by Guila Muir
info@guilamuir.com
Why Facilitation Skills are Important: A different kind of power (more…)
Author: Guila
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Who Cares About Facilitation Skills?
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When Leaders Train: How to Avoid the Pitfalls
by Guila Muir
info@guilamuir.comWhy don’t all leaders make great trainers? Perhaps it’s because they believe that training falls outside their (already large) job descriptions. As a result, leaders often strive to “cover the material” in order to get on with business.
Yet the ability to facilitate learning, not just to cover the material, is an essential leadership skill.
“Acquitting Oneself” vs. Facilitating Learning
To acquit means “to release from duty or obligation;” or to get off the hook. Leaders most often acquit themselves by simply covering the material. They do this by lecturing, even though evidence shows that participants forget 50% of a lecture in just 20 minutes.For leaders who want to competently facilitate learning, I offer these tips.
1. Hook your students.
In the few minutes of class, you must:
- Excite: Demonstrate your own excitement about, and commitment to, your topic.
- Involve: Ask a relevant question to get participants’ hands up, refer to a recent critical incident, or deliver an interactive quiz.
- Inform: State the training’s purpose clearly. Succinctly describe how the participants will benefit from the training.
2. Make it Active.
Include small-group work using case studies, skill practice, or other problem-solving exercises. Honor your participants by supporting interaction.
3. Design a conscious closure.
Always build in several minutes at the end to test participants’ knowledge and skills. This ensures accountability-both your participants’ and your own.Leaders, challenge yourselves to deliver vibrant, compelling learning opportunities. Forget about “acquitting yourself,” and include great training as part of your job description.
© Guila Muir.
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How to Prevent Meetings from Hell
With technology forcing constant change in our workplaces, the true “hot commodity” over the next twenty years will be meaningful, face to face contact. However, that contact must be productive. Increasing facilitation skills – of all employees – is key.Over 80% of my training participants tell me that the number of meetings they must facilitate has increased dramatically over the last two years. “It’s not really in my job description, but with all the team work and collaborative efforts these days, I have to facilitate – and facilitate competently,” said one participant.
A recent article in USA Today estimates that business professionals spend between 25% to 60% of their time in meetings. They report that 50% of that time is unproductive. “So often, people get into a meeting and talk around an issue,” says Beryl Loeb, a consultant in Needham, Mass. “Then they have to meet again.” No wonder meetings are the butt of Dilbert jokes!
Effective facilitation is the key to effective meetings. Anyone who’s participated in a focused, well-facilitated meeting can attest to its results: increased productivity, focus and accountability. The most productive meetings are often also the most enjoyable. Yet most people learn to facilitate meetings by “the seat of their pants” – and end up repeating the same mistakes.
The Importance of Facilitator Development
Building “in-house” facilitation skills is the way to save money on external facilitators, ensure that all meetings are productive and address the demand for increased participation in decision-making. Developing a home-gown cadre of expert facilitators pays off. Over the last three years, the Seattle Police Departments’ Community and Information Services Bureau has trained approximately 250 supervisors, managers and staff in basic and advanced facilitation skills. These facilitators currently facilitate hundreds of more effective meetings – both in the community and in the Department. Social service agencies, city municipalities, corporations, parks and recreation programs and Court Administrators are also benefiting from improved in-house facilitation skills.
Let’s counter the cynicism and low morale bred by badly-run meetings. With the right skills, anyone can facilitate. Consider investing in developing the facilitation skill levels of all your employees!
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Tips for the “Intensified You”
Does this sound like you?
“I’m a fine communicator one-on-one, but put me in front of a group and I just die!” Why is it easier for many of us to present in front of a few people than to a larger audience? Why do many of us believe that some people just “have what it takes” to present effectively, and the rest of us don’t?
The truth is that everyone has the innate gifts to speak in public. True, few may possess the flamboyance of the professional motivational speaker. But I question the value of many of these presentation skills. They can be mechanistically learned and often look mechanical. And although it does matter how you use your hands (avoiding the infamous “figleaf” pose, for example) and how you pitch your voice, the real gift you have to offer is YOU.
The Best Tool of All
Envision for an instant the most compelling speaker you have witnessed. Chances are you felt he or she was 100% authentic, no matter what speaking “style” s/he possessed. This willingness to fully be ourselves in front of a group is both the risk and the gift of truly wonderful speakers.I work with many individuals who never thought of themselves as speakers–whose personalities are naturally introspective or reflective, the opposite of what is popularly thought of as “speaker material.” Yet when these presenters “unpeel” their previous expectations about what a speaker should be or do, they often become the most moving and impressive I have seen.
Three Essential Tips
- Connect.
It’s important to remember that speaking publicly is, to use Lee Glickenstein’s phrase, a relationship event, NOT a performance event. Your audience remembers what you say because you connect with them, not because you are the smartest or most charismatic person in the world. - Don’t speak “to,” speak “with.”
Think of the event as a dialogue or conversation. Look directly at people and share your knowledge with them. - Express yourself.
Remember that your unique style is better than any set of “stage skills.” Be yourself.
But Is “Being Yourself” Really Enough?
All truly compelling presenters use their greatest asset–themselves–to sell their concept and get their message across. All also realize that they can intensify their authentic selves for a more dynamic effect. Don Pfarrer, author of Guerilla Persuasion: Mastering the Art of Effective and Winning Business Presentation, calls this the “Intensified You” persona. It is “a task oriented, turned-on, intensified version of yourself.”
When I work with clients to achieve their own Intensified You personas, I notice their increased confidence and resilience as speakers. This is particularly useful when they deal with jaded or potentially hostile audiences.
4 Elements of The Intensified You
- Subject Mastery
You must know your subject thoroughly AND know the limits of your knowledge. - Steadiness
You must “keep a steady hand on the tiller”–knowing you might need to change course to avoid a hurricane, but not allowing a small squall to deflect you. - Empathy
You must remain sensitive to your audience. If you were a member of your own audience, what would you need to hear? To see? - Candor
Include in your presentation what needs to be there–don’t hide anything. Show you are aware of challenges or problems; then present solutions.
When you remember that the authentic YOU is your most valuable speaking tool, your confidence will increase dramatically!
Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com
© Guila Muir. All rights reserved.
- Connect.
