10 acronyms that help you facilitate better

Are you a facilitator or do you want to become better at facilitating gatherings, meetings or workshops? Then I have 8 handy acronyms for you that can help you structure and facilitate various processes and activities.

LSD: Listen, Summarise and Dig deeper. LSD is an acronym used to help participants communicate effectively and understand better. It means that as a facilitator you must actively listen to the speaker, summarise their words and then ask targeted questions to increase understanding and clear up any ambiguities.
SMART: Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic, Time-bound. This method can help you formulate goals and objectives that are specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic and time-bound.
NIVEA: Do not fill in for another, to be a witness as a facilitator instead of an involved party and not to provide your own interpretation or suggestions.
SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. SWOT analysis is a technique used to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a person, organisation, product or service, and to identify the opportunities and threats in the external environment.
ORID: Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional. ORID is a facilitation process that includes four steps: gathering objective facts, reflecting on feelings and emotions, interpreting the meaning and making decisions.
PESTEL: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Ecological, Legal. PESTEL analysis is a technique used to evaluate the external factors that influence an organisation, such as political, economic, social, technological, ecological and legal factors.
OSAR: Observe, Summarise, Advise, Results. OSAR is a facilitation process that includes four steps: observing behaviour and interactions, summarising observed patterns and trends, advising on possible actions and decisions, and evaluating the results.
ACTION: Agreement, Clarity, Time, Involvement, Ownership, Next steps. ACTION is an acronym used to highlight the most important elements needed for effective communication and decision-making: agreement, clarity, time, involvement, ownership and next steps.
RAKE: Reflect, Analyse, Choose, Execute. RAKE is a facilitation method that can be applied in various contexts, such as team building, strategy development, and problem-solving.
SCORE: Situation, Cause, Outcome, Resources, Effect. You can use SCORE as a conversation model in coaching and facilitation to guide participants from a limiting situation and cause to an empowering outcome, resources and effect.

So what are you waiting for? Try out one of these acronyms during your next facilitation meeting and discover how it can help to improve communication and collaboration, as well as increase the transparency and clarity of the information. Good luck and have fun facilitating!

By Steff Vanhaverbeke