Facilitation anchor grid
“Facilitation is the art of unlocking the power of a group through dialogue and the pursuit of clarity, engaging active participation and embracing the richness of diverse perspectives. Through facilitation the multi-faceted potential of a team is released.” - Definition by the International Association of Facilitators
The terms “facilitate” and “facilitation” were derived from the Latin word facilis (“easy”), which in turn comes from the verb facere (“to do”). In essence, a facilitator makes a process, an event, or an activity easier for the participants. She is the “master of ceremony”, who conducts the groups’ discussions and decision-making. The facilitator does not, however, try to influence or to judge these decisions actively. She remains neutral at all times. Rather than consisting solely in knowledge and skills, facilitation is essentially an attitude. Facilitation happens (at least) on three different levels: people, space, and process.
The following text is an adapted version from the euforia Facilitation handbook (pp. 5-8), originally written by Arne Reis
Process
Space Facilitation
Setting: Creating the right kind of setting can make or break a session. Important factors to consider in this area include, among others, the setup of the room (Where is the stage? Which spaces do you create in the room?), and the seating order (circle, semicircle(s), theater style etc.). Remember that everything you do has an impact on the dynamics of the group, e.g. having people sit behind tables can be a physical barrier to openness and spontaneous discussions. There are also very subtle elements that can have a big influence, such as putting objects in the space that foster creativity (eg. play dough, drawing/sketching material, musical instruments) or displaying books are putting quotes on the wall.
Environmental factors: Factors such as light, sound, and temperature can greatly influence a session. As facilitator, you need to take into account that a noisy area (e.g. loud music or a construction site next to your meeting room) is disruptive and distracting for your participants. The same goes for light and air. A place with no or little daylight and stuffy air easily gets people tired, so that their concentration and the “smoothness” of the meeting will inevitably decrease. A good facilitator takes this into account and integrates regular breaks, opens the windows, and offers participants the chance to go out of the room/building for a while.
Ask yourself the question which environment (eg. exposure to nature) provides the best learning atmosphere for your training process.
People Facilitation
Emotions: As a facilitator, you work with people. People’s behavior is always determined by their emotions, even if they display a very rational approach on the outside. To begin with, it is very important that you are aware of and can manage your own emotions (hello inner work) before and during a session. There a different techniques that can help you in achieving a balanced state of mind in order to facilitate effectively, such as taking a few deep breaths outside or listening to your favorite music just before the session. Next to that, be aware of the emotions among your participants. Are they skeptical? Excited? Tired? Don’t be afraid to intervene, e.g. by asking if they need a break or an energizer when you feel that the energy in the group is low or even changing the program to adapt it to the needs of the group. At the same time, don’t get scared if people look serious during your presentation. This is very normal, and often it’s actually a sign that they are really focused on your explanations. Often there is a wide array of emotions in the field which influence the atmosphere in the room. This is completely normal and can be integrated in a participative design.
Relations: Relations are one of the challenging factors a facilitator has to deal with. There are relations (professional and/or private) between the different people in the workshop, but also the relations of the participants towards the topic and the facilitator plays an important role. As a guiding question when planning the workshop, you can ask yourself “How near/ far are they to/from each other, the topic, and me?” An important facilitation guideline is called “Community-building first, decision-making second”. This suggests that you spend enough time on building trust by introducing participants to each other, to the topic, and to you before you really start working on concrete topics.
Involvement: The facilitator needs to pay attention to the involvement of all the participants in a meeting. Body language often shows if someone is involved (in) or not involved (out). You have many different options to engage your participants: you can ask them for their opinion, do an energizer with them, ask them to talk to their neighbors, or work in small groups on a task they have to present afterwards. Make sure you vary the ways you involve participants so that your program doesn’t get too predictable.
Process Facilitation
Managing information: As facilitator, you constantly provide the group with information. It is important that this information is always clear and concise, so that every participant can easily understand it. For example, at the beginning of a training you should make sure all participants know the schedule, the goals and other practical details of the event. Regarding the training content you share with the group, it is crucial that it is relevant for the participants, it is delivered in a structured way (i.e. each block builds on the previous one), and visualized (the group will retain much more if you have a flipchart or presentation that shows what you are talking about). You can also vary the way that information is introduced by respecting different learning types and forms of intelligence (practical learning, emotional learning, cognitive learning)
Managing operations: This means that you free up participants’ attention and energy to work on the tasks at hand by ensuring that all the necessary workshop materials are available, that snacks and drinks are provided or easy to come by, and that the program runs smoothly according to schedule (time management).
Personal experience
The facilitation anchor grid is a very helpful tool to get off the ground with facilitation and shows the complexity of the task. It provides a good overview of the different dimensions that need to be taken into account to be a good facilitator, like a checklist. However, like all tools, it is just a tool and the art lies in its application. In other words, good facilitation is a craft that needs to be practiced. For example, only being aware of emotions doesn’t really help you as a facilitator, you need to be able to (re)act on it.
In short, good facilitation for me is to provide the best possible learning experience for your group. This is very context and people specific, which means that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Rather, it is good to have a good understanding of the needs and contextualization of your intervention and to prepare accordingly. The best plan in the world, however, doesn’t prepare you for all the unforeseen things that will come up. This means that you also need to be flexible to adapt your plan to the situation.
Sources and Further literature
Severin von Hünerbein is in charge of the design and facilitation of collaboratio helvetica’s Catalyst Lab, a learning and design process created to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Switzerland. He started his career in training and facilitation with euforia in 2010. After graduating from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), he has been determined to bring social innovation to the business world through creating brave spaces that allow a diverse group of people who would usually not meet to find new forms of collaboration, dream together and to co-create innovative and sustainable solutions for systemic change. He is decorated with a MA degree in International Affairs and with a mind full of jokes, joie-de-vivre, and patience.