Workshop Facilitation Skills – “10 Steps to Success”

Workshop Facilitation Skills – “10 Steps to Success”

1.         Workshop v Meeting – know the difference

2.         Setting the objectives

1. SMART definition
2. Engage the stakeholders early
3. Know what success looks like
4. Think “big picture” – what else could we get out of this meeting?
5. Mitigate the worst case

3.         Organising the logistics

1. Invites (placeholders and content)
2. Room booking
3. Travel
4. AV set-up
5. White boards / flip charts
6. Table set-up / seating plan
7. Stationery (pens, post-its)
8. Printing of meeting packs
9. Refreshments
10. Camera

4.         Defining the roles

1. Facilitator
2. Support /Minutes
3. SMEs
4. Plants?
5. Power balance?
6. Make sure people are aware and agree their role!

5.         Preparing the materials

1. Format (.ppt)
2. QA
3. Sent out well in advance

6.         Effective introductions

1. Personal intros / icebreakers
2. Confirmation of timings (including comfort breaks)
3. Reaffirming formal workshop objectives
4. Additional desired outcomes
5. Getting agreement on ground rules

7.         Keeping control of the workshop

1. Time keeping
2. Parking lot
3. Actions log – owner and due date
4. Capturing outputs – logical and clear

8.         Closing effectively

1. Ensure you have enough time for an effective close out
2. Replaying objectives and desired outcomes – have they been met?
3. Confirming actions/next steps
4. Thanking the attendees!

9.         Meeting outputs

1. Briefly summarise the key points of the meeting and send out actions via e-mail (ASAP!)
2. Meeting Notes can be created for more formal sessions such as board meetings, note Decisions and Actions, not War & Peace
3. Specific  deliverables (e.g. process map)
4. Photographs of

10.       Sharing experiences and lessons learned with the team

1. What could I have done better
2. I came up with an effective way of doing…