Facilitator Courses

When is the next Facilitator course?

Your starting time depends on you! Kindly send your enquiry and we will work with you to create a schedule  built on you and your needs.  

Please submit your enquiry.

Building Rapport:

Be ready early with your presentation set up. Trust that your preparation is ready and be available to greet people and introduce yourself as they arrive and find their seats.

e.g.: Hello I am XXXX. You are? Welcome! I will be the facilitator today. Have you found some coffee? Did you travel OK? Can I introduce you to…?

First words for starting

Welcome to this e.g.: Health and Safety Workshop. I am (your name) and I will be facilitating the workshop today and trust you are gong to enjoy it/find it useful. “

Presenting your structure:

Let’s have a look at this structure here to see what we will be covering.

Pointing to your large, pre prepared structure:

Shortly, we will be starting with some introductions…

I will be keen to find out your expectations from the workshop

Orientation: We will talk about the venue and where everything is. How lunch works, tea times, smoking, arrangements, etc…

Continuing with your structure, say: The subject matter we will be covering is: (e.g.)

An Introduction to Cats/Client Service Skills/Health and Safety in the Workplace etc
Naming e.g. The parts/components of a cat/forklift/a guitar/etc.
Explaining e.g. How………. (Say something enticing about this section.
“Predicting ……….. (Say something enticing about this section)

Introductions/Ice breakers

But, let’s start off with some introductions: How about we do the following:

Tell us your name, tell us about your loved ones, and then tell us about e.g. the best and worst cat/forklift/client service experiences you have had, all in a minute or less.

Venice, would you start for us? (Venice agrees) Thank you

The facilitator also introduces him or herself using the same criteria.

Expectations

“To help me ensure this workshop is as valuable as possible for you, I would love to hear what your expectations are.

Ask delegates:” Kindly write what you expect:”

From the course/workshop itself
From each other, and
From the facilitator

Responding to expectations as they are fed back to you, say:

e.g. “Cat illnesses are a key point and we will examine four common ones. Thank you

Managing expectations which are not in your workshop’s scope:

e.g. “Performing cat surgery does not form part of this workshop; however, I will be glad to refer you to a vet. Thank you. (Should your cat need surgery, I hope it all goes well!)

Establishing your credibility

(initially people may be unsure about who you are and what your expertise is)

Say: “You might be wondering why I am your facilitator today, let me explain:

Passion: My /passion/interest in e.g. Cats/Debt Counseling/Health and Safety/TB/HIV and AIDS/Fires in the home/Technical Support started when… (Give some interesting detail)

Qualifications: This led me to study/research (give details.) I was fortunate to complete my (XXX) and obtain a diploma /degree/certificate in XXXXX in at the University of KZN. (Present your qualifications with humility)

Past Successes: (be specific with numbers, details or percentages) I enjoyed a four years working at a clinic/call centre/project/ where we were able to e.g. reduce the incidence of f burns in children by 42%/Improve our client service rating from 12 complaints a day to 2 a month, Improve sales from 4 deals per week to 12 a day, etc

Securing buy in

Buy in motivators:

These are not strong buy in motivators:

As a team you will be able to perform more effectively
Your organisation will qualify for the five star award
You will understand how the act works
You will know how the system works

Buy in must relate to a personal benefit the delegate may enjoy after the workshop.

What to say to secure buy in:

When you walk away here, you should be able to:

Improve your sales and take-home-pay
Improve your prospects for securing a permanent position
Avoid suffering pain and injury in a accident at work or at home
Win clients over who will remain loyal to you personally and keep buying form you
Adopt a life style that will ensure you are slimmer and more attractive etc.

Ask: Will this be helpful to you? (Wait till you have a response)”

Say: “Thank you, shall we get started? “

Probing to establish present levels:

Ask: “Before we start:

E.g. what do you already know about e.g. forklift vehicles?
In what kind of projects have you already worked?
Which (e.g.) income tax courses have you already completed?
With regard to (e.g.) TB, what does your daily work entail?
On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your present knowledge on e.g. The Income Tax act? Ten being: You know it all, one being you know nothing about It.?

Acknowledge what you hear:

50 tons? That’s a powerful forklift!
Never worked on a project? Not a problem. This workshop will be a good starting point.
You did your Masters on the Act? Wonderful: I may call on you from time to time for to elaborate on some points. Will that be ok? Also, will you be willing to assist with some group work? Thank you.

KEY: When and how to pour out or teach new information:

Once you have probed, you will hear how much your group knows. You then need to take the learning further.

What to say: Point to the structure and say:

So let’s take (name your subject: e.g. Paraffin Safety/Installing the new system/) further:

Use Pictures/PowerPoint/Items/Analogies/Similies/Illustrations/Demonstrations/Items etc. to explain and illustrate your information vibrantly and attractively:

Ask questions frequently: e.g. (Pose questions to the whole group and let at think)

Why do you think, we……..?
What do you think might happen if we…….?
What might be the danger of …..?
Working in two’s, try and come up with as many reasons as possible for…..etc.

(Once everyone has thought about the question, select people to give their views: spread the participation around)

Advance your learning along the lines of Blooms Taxonomy.

Say: We have now named all the parts. Let’s take it up a level and explain how they interact….

Moving up a level again, let’s try and apply this…

Doing best summaries:

Referring to the structure, say: “We have now covered

Commonly used terms in the Income tax field
Identifying the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance

Say: “Let’s remind ourselves again of the common terms. Will you start with one, Victor?

Acknowledge: “Yes, SARS!” Gesture to someone else: Acknowledge: Yes PAYE, Which means?

Moving on: With the tax evasion and tax avoidance, what are some key points that stood out for you, Ilse?

Clarifying: When you say: “Criminal charges, will you explain a little further?

Prompting: To prompt, say: “I am not hearing anything about e.g. Pension fund deductions?”

Responding to an individual’s question:

Say to the group: e.g. Vincent asks: Will all tick bites cause fever? Let’s talk about that.

Once an answer has been discussed and summarized, ask Vincent: Does that answer your question Vincent? If ok, say: Thank you that was a valuable question.

Introducing an energizer:

Say: “Just to change gear a little, how about we do the following;”

Let’s stand and find some space. Perfect. Now, let’s stretch as follows……., Now, move the arms…, the neck…, Thank you. (Also use intellectual energizers, social games and quizzes)

Dealing with disagreement:

Say: Thank you; you raise an interesting/valuable point. Let’s explore that.

Invite others to share their views e.g.

What other views are there on the issue that has been raised..?

If you can, refer to an indisputable source e.g.

The law/act/constitution/terms of an agreement/manual/operating procedure/regulation/document) then do so.

Referring to a reference say: e.g. Let’s see what the act says about claiming 60%. We see under section 14.4, that a maximum of 20% can be claimed.

Ask the one who disagreed: Given that a max of 20% can be claimed, and not 60 %, are you OK to proceed? If person agrees, say:

Thank you for raising the important question of e.g. How much can be claimed?