Building Your Virtual Facilitation Skills

Session 1: Virtual Facilitation Essentials

We will launch the series by introducing the essential virtual facilitation concepts and skills on which the series will build. These include developing norms and working agreements, understanding the role of the facilitator, applying the facilitation road map, and appreciating others’ mental models.

Session 2: Setting the Stage for Success

In this session, we explore how to set up your virtual environment and introduce some commonly available tools that engage participants and get results. We will also touch on group stages, how they impact facilitation and explore hindering and helping behaviors common to groups in a virtual setting.

Session 3: Facilitation Practice: Putting your skills to work

Facilitation skills require practice and application to master. In this session, we will focus on applying strategies for brainstorming, narrowing, decision making, and action planning to virtual meetings. Participants will have the opportunity to practice planning and facilitating small groups using a variety of virtual tools. Small groups will use different techniques so that participants can become familiar with varied tools and methods.

Session 4: Facilitation Challenges and Opportunities

While facilitation can be challenging, there is great opportunity for success with a well-managed group. In this session, we will learn tools for guiding a group to desired outcomes and develop an understanding of how unspoken assumptions and inferences can impact group dynamics and results.

Session 5: Celebrating Facilitation Success

This final session will focus on the importance of recognizing and celebrating accomplishments in groups, including our own! We’ll also test a consulting method for problem-solving with group members, and we’ll invite participants’ feedback to process and evaluate the series.