Facilitation Skills Training Course (£1450 total for this 2-day course for a group of 4-10 participants)

Description

This highly participative 2‐day intensive training course focuses on developing the essential skills required for group facilitation in the workplace setting. The course focuses on all the process of group facilitation essential for today’s fast paced and ever changing workplace.

A facilitator is someone who uses knowledge of group processes to formulate and deliver the needed structure for meeting interactions to be effective. A facilitator focuses on effective processes (meeting dynamics) allowing the participants to focus on the content or the substance of their work together.

This seminar will enable the participants to:

• Facilitate and host meetings so that the real issues are reached quickly and fairly
• Apply smart neutrality to focus all the different views in the room and organise them into a
• coherent whole
• Understand the context and dynamics from which specific issues arise – particularly in the oil
• & gas sector
• Develop skills in practical communication that opens up the possibility for change

Objectives

By the end of the programme, participants will:

• Learn about key competencies and tools of facilitation
• Describe the main factors of group dynamics
• Understand how to stimulate group participation and positively handle conflict
• Know about the design of meetings for maximum knowledge transfer
• Learn to deal with difficult participants of all types
• Receive valuable coaching and feedback on own communication style

Training Methodology

Dynamic presentations support each of the topics together with interactive trainer lead sessions of discussion. There will also be numerous practical sessions where participants have the opportunity to participate and experience topics taught. Case studies, DVD’s, small group work, exercises and coaching will be used to facilitate learning.

Who Should Attend?

• All staff who need to facilitate meetings and events

Course Outline

Day 1 – Key Competencies and Tools of Facilitation

• Group facilitation techniques and methods
• Role of facilitator versus leader
• An analysis of poor meetings
• Running effective meetings
• How to choose the appropriate meeting role: Chair (Leader), Administrator, Facilitator and Participant
• Active listening, clarifying, questioning to manage meeting behaviour and contributions
• Your facilitators' toolbox
  • Icebreakers
  • Seatingdynamicsand‘bodylanguage’ o Venueandset‐up
• Cross cultural communication and meetings
• Assessing your personal communication style

Day 2 – Understanding Group Dynamics, Conflict & Decision Making

• Group dynamics
• Stages of group development
• Decision making techniques
  • Brainstorming o PMI
  • Sixthinkinghats o Gridanalysis
  • Nominalgrouptechnique o Delphi
  • Force‐fieldanalysis
• Reaching Consensus
• Avoiding Groupthink ‐ avoiding fatal flaws in group decision‐making
• Handling group conflict
• Working with difficult people
• Evaluating facilitation