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Facilitation

Your meetings drag on endlessly, the real discussion happens in the corridor and you feel exhausted afterwards. In this in-company training of four half-days you learn to design and facilitate meetings and workshops, so everyone can contribute. For managers, project managers and coaches.

Facilitation: techniques for meetings and workshops
Facilitation: techniques for meetings and workshops

Request a tailored programme

Do you recognise this?

It is a quarter to five and your meeting should have finished a long time ago. Two people are talking, the rest are looking at their screens, and the decision you met for has still not been made.

At the coffee machine afterwards you hear what people really thought. You walk back to your desk feeling that you did not reach the group, and you do not really know what you should have done differently.

Collaborating means consulting together, solving problems, making decisions and implementing changes. Yet you notice that:

  • you feel exhausted after a meeting;
  • meetings seem to take endlessly long;
  • you sometimes feel you cannot contribute;
  • the real meeting happens in the corridor, after the actual meeting.

Why do our meetings get stuck so often?

A good meeting requires more than an agenda and an invitation. Someone has to monitor the process, invite people to contribute and give resistance a place. That is a profession, and usually we do it on the side.

Without that guidance a lot of energy disappears into meetings that yield nothing. Quiet voices remain quiet, decisions are made elsewhere and you go home exhausted afterwards. That gnaws at your motivation and at the trust in consultation.

It does not have to stay this way. You can learn facilitation.

How do you turn a meeting into a real conversation?

Facilitating means that you lead the process, so the group itself reaches good outcomes. With the right techniques everyone gets space, even those who rarely speak.

Our coaches know the exhausted time after a bad meeting and work with principles that align with Agile and Sociocracy 3.0. In four half-days you explore the framework and practise with examples and cases from your own work.

In the last half-day you facilitate a typical meeting context yourself and receive feedback from the group. This way you learn to design meetings in which everyone contributes.

What you can do after the training

After the training you can:

  • design and successfully facilitate meetings and workshops;
  • guide all kinds of meetings and processes;
  • deal with resistance;
  • let people participate more easily;
  • lead conversations, meetings and workshops to the desired outcomes.

The principles and techniques closely align with Agile and Sociocracy 3.0 and enrich them.

This is how we approach it

The training consists of four half-days. In each half-day we first present the general framework. Then you practise the principles and techniques with examples and cases from your own work situation.

Competences for facilitators

  • Stimulating participation and involvement: techniques to engage all participants, working with what presents itself, working with resistance and your role as a facilitator.
  • Facilitating a safe and stimulating environment: focus on process, group rapport, observing verbal and non-verbal signals, active listening, stimulating feedback loops, ensuring inclusivity and sharing, fair witness, framing conflicts and resistance, promoting creativity, effective consultation and decision making.

Learning to use diverse working methods

  • We collect and discuss the working methods you already use, such as presentations, conversation rounds, serious games, activities, brain gym and role plays.
  • We learn to choose suitable working methods depending on learning processes and desired outcomes, with their pros and cons, variation and participation of everyone.
  • We learn to guide and harvest specific working methods: how you ensure valuable learning experiences, support and joint decision making.
  • We practise working methods in combination with the built up facilitation skills and learn to use the available time efficiently.

Practice and reflection

You get to work yourself in small working groups. You prepare a typical meeting context and choose adapted working methods. You open the conversation space and invite the participants, facilitate a process and close the conversation space with a conclusion.

The participants give each other constructive feedback. This way we apply the principle of meta-cognition, learning about your own learning, and you immediately experience what the impact of facilitation can be.

Afterwards you keep practising

Every training is extended in the THOC Learning Space. Your material remains available and you get an AI Coach who knows the lesson.

We work experience-oriented: you constantly get to work with the theory in practical exercises that resemble real situations.

Who gives this training

Our coaches can give this training. Tell us what your team needs, and we will propose a programme together.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the Facilitation training for?

For managers, project managers and coaches who want to sharpen their skills to lead or guide conversations, meetings and workshops.

How long does the training take and with how many participants?

The training consists of four half-days. We work with six to twelve participants per group, in Dutch or English.

Do we work with our own situations?

Yes. After the general framework you work out examples and cases that connect to your own work situation. In the last half-day you prepare a typical meeting context yourself in small groups and facilitate it.

How much does the training cost?

Every training is tailored, so we work with a quote after we have heard your question. Request a quote via contact.

Where can I find more about facilitation?

View Leading meetings and workshops effectively, Online and hybrid facilitation or our book Facilitation is a game!.

Practical details

  • Formula: In-company training
  • Languages: Dutch, English
  • Half-days: 4
  • Participants: 6 to 12

Request a tailored programme

Read more

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