Facilitation

Oftentimes, meetings aren't just about presentations, but about two-way exchange that leads to new solutions, resolved difficulties and informed decisions. Yet too often, one person dominates the discussion and other voices aren’t heard.

Very simply put, facilitation is helping a group to accomplish its goals.

There are a wide range of perspectives about the ideal nature and values of facilitation, much as there are a wide range of perspectives about the ideal nature and values of leadership. Some facilitators believe that facilitation should always be highly democratic in nature and that anything other than democratic is not facilitation at all. Others may believe that facilitation can be quite directive, particularly depending on the particular stage of development of the group.

Whatever one's beliefs about the best nature of facilitation, the practice usually is best carried out by someone who has strong knowledge and skills regarding group dynamics and processes -- these are often referred to as process skills. Effective facilitation might also involve strong knowledge and skills about the particular topic or content that the group is addressing in order to reach its goals -- these are often referred to as content skills. The argument about how much "process versus content" skills are required by facilitators in certain applications is a very constructive argument that has gone on and will go on for years.