Mastering Facilitation

With business and organisations moving at an ever-faster pace and facing evermore demanding challenges, the need for efficient, succinct and productive interaction between individuals of those businesses and organisations is more important than ever. With the bounds of communication restrictions abandoned through technological advances (we can now see and hear anyone across any manner of virtual platforms anywhere around the globe) and with a greater understanding of the underlying dynamics of human interaction, unprecedented pressure has been thrust upon the individual or individuals who, often, enable these dynamic interactions: the facilitator. Many of us have, at one time or other, been responsible for a meeting – whether between a small number of individuals or an entire organisation of hundreds, or possibly thousands, of businessmen and women. Or, perhaps, we’ve had to be the mediator in a family dispute closer to home or managed a discussion between two feuding friends or colleagues. One way or another, chances are, all of us have been a facilitator at some point in our lives. With the ever-growing demands placed on facilitators, this book delivers a methodical and structured approach to facilitation. This book is the definitive guide to instruct and assist facilitators – both new and experienced – with a set of guidelines and underlying theory that will benefit any facilitator, whether as a mediator between two individuals, single-handedly facilitating a group of 100 or working as part of a facilitation team in a multinational corporation. The first part of the book develops the core basic skills of those new to the art of facilitating. There are many examples and exercises to show the reader how to apply them in different situations. The second part of the book is for more experienced facilitators as it focuses on more advanced skills and tackling difficult situations. Specific tools and techniques are illustrated for the reader. Essentially, this book is aimed at developing and mastering the art of facilitation. Facilitation is the art of getting the best out of groups of people to brainstorm, solve problems and gain consensus. Based on 30 years’ experience of the author and running multiple facilitation training courses across the globe, this book is aimed at upskilling people, managers and leaders to drive change and consensus with groups through running workshops and meetings.

Meetings are not always effective. No clear agenda, no participation from the audience, and no decision after hours of meeting - these are just few things contributing to an ineffective meeting. Imagine you are the leader of the meeting - would you let this happen? Leading a meeting is about progressing towards a decision making, to come to a conclusion of what to do next. Aside from a clear agenda of why a meeting is needed, those in the room have their role to play. As participants, their ideas and thoughts do matters to the objective of the meeting. Leading a meeting is about facilitating the thinking process and communication among all participants, including yourself. If you agree with this statement, then this book is for you!

Don’t let another unproductive meeting waste your time. Mastering Meetings that Matter is the game changing resource you need to transform your meetings from mediocre to exceptional. This guide is designed for leaders and facilitators who want to increase the relevance, impact and significance of their meetings.

Sponsored by the International Association of Facilitators, The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation offers the need-to-know basics in the field brought together by fifty leading practitioners and scholars. This indispensable resource includes successful strategies and methods, foundations, and resources for anyone who works with groups. The IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation provides an overview of the field for new and aspiring practitioners and a reliable reference for experienced group facilitators, including chapters on Creating positive ongoing client relationships Building trust and improving communications Facilitating group brainstorming sessions Drawing out the best in people Developing a collaborative environment Designing and facilitating dialogue Managing conflicting agendas Working with multicultural groups Using improvisation Understanding virtual meetings Facilitating team start-up Assessing group decision processes Building expertise in facilitation Reviewing core facilitation competencies Modeling positive professional attitudes

This volume celebrates cellphilm as an emerging Participatory Visual Method which effectively and powerfully engenders learning and catalyses social change. The book outlines the method’s theoretical framework, the role of the educator and researcher, ethical concerns of using this method, and critically explores issues which determine the production and dissemination of creative outputs. The authors demonstrate the emerging methodology of cellphilm and how it can be utilized from both pedagogical and methodological standpoints. Using examples of cellphilms created to understand social issues, this book illustrates how the method enables diverse populations, and especially with youth, to document their communities and realities using mobile devices. By exploring cellphilm as a growing method in participatory visual research, the work fills an important gap in the fields of critically engaged community based research, pedagogy and higher education for scholars and community activists.

"This book provides a "how to" approach to mastering business analysis work. It will help build the skill sets of new analysts and all those currently doing analysis work, from project managers to project team members such as systems analysts, product managers and business development professionals, to the experienced business analyst. It also covers the tasks and knowledge areas for the new 2008 v.2 of The Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) and will help prepare business analysts for the HBA CBAP certification exam."--BOOK JACKET.

This approach to remote facilitation makes virtual meetings powerful means of collaboration using proven techniques to accommodate a diversity of cultures, locations, and personalities. Many people struggle with remote meetings: a cocktail of factors, such as technical barriers and invisible group norms, increase the uncertainty and risk of the already vulnerable task of collaborating and sharing ideas. When remote meetings go badly, they go really badly. Few things feel as lonely and intimidating as speaking to a screen with unreadable faces staring back in silence. This book will help you improve the quality of your remote meetings. With a little awareness, some planning, and some practice, you can make your remote meetings an effective, engaging, and powerful mechanism for collaboration within your organization. This book is for anyone seeking to get more value from remote meetings. Whether you're a seasoned facilitator, a new facilitator, or someone hoping to improve team meetings, you will be empowered with principles and actionable methods to enhance your organization's effectiveness.

