Top 3 questions I get as a facilitator

I was asked the question recently “What are your most asked questions” and I hadn’t really thought about it. Thinking back over the last few years, it boiled down to these three.

1

What do we need to prepare or bring to the session?

Short answer is: an open mind. That’s it. I have found more drawbacks to expecting participants to come to a session with something prepared. Here’s why… We are all busy. We can barely find a full day to schedule a workshop so it is guaranteed that not everyone that gets the pre-work will have time to complete it before the session. This starts the session off at an uneven level of understanding from the beginning. It also encourages participants to come in with preconceived ideas. This is also counterproductive to the session. We will already have enough biases to contend with. If the pre-work is essential to the session, make time at the beginning for everyone to do it together. Otherwise, don’t do it. Don’t get me wrong there is plenty of pre-work (aka prep) for the facilitation team. I spend more time planning, than the workshop itself.

2

The workshop sponsor wants to sit in, can they just sit in the back?

Short answer is: no. I feel pretty strongly about this because I have seen a lot of sessions go sideways because the sponsor was not actively engaged. It sets a precedent, even if it is subtle and psychological, that “my leader doesn’t have to participate, so why should I?” It is also disruptive to have the leader step in and out of the room to take calls. I get it. Leaders are busy. My (very strong) recommendation is to encourage them to participate with everyone. This sets a better precedent that everyone’s voice is valuable and we are all on the same team. Alternatively, have them open the day with a welcome and then be present for the read out at the end and trust their team with the rest of the session to work hard without them.

3

Do you have an agenda that I can use for X?

Short answer: probably not. Every session, every problem, every goal, every team is different; so, the agenda for the session is going to be different too. I borrow an analogy from improv: “Bring a brick, not a cathedral”. I have lots of bricks that I can use, but the building is going to be different every single time. Even the handful of sessions that follow a similar flow of “bricks” will have a wildly different conclusion. That’s what makes this job hard… and fascinating. Tell me your goals and I’ll share bricks with you.

Pretty much guaranteed to get these questions regularly. What are yours?