How do you balance rapport and trust with professionalism and authority as a facilitator?

In my experience, listening carefully is vitally important --- being more in tune about "their concerns" rather than what might be in your presentation. Pivoting to talk about what is on their mind will lead to much better results. Getting to know your audience prior to speaking is important for me. Attending the conference or at least a session or two before your presentation puts my mind at ease rather than going in "cold".

I do not consider authority as a component of my work with teams. In my practice as a facilitator, I invite participants to have a conversation. I ask them what they need from me and l provide the elements of the social construct l feel would be useful to work together. I create the space for teams to respond to the suggested construct and encourage open communication. I do initiate facilitation with expectations, rather l let team lead the conversation and determine next steps. My role is to be curious, ask questions, clarify as required and ensure everyone can contribute that are meaningful to them. I also “unpack” the impact of assumptions, biases and perceptions and provide relevant examples how these elements impact our work in teams.

As a seasoned facilitator, this is one of the most important aspects when preparing to facilitate any course. A great understanding of who your audience is will allow you to plan applicable activities and learning materials that will be impactful to your learners. Participants will feel safe and open enough to share their thoughts throughout the training.

In a business setting, plan for participants to have other things on their mind when they arrive for the session, and create space in which you invite participants to slow down from whatever was happening before the session and arrive in the present moment so they can participate fully. I find this helps more than 'rules', and usually avoids the need to be an enforcer of anything. Plus, plan breaks more regularly than the typical work day and limit the length of the session. This enables human beings to bring the best of themselves because they're comfortable and can focus.

Summarizing what you’re hearing from the group at frequent intervals really helps. “It sounds like many of you are feeling frustrated by the new policy for this and this reason” will do a lot to build trust that you are in it for them, rather than yourself, the original person who hired you or the larger company. And listening ends up helping all those stakeholders anyway! It was an important lesson for me that listening is not the same as agreement, but it still helps align groups and builds relationships.

A really strong facilitator makes it about the people in the room rather than about pushing an agenda. By allowing space for sharing, inviting everyone to use their own discernment to process through and/or challenge what is being explored, and to use the conversation to elevate the curriculum, you create an environment that gives people permission to fully engage in their own way. Drawing someone to their own awareness by asking questions, reiterating, and spotlighting powerful insights encourages learning that sticks. Seeing yourself as the professional guide rather than the know-it-all makes it easier to develop rapport, trust, and space for vulnerability.

- Think carefully about making communication and activities fully inclusive - it can be really easy to design for one's own preferences, capabilities and neurotypes however we can safely assume that any group will contain a diverse range of participants and need to consider this when planning activities.

Authenticity is a connector between rapport and professionalism. Being consistently "you" helps others relate to you and helps you create trust in others.