minutes of the group's time and ask "What did I do well as a facilitator?" and "What could I have done better as a facilitator?" In formal feedback, ask someone to use a rubric with specific facilitation items to observe. Then have the observer debrief you afterwards.

Listen to the room... throughout the process. It's alive and needs to adapt as it unfolds. I don't stick to "my" agenda as initially set. I lean into the room's movement and then adapt accordingly. I also ask for informal feedback at the end of each day; share reflections on the next day and do a formal feedback survey at the end

In my experience asking for feedback in advance to get good quality input is a huge unlock. Let's say you have worked hard on your body language or on eye contact or removing your filler words. Inform a co-facilitator, an observer, a learner or even the whole group (where suitable) that you will be actively asking them for their feedback and one element you are particularly curious to hear about is "X". This vulnerable action demonstrates others that you truly care about their feedback and also take it on board to further develop. On top of that, it confirms to others that continuous development and improvement is critical to you.

- If I'm co-facilitating then we debrief. - If I'm facilitating alone I always reflect by asking myself "what happened and how could it have been better?" I often ruminate on this for days. - Always have a follow up and debrief meeting with clients and ask them the above question. - Survey participants - although I never use a happy sheet as all they measures is immediate satisfaction and sadly what people thought of the food, venue, aircon etc, and less about the more challenging aspects of the event. - Peer supervision. If the situation was challenging and I often seek a debrief discussion with facilitator colleagues whose insights I value - A "Facilitator's Dilemma" session where others help unpack the complexities and options

Feedback is important. How we act on the feedback is vital. As a Learning and Development professional, we also need to invest in our own development. Attending PD events and reading books are great, but to me as a solo practitioner, one of the vital components of growing and developing is having a positive professional network community. We meet every Friday (if available) online and we are there to grow each other. It is extraordinary and a vital part of my week.

I recommend that persons join professsional networks such as the International Association of Facilitators (IAF). These networks are great for peer exchange and sharing of resources.

There are often free workshops and facilitated events that can be joined for free, especially on platforms like LinkedIn and in several communities. Joining as a participant, you can involve yourself in different activities and more. Even "only" as a participant, you can learn a lot by observing the facilitator and asking questions. Moreover, as a participant, you experience the effect of different tools, techniques, and methods firsthand. This gives you a feel for what might work when you facilitate your own workshops. #facilitation #collaboration

Find community. Most communities are incredibly generous with their time and resources. And you’ll get as much as you give, so lean in!

Put one twist into at least one activity every time you facilitate. If you normally do it in pairs, have them write down their ideas on their own the first time. If you normally use sticky notes on the wall, give them A4 / legal sized cards to throw on the floor and kick around into groups. By changing one thing each time we facilitate we explore the edge of our practice and either find new novelty that is valuable, or we learn an approach that perhaps doesn't work as well.

Doing helps you get further. ? Test things out — everything is a prototype. ? Seek out for communities that have spaces for you to test ideas with like minded people, get your feedback on the spot. ? Be open to enhancing your approaches based on your experimentation and what comes of it. ? Mix it up, try different ways to do the same thing, see what works best. ? Keep track of what you try and when, and what the reactions were, use this to power your next experiences.

Pour améliorer ses techniques d'animation, un formateur peut s'appuyer sur des points clés tels que l'annonce des objectifs, du déroulé de la séance et l'annonce de l'évaluation à l'issue de celle-ci. L'articulation des séquences est également à prendre en considération. Mais en tant qu'animateur, le formateur doit aussi gérer le groupe et les échanges à l'intérieur de celui-ci. Il doit favoriser la communication, la collaboration et la production tout en étant garant des différents points de vue. Le message du formateur doit être source d'apprentissage, et ce dernier doit en vérifier l'ancrage auprès de ses apprenants et valoriser ceux-ci afin de les impliquer davantage dans le processus formatif.

To elevate your facilitator skills, actively seek out opportunities to facilitate diverse projects. Engage in role-playing scenarios, simulate workshops, or collaborate with colleagues to replicate real-world situations. Embrace feedback, both from participants and peers, as it provides valuable insights for improvement. Additionally, leverage online platforms or community groups to share experiences, exchange ideas, and gain exposure to varied facilitation styles. By purposefully integrating experimentation into your facilitation journey, you not only hone your existing skills but also cultivate an adaptive and innovative mindset essential for effective facilitation in any setting.

