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Facilitation Skills Training Course (2 days)
Your people run meetings, workshops and training sessions that stay on track, involve everyone and end in clear decisions.
Every organisation depends on group sessions that work: project kick-offs, strategy days, change workshops, safety briefings and in-house training. Too often they are dominated by a few voices, drift away from the agenda or end without a decision. Facilitation skills training gives the person at the front a process for guiding the group, so that the group does the thinking and the session produces a result.
Day one covers facilitating groups: the difference between process and content, planning a facilitated session, how teams develop, building consensus, reaching decisions, and stepping in when behaviour or dysfunction derails the group. Day two applies the same skills to delivering training: preparing materials and a lesson plan, choosing activities, keeping sessions interactive, and handling difficult participants and sensitive topics.
Delegates practise on realistic scenarios from their own workplace and get feedback from the facilitator, so they leave ready to run their next meeting, workshop or training session with confidence.
Why this course
For your organisation
- Meetings and workshops that end with decisions and named owners
- Wider participation, so solutions have the support of the people who must carry them out
- In-house staff who can run training and change sessions without outside help
- Fewer sessions derailed by conflict or a few dominant voices
For your delegates
- A planning template for any facilitated meeting or workshop
- Practical techniques for consensus, decisions and getting groups back on track
- Confidence to handle disruptive or difficult participants
- Practice runs with feedback from an experienced facilitator
What delegates will be able to do
- Explain the facilitator's role and recognise when a facilitated approach is the right choice
- Separate process from content and keep your own opinions out of the group's discussion
- Plan a facilitated meeting, including objectives, background information and agenda
- Recognise the stages of team development and adjust your approach to each
- Use techniques that draw everyone in, build consensus and narrow options to a decision
- Intervene at the right level when individuals or the group become disruptive
- Prepare a lesson plan, materials and activities for a short training session
- Keep a training session interactive and deal with sensitive topics professionally
Who should attend
Managers, team leaders, project managers, HR and learning and development practitioners, change agents, employee representatives, and anyone who runs meetings, workshops or in-house training sessions and wants them to be productive.
Course outline
Day 1 – Facilitating groups
What facilitation is
- The facilitator's role and how it differs from chairing or presenting
- Situations that call for a facilitator
- Process versus content: keeping the focus on how the group works
- Staying neutral when you know the subject well
Laying the groundwork
- Choosing a facilitated approach that fits the purpose
- Planning the session: objectives, participants, agenda and venue
- Collecting background information before the session
- Setting ground rules and a parking lot for side issues
How groups develop
- The Tuckman and Jensen model: forming, storming, norming, performing
- What the facilitator does at each stage
- Reading group energy and dynamics
Building consensus and reaching decisions
- Drawing out every voice in the room
- Collecting, presenting and summarising what the group knows
- Generating options and building a short list
- Multi-option and voting techniques to choose a solution
- Confirming agreement and next steps
Difficult people and group dysfunction
- Common disruptive behaviours and how to respond
- Restating and reframing to take the heat out of an issue
- Helping the group resolve its own problems
- Bringing a session back on track
Intervention techniques
- When and why a facilitator should intervene
- Levels of intervention, from light to firm
- The boomerang: handing a question back to the group
- The ICE approach: identify the issue, check for agreement, evaluate the way forward
Day 2 – Facilitating training
Training versus facilitation
- When a session needs training and when it needs facilitation
- Choosing the right approach for the situation
- Finding out what participants need before the session
Materials and the lesson plan
- Reviewing existing materials and closing gaps
- Building a lesson plan with realistic timings and spare time
- Planning for what might go wrong
- Preparing a materials list and the training room
Activities that work
- Types of activity and when to use each one
- Icebreakers and energisers that suit a business audience
- Recovering when an activity falls flat
Delivery and interaction
- Opening the session and setting expectations
- Using slides, flipcharts and video well
- Group work, discussion and sticky-note techniques
- Judging when the group needs a break
Difficult participants and tough topics
- Ground rules that prevent problems
- Handling interruptions and challenges
- Adapting material for a sensitive subject
- Managing sensitive discussions in the room
Practice session and action plan
- Delegates facilitate a short session
- Structured feedback from peers and the facilitator
- Personal action plan and course evaluation
How it is delivered
Two days, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20; practice sessions use scenarios from your workplace. Workbook, planning templates and a personal action plan included. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
What our clients say
★★★★★ 4.8 on Google from 790+ reviews · word-for-word quotes from signed letters of reference, from clients on this and/or related BOTI courses
“BOTi has consistently and expertly delivered quality training services in respect of our Soft Skills requirements. We feel confident in recommending BOTI as a training services provider par excellence.”
“The course was efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by both the quality of training and the Facilitators.”
“We have been very impressed with their service and rollout of the training.”
Frequently asked questions
Can you run this course at our offices?
Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa; we can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to groups of about 20. Every delegate gets a turn at facilitating during the practice sessions.
Is it accredited?
No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance. If you need a credit-bearing route, ask us about the QCTO Workplace-Based Practitioner skills programme.
Can the scenarios reflect our own meetings and workshops?
Yes. Send us two or three real situations beforehand – a strategy session, a change workshop, a team meeting that keeps going wrong – and the facilitator builds them into the practice.
How is this different from the Train the Trainer courses?
The one-day Train-the-Trainer Essentials course covers delivering training only. This two-day course adds a full day on facilitating meetings and workshops. The three-day Train the Trainer (Facilitator Training) course covers both and adds how adults learn and how to evaluate a session.
Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?
Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.
Related courses
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