CONTENT (over the 4 days)

9. Presence and leadership style

Authority, self confidence and what gets in the way. This is built upon the facilitator developing a greater awareness of their style, a process that is supported by feedback from others members of the group.

10. Climate setting in the group

Setting up and maintaining the appropriate culture of safety, honesty and constructive communication. Understanding the purpose, background and importance of unconditional positive regard.

11. Use of your self

The essential use of the facilitator’s own responses and reactions to what is happening in the group, looking at what to share and how and when to share it.

12. Observation skills

How and what to observe. Working with the three essential underlying aspects of observation and compiling checklists.

13. Feedback

The purpose and effect of giving feedback to both individuals and the group as a whole.

14. Working with emotions

Understanding and working with the emotional energy in groups. Why it is necessary and how to incorporate it constructively.

15. Group dynamics

Exploring the issues of group dynamics, identifying them and what they may signify. Gaining confidence in working with them.

16. Constructive confronting

What issues might the facilitator need to confront and how to go about it constructively. Why it is necessary and helpful to actively highlight obstacles to group and individual progress.

17. Meaning

How to work with participants as a facilitator to help make sense of their experiences and thoughts, both during and at the end of sessions.

18. Common concerns

The common concerns that facilitators experience are often centred around difficult people and challenging situations. Together we will look into what these are and how to work with them.

1. Theoretical basis

Humanistic psychology, specifically the client-centred approach of Carl Rogers and John Heron’s model of facilitation. The programme also incorporates a number of other useful perspectives on individuals and groups.

2. Principal assumptions

A commitment to pay attention to process and content whilst developing an awareness of self, others and group.

3. The range of facilitation

Exploration of the full spectrum of facilitation, from core (where task is paramount) to developmental (where learning is the main focus).

4. The four stages of facilitation

1. Meeting the client and contracting.

2. Designing the best structure to achieve the desired outcomes.

3. Running the face to face event.

4. The follow-up actions and outcomes.

5. Planning

A key skill, often overlooked, that requires both competence and confidence from the facilitator. It is one of the primary tasks during the first meeting with the client and is critical to the contracting process. The programme breaks this process down into specific skills and practices them.

6. The use of structure

How to appropriately and consciously structure the group experience through the use of basic structures such as; group size, layout and shape, timings, physical space, icebreakers, etc.

The three stages of selecting, planning and managing structures are explored.

7. Tools and techniques

Using and running a range of these to build up a toolkit. Exploring what they are, how they work and how to choose the most appropriate ones.

8. How to actually facilitate

This is about the reality of being present and making spoken interventions. The course looks at the experience of being the facilitator and the appropriate interpersonal skills when facilitating. Amongst other discussion management techniques, these include; listening, summarising and questioning along with observing and giving feedback based on your observations, to both individuals and groups.

I have retired. I am leaving the website up as a resource until the end of 2022.