The MoveOn Council Network

Agenda Overview: 1 hour training

1. Introduction: Goals, review agenda, brainstorm facilitator role (5 min)
   
2. Experience in the room (15 min)
   
3. Principles of good facilitation (15 min)
4. Handling Challenging Dynamics (20 min)
5. Debrief (5 min)

• Goals of this training
• Outline facilitating roles
• Provide framework and tips for good facilitation
• Practice good facilitation
  


• What is a facilitator? What facilitation skills would you like to work on in this section?


• Outline a Facilitator's Basic Responsibilities

1. Understand goals of the meeting and the organization
2. Keep the group on agenda and moving forward
3. Involve everyone in the meeting
4. Make sure decisions are made with as many voices in the mix as possible

• Intro-
  
• We have a lot of experience in the room. Raise your hand if you have ever lead a meeting or training before?
• Ask for people to give a brief description of their experience.
• We have a lot of wisdom here. Bring it! Share it!
• Also, for some of us, we are facilitating in a new context- organizing! MoveOn! so we all have something to teach and something to learn.


• Individual Writing Exercise-
  
• Everyone take out a sheet of paper and a writing utensil.
• Sit quietly and think about a really great / effective meeting you have attended. What made it so great/ effective?
• What was it like to be aparticipant in that situations? What was the facilitator doing? What formats or activities were used in the meeting?
• Now take a moment and think about a terrible/ least effective meeting you've been to. Ask yourself those same questions.
• Take a few minutes to write down your thoughts to compare and contrast those two experiences.


• Big group Discussion-
  
• Ask for a scribe
• Review the Questions on butcher block paper:
• Describe the most effective experiences. What was the facilitator doing?
  
• Describe the least effective experiences. What was the facilitator doing?
  

• Review each one topline principle (From Hand Out: Facilitation: Principles and Tips) and then ask the group to describe and come up with tips through a brainstorm from a group (Write on butcher paper)
  
• Flesh out each one using bullet points from hand out just in case the points don't get covered (Pass out hand-out)
  

1. Prepare beforehand -


• Materials ready

• Room set-up
• Know agenda
• Understand goals of the meeting and the organization

2. Set ground rules/norms -


• Keeps the group focused on task and process.
• Remains as objective as possible
• Is an informed guide helping the group to chart its course and accomplish its goals;
• Post on the wall
• Post butcher paper pg on wall for non-agenda items (parking lot) so they don't get los

3. Share and delegate roles -


• A facilitator is neither a content expert nor a lecturer- the facilitator should be a flexible resource to be utilized by the group.
• A facilitator helps participants in the discussion to interact with each other, gain new information, and build upon their experience.
• Listens more than talks
• Adapts to various speaking styles
• Encourages everyone to participate while remembering that individuals participate in different ways. Some may talk only in small groups, but they are still participating. Others may wish to talk constantly and may be contributing little.

4. Stick to the agenda -


• The facilitator guides a process which will help participants to reach their stated goals and objectives within the time allotted.
• Recaps, occasionally, what has happened in the discussion and helps group to make connections between issues.
• Is sensitive to the societal dynamics that play out within the room regarding class, gender, race, sexuality, and any other socialization
• Refers to the agenda to bring folks on task or reign them in
• Ask if anything else that needs to be on the agenda.
  


• Review: Tips/Things to keep in mind -
  
• Be alert to signs of confusion (puzzled or frustrated looks, people asking neighbors questions, resistance, etc.)--read non-verbal behavior
• Review pieces of information or issues which are causing confusion if several individuals are having difficulty.
• When you ask a question, allow group members time to think before answering. You might slowly count to 10. This may seem like a long time and silence may feel uncomfortable, but allowing participants time to think is essential if you want thoughtful answers; it will also give those who do not always immediately raise their hands time to do so.
• A main role of the facilitator is setting the initial mood or climate of the group.
• The facilitator accepts both the intellectual content and the emotionalized attitudes within the group and tries to balance emphasis on these aspects.
• The facilitator may share opinions with the group, once the acceptable climate has been established, but must do so in ways which do not demand nor impose but represent simply a personal sharing which group members may take or leave. The facilitator has been empowered to facilitate the discussion, however, so it is best to refrain from taking up too much space in the discussion.
• Throughout the group experience, the facilitator remains alert to expressions that indicate deep or strong feelings.
• The facilitator should recognize and accept personal limitations- if you are not sure what to do next, ask the group


• Review: Techniques for structuring discussions:
• Taking stack:
• Establish that everyone should raise their hands if they want to speak and keep a list of these people in the order that they indicated their desire to speak. Nod to people to let them know that you have them on stack and that they should put their hands down.
• Progressive stack
• When taking stack, prioritize those who have not spoken as much and move them forward in the stack. Establish this at the beginning of the discussion so that people are clear on what is going on.
• Write down the names on the stack.
• Changing format for different kinds of communicators - People do not engage within group conversations the same way- there are those who will not speak up and those who will dominate the conversation-
  
• Pair and share
• Some people like to share in smaller groups. a small group break out or pair and share is a great way to get more voices in the mix.
  
• Go-around:
  
• A cycle around the room during which each person gets to address a specific question or issue and share their thoughts/feelings on it within a set amount of time (i.e. 2 minutes).
• a go-around is a good way to create a little space within the discussion during which everyone can share. You can do a “non-circular” go-around- this means that everyone in the room speaks once, but not necessarily in a pre-determined order. This way, people can speak when something has stimulated them.

• Handout challenging dynamic worksheet, read over for 2-3 min
  
• Set up Small group Role plays
• Hand out simple 5 minute meeting agenda item (should model a basic organizing meeting agenda item).
• Each group will chose someone to practice role playing facilitating this meeting agenda item, facing one of the challenging dynamics
• In all, about 3 people will get to role play 3 different challenging dynamics
  
• After each role play, ask the role playing facilitator what it felt like, what worked, what was challenging
  
• Then open it up to other people for feedback- make sure to start with positives, dig for specific feedback and ideas for what the trainer could have done differently
• Get any clarifying Questions/comments before breaking out into small groups
  
• Split into 3-4 small groups and have 15min for roleplays.

• Key take aways?
• What was great?
• What could have been better?
• What skills do people still want to work on?