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The Facilitator
As the facilitator, you lead and help people through the workshop. Unlike a teacher, your role is not necessarily to teach, but rather to create a frame for other people to use. You are their tool to help them shine.
Five important characteristics
1. Observe & actively listen
2. Structured, yet flexible
3. Sense the space & peoples’ energy levels
4. Clear & pedagogical
5. Set a frame
Roles as a facilitator & workshop designer
Below are roles involved in planning and running workshops. Some facilitators do it all (by themselves). Some have big teams where people become specialists in one or a few things.
Preparation
Learning designer
Designing learning experiences. Especially letting the workshop be a part of a larger whole as a course or program.
Event organizer
Organizing the whole event.
Exercise designer
Creating new or modifying old exercises to fit the workshop.
Designer
Designing event logotype, posters, roll-ups and signs.
Tool designer
This could be cards, canvases and artefacts used in the workshop.
Just before the workshop
Event tech
Setting up and connecting screens, projectors, computers & light.
Sound engineer
Get microphones, speakers & sound system to work together.
Host
Welcoming participants, taking care of VIP guests and making people feel comfortable.
In the workshop
Teacher & Educator
Explaning facts, happenings and patterns.
Storyteller
Telling appealing stories.
Instructor
Give participants clear instructions how to do the exercise(s).
Stand-up comedian
Entertain the participants
Time keeper
Keep and manage time.
Thinker
Help people think and reflect.
Summarizer
Summarize what happened in the session and draw conclusions from that.
Hype master
Get the participants excited and hyped up.
Graphic facilitator
Draw and summarize discussions.
Moderator
Help everyone get a say and distribute the word.
Keynote lecturer
Introduce and lecture about topics, theory and projects.
Mentor / Coach
Help people get forward, give feedback and ask questions that help them get forward.
After the workshop
Cleaner
Helping people to focus on their task by taking care of coffee cups and trash.
Documentation
Summarizing and processing what happened during the workshop.
Strategist
Seeing patterns in what came out and how things could go forward.
On a few occations
Therapist
Help people go deeper in reflection.
Conflict mediator
Navigate & handle conflicts between participants or groups in the workshop.
Devil’s advocate
Asking challenging and thought provoking questions.
Chaos handler
Electricity disappeared. “No worries folks, we continue as we did.
Re-designer
Re-design the workshop when the workshop is happening.
Becoming a good facilitator
There are no exact paths for how to become a good facilitator. For you to be authentic you need to find a good match between your personality and how you lead and facilitate others. Most facilitators have one or a few secret weapons. Like humor, storytelling and/or listening. Some facilitators find it easier to get people excited, some are good with getting people to reflect and think. You will have individual challenges depending on who you are.
Establishing credibility & building trust
According to research building credibility is important for participants to not zone out.