Interpersonal and technical facilitation skills
Published on: 23/11/2011
From: Potter, A (2008), Training Social Animators, Mvula Trust South Africa for Government of Mozambique.
Clarifying – Checking whether you have understood correctly and probing for more information. For example, “it sounds like you’re saying…?” Clarifying always has an implicit question mark (?) at the end of the sentence. Leading through asking questions rather than giving facts creates understanding and gives learners an opportunity to discover things for themselves. Questions are more useful if they open up participation and discussion. It is therefore best to ask open questions that stimulate participation rather than closed questions that close participation down. For example, closed questions ask for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ type answers, while open questions ask for further information - ” could you tell me more about…”.
Consensus testing – Checking with the learners how much agreement has been reached or how near they are to a conclusion. For example, “I think we have reached agreement on this. How do others feel?”
Encouraging – Being warm, friendly and responsive to learners and their contributions, showing regard for them by giving them an opportunity for recognition. Acknowledge and appreciate the inputs and contributions from all learners and really listen to what they are saying.
Expressing group feelings – Sensing feelings, moods, and relationships in the group and sharing your perceptions with them. For example, “It looks like we all need a short break.”
Gate keeping – Attempting to keep communication channels open; facilitating the participation of as many people as possible. For example, “Sipho has been trying to say something for quite a while. Let’s listen to him”. This skill is also referred to as ‘blocking’ and ‘opening’, where the facilitator gently blocks more dominant learners and opens the way for less talkative learners. This ensures that all learners are given an opportunity to contribute and learn and ask questions.
Gate keeping is also a useful skill for off-the-topic questions or points. Capture the point and refer it to an appropriate place or resource, or suggest that the participant discuss it with an appropriate person during a break. Gate keeping is a bit like being a referee.
Giving information – Communicating facts, information or clarification. Giving information is most effective when there is a demand for it from the learners.
Harmonising – Attempting to reconcile disagreements; reducing tension; getting people to explore differences constructively. For example “maybe it would be a good idea to talk one at a time and give everybody a chance to say what they think.”
Opening up – Facilitators do not need to know all the answers to all the questions that may be raised – use your team of resource people and the learners to contribute their ideas and knowledge to the questions raised.
Opinion seeking – Asking for suggestions or ideas. For example “Tebogo has suggested that we come back to this later, what do others think?”
Relieving tension – By bringing the tension out into the open, putting a problem in a wider context, or using appropriate humour. This is also important for energising the group.
Summarising – Pulling together related ideas; concluding a section; pulling together the important elements of a discussion.
Use of language – Use simple, accessible language that is appropriate to the group of learners. If there is a need for translation, use it.
In summary, effective facilitation is about building good working relationships with and within groups of learners.
Time management – It is the facilitator’s responsibility to ensure that the time available for each activity or session is used well and for the benefit of the whole group. This implies the need to gauge the learners’ needs and manage limits.
Writing up/ capturing skills (e.g. using the flipchart or board, etc) – Facilitators are often best placed to do this as it shows the learners that their point has been heard, plus its a useful tool for managing discussion, keeping it on track and preventing repetition of the same point. If you want support, ask one of the team to note ideas on the flipchart.
Giving clear instructions – Where there are instructions or specific questions for discussion, it may be useful to write these up for all to see. It is important that they are clear. Give thought to how you will break a large group into smaller groups before it comes to breakaway sessions, as this saves time and ensures clarity.
Positioning the environment – Seating arrangements and positioning of equipment in the room is an important part of facilitating participation and ensuring that all the learners in the room can see audio visual projections, flipcharts, and so on.
Preparing or using appropriate and effective materials – This is crucial for ensuring meaningful participation and for achieving the objectives of sessions.