My esteemed teacher, Alex Mandossian, who is known as the Warren Buffett of Internet Marketing, once imparted a profound wisdom: "Experience is not merely a valuable teacher... it is the sole instructor!" . Hence, it's imperative to understand that practice alone does not breed perfection but fosters permanence. Consistent practice, fueled by curiosity and creativity in experimenting with novel concepts, not only yields new insights but also enhances the effectiveness of your facilitation work with each endeavor.

Join a community of practice and read books written by other facilitators. One of my favourites is "From the Front of the Room" by @Dan Newman

For several years, I have created a project document for every facilitation job. The document was a comprehensive guide, a kind of 'making of...' where I included all the essential session design information, context, objectives, participants, key questions, environment checklists, team profiles, budget... everything. The document allowed me to easily share the project status with new staff members, but it also provided me with a couple of valuable services: 1) It bolstered my confidence in managing the project, giving me greater self-confidence. After all, if it was documented, it was under control. 2) It provided me with an opportunity to review the journey after completing it and reflect about it.

In a recent short facilitation, I had to shift gears and adapt about halfway through. I had misjudged the response of my audience to the activities I was using to meet our objectives. Once it was clear to me that they really needed to take a conversation in a different direction I stepped back and simply facilitated the engagement of the whole group and took notes to clarify the outcomes. It was a little nerve-racking But ultimately satisfying but I was able to still support the meeting of those objectives in a different way. Adapting and being flexible is critical over time and in the moment!

Invite colleagues whose opinions you value to your rooms. Have them play a support role and debrief with you after the session. Other people help us think. Ask them what they were struck by. Not what they liked / didn't like. "I noticed you did or didn't do something at a certain point in the day, and I wondered why?"

After delivering content I've found it helpful to look at the activities I've delivered and try to find ways of making them more engaging. Considering the audience, the classroom and even training tools on hand can inspire different ways of approaching activities. After delivering some courses I've stepped back in future sessions and took more of a guide on the side stance when facilitating a class with experienced learners. I allowed them to share their stories and experiences making the activities much more relevant all the while driving the discussion towards the learning objectives as each learner shared their experiences.

A useful discipline for professional facilitators is to "sit in the participant chairs" regularly. Go to classes, at the gym, at evening college. The body corporate meeting in your apartment block. The local kid sports club. Experience the feelings as a participant of good and bad facilitation, clear or confusing instructions, warm or cold rapport in the room, handling time well or badly. Those felt sensations remind us as facilitators how off-putting it can be for participants. It keeps us sharp about the in-room experience we give to our groups. And it reminds us of the importance of good basics done well beats any fancy framework, tool, trick, or technique.

It's common for facilitators to get into a pattern of repeating the methods and tools that they are most comfortable with. If you reach for the same activities every time, try going without them for a bit and see what happens. Even if you return to them, you may find a new appreciation for them and may use them in more nuanced ways.

In my experience, incorporating personal stories and examples when explaining theories or concepts really helps bring it life and allows for the room/audience to feel comfortable with you.

Sounds deceptively simple... Be a Learner. Often I've focused on doing facilitation - the exercises, tools and techniques - and have forgotten who I am Being. Certainly it is important to prepare and to have good skill and ability, and all the outstanding facilitators I've witnessed it is about who they are and the space of permission they create in the room. Being willing to learn about oneself, question assumptions, attitudes and perceptions is the best way I know how to develop as a facilitator. Part of this is learning from the people in the room with me - the participants and if I have co-facilitators. I've grown to appreciate each person's unique value and can approach sessions with curiosity and interest as a result.

It can be easy to focus on yourself when facilitating - trying to remember to mention salient talking points, trying to stay within the allotted time, or trying to recall participant's names and roles. But - if you can - try to reframe facilitation from your learner's perspective. How can you share information so that it is easily digestible and memorable for them? How can you make the session interactive and personalized for them? How can you make it easy for them to put their new knowledge or skill into practice?