The most visible part of facilitation is using different methods, templates, and activities in meetings and workshops. As a facilitator, it’s important to remember that even the most exciting tools might not work if you haven’t figured out the goals and don’t know your participants.
The facilitation methods are usually structures for thinking, discussion, and activities. They guide the participants through a creative process or help people voice their thoughts. The best way to understand which methods are suitable for your facilitation toolbox is to try them out as a participant and reflect on your own experience. As a facilitator, guiding the participants through an activity you’ve participated in yourself is easier. You also get a better understanding of the purpose of the activity when you’ve participated in it yourself.
Start building your own facilitation toolbox.
List the exercises and tools that you already know.
Write down what goal the tools are suitable for and what kind of results you will get using them.
Update your toolbox when you find a new exercise, canvas, or practice to work with.
Download a template for the toolbox here.
It’s also important to acknowledge that some people might resist participating in some activities. Bad experiences from situations where the methods haven’t felt appropriate might have created a feeling that facilitation is pointless. As a facilitator, you should always choose suitable methods and tools for the situation and help the participants understand why they’re being used.
The different types of methods can be divided into two categories:
Methods for thinking
Methods for discussions
Methods for thinking include asking good questions, using templates that guide the participants through phases of a creative process, or doing exercises that help participants to think in different ways. Sometimes asking a good question can be enough for people to start the collaborative process. Sometimes it’s good to have a thought-out structure that people go through. For example, a business model canvas could be used as a structure for collaboration.
The business model canvas
The business model canvas was invented by Alex Osterwalder of Strategyzer. If you are familiar with the collaboration tool Miro you can try the canvas template here.
Sometimes reaching the goal requires creative thinking or help to analyze something from different perspectives. In that case, the methods for thinking might include activities that help achieve the wanted mindset. You might have heard about Lego Serious Play or using arts-based approaches to access creativity. Or perhaps you’ve used a Fishbone Analysis tool to get to the root of the problem.
Lego® Serious Play®
Lego® Serious Play® (pdf) is a facilitated problem-solving and decision-making method that uses Lego building blocks as a tool for visualizing and communicating ideas. Participants build models with Lego bricks to express their thoughts, emotions, and ideas – and then use these models as a starting point for group discussions and problem-solving sessions. The approach is designed to stimulate creativity and encourage participants to think outside the box, leading to innovative solutions and enhanced teamwork.
Fishbone Analysis
Fishbone Analysis, also known as the Ishikawa Diagram or Cause-and-Effect Diagram, is a visual tool used to identify a problem's root cause. It’s often used in quality control and process improvement to identify the possible factors contributing to an issue. The fishbone diagram is shaped like a fish skeleton and has the problem being analyzed at the head and the possible causes branching out from the backbone like bones. Each bone represents a category of causes, and sub-causes are added to the bones in smaller branches. This structure allows for a systematic examination of the potential causes and helps identify the most likely root cause of the problem. Fishbone Analysis in the IAF Library.
Methods for discussions include pair or group discussions and dialogue elements that you can use for sharing thoughts and ideas. Dialogue is a useful tool for better understanding the subject matter. It’s also an important tool for creating shared knowledge, which you’ll learn more about in Chapter 5.
When you start to improve your facilitation skills, begin with small changes. Try out new methods in moderation and remember to always choose activities that help the participants achieve the goal. And remember, the same tools don’t always work in different situations. Even when you’re excited about a new tool, keep the goal and the participants in mind.
In chapter one we learned that:
Facilitation starts with setting goals, defining the desired outcomes, and getting to know the participants.
You may take the role of a facilitator even if your current work role is different from it. Pay attention to your relationship with the content: in the facilitator’s role, you distance yourself from it.
A participatory approach focuses on the experiences of the participants. Get to know the participants before planning the workshop or the meeting. What is the knowledge level of the participants and how much experience do they have with participatory collaboration?
Facilitation relies on different methods for thinking, discussions, and activities. Always use methods that are related to your goal and suitable for the participants.