Unleash innovation potential with creative, serious play Building a Better Business Using the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method delivers a creative approach to enhancing innovation and improving business performance, with the focus on unleashing play. Written by the two original Master Trainers for LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (LSP), the book outlines how LSP can develop teams, people, relationships and business . Based on the merging of play with organizational development, systems thinking and strategy development, LSP can foster improved meetings, faster innovation processes, team growth, and better communication. The belief that everyone intends to "do good" and has the potential to do it is at the heart of LSP. The method nurtures the idea that everyone in an organization can contribute to discussions and outcomes. Building with LEGO bricks is a type of creative play that triggers a different kind of thought process, unleashing imagination and potential that is frequently untapped by the logical mind. The book explains this hands-on, minds-on approach, and discusses the theory as well as the practical implementation of LSP. Topics include: Observation of internal and external interaction dynamics Fostering a free and honest exchange of opinions Suspending hierarchy for better, more effective communication Facilitating change by encouraging exploration The LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method is employed by start-ups and multinational corporations alike to maximize synergy among teams and throughout organizations. For leaders looking to boost effectiveness and see better results, Building a Better Business Using the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method is a comprehensive introduction to this creative management technique.

Facilitating with Ease! is an updated version of the best-selling resource that offers easy-to-follow instructions, techniques, and hands-on tools that team leaders, consultants, supervisors, and managers have used to learn the basics of facilitation. Complete with worksheets on CD-ROM that can be customized to fit your personal needs, it's a complete facilitation workshop in a take-home format. Facilitating with Ease! shows you how to run productive meetings with skill and authority and includes the information needed to train others in your organization to become confident facilitators as well. The book is filled with dozens of exercises, surveys, and checklists that can be used to transform anyone into an effective facilitator.

Asks whether public schools can and should help students discuss moral disagreements, even when religion is involved.

Since the publication of the first edition of Facilitating with Ease! in 2000, this bestselling book has become the "go-to" reference for anyone who wants to become skilled in the art of facilitation. This thoroughly revised and updated third edition includes easy-to-follow instructions, techniques, and hands-on tools. Facilitating with Ease! offers the basics on running productive meetings with confidence and includes the information needed to train others to become skilled facilitators as well. Filled with dozens of exercises, surveys, and checklists that can be used to transform anyone into an effective facilitator, this revised editioncovers new topics such as: Why and when leaders should facilitate and how to manage neutrality Diversity, globalization, new technologies, and employee engagement When leaders should facilitate and when others should do it Sharing facilitation with others This new edition also includes meeting design template, surveys, and questionnaires Praise for Facilitating with Ease! "Facilitating With Ease! provides clear and effective guidelines for group facilitation. In China we are using this book to help organizations develop facilitative leaders who can successfully invoke the spirit of cooperation and team synergy." ?Ren Wei, professional facilitator, X'ian, China "Facilitating With Ease! helps beginners as well as experienced facilitators find their way among different aspects of facilitation. Easy to understand, this book provides insight into the principles of facilitation and examples of practical applications for concrete situations." ?Sieglinde Hinger, Siemens Corporation, Austria "Facilitating with Ease! is the fundamental read if you want to be an effective facilitator. We refer to it all the time and consider it a core competency for our consultants." ?Ian Madell, managing director, LEVEL5 Branded Business Advisors, Toronto, Canada "If you're only going to buy one book on facilitation, this is the one to buy! That's what we tell the managers, consultants and facilitators who attend our facilitation training programs. It's a gold mine of ideas, resources and practical tools." ?Ronnie McEwan, director, Kinharvie Institute, Glasgow, Scotland "I have been using Ingrid's materials for many years and find her books to be far above everything else out there. This latest revision builds on what was already great and will surely increase the effectiveness of any practitioner." ?Mark Vilbert, program leader, Boeing Leadership Center

On cover and title page: United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS

This 180 page full colour book will help LEGO(R) Serious Play(R) facilitators plan and deliver professional workshops. It has 44 detailed facilitation techniques from master trainer Sean Blair. The book outlines stories from 20 graduates describing what happened after their training, where they now use the method, and their tips and lessons learnt.

The facilitation process - Your job as facilitator - The role of the participants - What's the issue? - Wha are our concerns? - Any posible solutions? - Our criteria? - Wha's our action? - Check? - Getting started - You and the leader - Pre-meeting logistics & the room - Flipcharts and other visual tools - The first meeting - Building consensos - Handling conflict - Getting participation - Building trust - Managing your stress.