Facilitation Core Skills
This e-learning program was created by Ingrid Bens, one of the world’s leading names in facilitation. Ingrid designed this course in the same user-friendly manner she used in her bestselling books: Facilitating With Ease! and Facilitation at a Glance! Brief Bio: Ingrid Bens is a consultant and trainer whose special areas of expertise are facilitation skills, team building, conflict management, employee and organizational change. She has a Master’s degree in Adult Education and more than twenty-five years of experience as a workshop leader and organization development consultant. The workshops she currently conducts address core facilitation skills, advanced facilitation skills, and facilitative leadership strategies. Bens is the founder of both Participative Dynamics, a consulting firm located in Sarasota, Florida, and Facilitation Tutor. Ms. Bens has been designated a Certified Professional Facilitator by the International Association of Facilitators.
Why do I need this training? This self-paced program is for anyone who needs to learn how to manage complex group interactions. While the cores skills taught are applicable for neutral, third-party facilitators, the program also addresses their use by leaders and team members. This program is an ideal introduction for those who are unfamiliar with facilitation. It’s also an excellent refresher of proper technique for those who have been facilitating for some time. Program Features
- The program is organized into ten lessons.
- Each lesson isolates a single, important technique.
- Each core skill is demonstrated in a group setting.
- Theoretical models are clearly and simply explained.
- Interactive exercises and structured practice activities accompany each lesson.
- Each lesson is supported by downloadable workbook pages.
- The program is linked to an on-line bookstore featuring recommended further reading.
- A final test allows learners to receive a Certificate of Completion.
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Facilitation
- introduces the concept of facilitation: it’s purpose and underlying beliefs
- provides an overview of the foundational content/process model
- clarifies misunderstanding about facilitator assertiveness
- examines how leaders can balance facilitating with being directive
Lesson 2 – The Five Core Practices
- describes the five core practices of facilitation
- demonstrates the five core practices in action
- explores the boundaries of neutrality
- recommends ways to use the five core practices in various settings
Lesson 3 – The Start Sequence
- provides a clear structure for beginning any facilitated session
- offers examples of start sequences of varying complexity
- shows how the start sequence can be used to maintain focus throughout any facilitated session
Lesson 4 – Establishing Norms
- explores the challenging situations that occur in meetings
- shows how norming can create and maintain a positive meeting climate
- demonstrates how targeted norming can be used to deal with difficult situations
Lesson 5 – Recording Group Ideas
- describes the purpose and importance of flipchart note taking
- creates awareness of both the best and worst practices of recording group ideas
- describes the rules of wording and demonstrate them in action
Lesson 6 – Conflict Intervention Techniques
- emphasizes the importance of assertively managing conflict in groups
- provides a technique for intervening to redirect member behaviors
- share a specific model for addressing group conflict that is both non-confrontational and effective
- provide guidance for getting through those difficult moments in any meeting
Lesson 7 – Process Checking
- explores the hidden reasons that meetings falter
- provides a specific set of steps for taking the pulse and restoring group effectiveness
- shares techniques for conducting written process checks
Lesson 8 – Conversation Structure
- describes the two categories of conversations
- provides strategies for using the two types of conversations to manage complex decision-making discussions
- offers specific strategies for managing the dynamic shift between these two modes
Lesson 9 – Decision-Making Tools
- outlines the various ways that groups can make decisions and clarify whether they unite or divide group members
- demonstrates situations in which each approach is applicable
- illustrates how various decision-making tools can be used in combination to arrive at solutions everyone can live with
Lesson 10 – Ending a Facilitation
- provides a checklist of what facilitators do to effectively end facilitated discussions
- demonstrates a variety of ways to bring closure
- provides tools for overcoming blocks to consensus
- provides a format for action planning
- shares strategies to avoid poor follow-through
Sign Up Today for 3 or 6 Month Access!
No. of Students | 3 months | 6 months |
1 | $99.00 | $149.00 |
2-10 | $75.00 | $120.00 |
11-50 | $60.00 | $95.00 |
51-100 | $45.00 | $65.00 |
101-500 | $30.00 | $45.00 |
501-1000 | $25.00 | $35.00 |
1001-2000 | $15.00 | $25.00 |