Facilitation guide
Trouble shooting
One of the things that is most interesting and challenging about facilitating is, what to do when things go off topic or something unexpected happens.
Having some tips that you can access during your session might help you feel more confident even if you do not use them.
Tips on ‘what you could say when’:
People are confused or when you do not know if people have understood, which is most of the time when you’re working remotely:
Is there anything I can make clearer for you?
Always assume someone hasn’t understood.
Try to avoid saying: “Does that make sense?” and “Is that okay?”
It can make people think that you doubt whether it makes sense or is okay. They may also not want to say that they do not understand.
If you don’t know what someone means:
“Can you tell me more about that..”
If someone has skipped ahead to a different activity:
“We’re looking at x activity now and will move onto y in a few minutes.”
If you’re working remotely, you can also use the Miro tool to “bring everyone to me” if you feel like people are lost on the board. See resources.
If someone is talking too much:
“Does everyone agree with that or think something different?”
“What does everyone else think?”
“That’s an interesting point. Would anyone like to respond?”
if they're off point:
“Can we park that there...”
if they're on point:
“Would anyone like to respond?”
Try to find a way to interject. Often this means waiting for a pause. This takes practice.
If someone hasn’t talked at all?
“has anyone else got anything new or different to add?”
“In a few minutes we’re going to talk about x. I’ll ask two of you to say what they think.”
This helps people to prepare to say something.
If someone throws in a question or comment that takes you completely off topic because they have something they want to talk through:
“We’re starting to go down a different route and talk about a different topic. Do you want to explore that or do you want to carry on with what we were working today?”
If you start to go round in circles:
“I feel like we’ve exhausted this, shall we move on or has anyone got anything new or different add?”
“Has anyone got anything to add that will help the group move on?”
This way if anyone adds anything it will add value and if not, you can move on.
Next section of the facilitation guide
Go to practical things to do after a workshop.