In this new facilitation resources section we will strive to provide and connect you to information, tools, articles, methods, people, comment and fun stuff to support you in your role as a facilitator. We will add to it on a regular basis, so keep coming back or sign up for our facilitate this! tweets and we can let you know what we have added! Equally you may wish to join us on LinkedIN where you can share your experiences as a facilitator, how you have used a variety of different tools, ask other professionals who are out there facilitating how they have used or adapted tools or planned sessions to engage staff and work teams or facilitated groups. Join US!
Facilitation Fitness
There are plenty of warm up exercises for getting your mind and body ready for facilitation. These also act as icebreakers with a new group and energisers to add momentum. Here are some for you to try.
For some brain fitness ideas see www.sharpbrains.com Or take the Senses Test – a series of fun tests put together by the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/interactives/senseschallenge/senses.swf?
Links & Websites
Facilitator Development
The International Association of Facilitators, join them, gain access to the tools and methods database, international conferences and the opportunity to gain your Certified Professional Facilitator status: www.iaf-world.org
Here are a two You Tube videos on facilitation to provide you with an introduction to the role:
Karen Friedman – How to be a Great Facilitator
Steve Davis – What is facilitation? and Why is it important?
Global Facilitators Serving Communities (GFSC)
GFSC is a non-profit organisation that trains, supports, mentors and collaborates with people who use facilitative methods to enhance local resources and skills. By providing opportunities to exchange experiences and successful methods across cultures and borders, GFSC aims to help people to build resilient, self reliant communities. Recent projects include delivering disaster recovery workshops in Colombia.
GFSC are currently looking for volunteers to help with some administation duties. For more information on what GFSC does or to subscribe to their newsletter, visit www.globalfacilitators.org
Facilitation Tools and Methods
Download a copy of Dr Roger Greenaway’s Reviewing Tool – Back to the Future. Dr Roger Greenaway is a reviewing skills specialist and author, see below.
Download our Conflict Resolution Fact Sheet -FacilitationFactSheetsCR
Visit Business Balls for an Aladdin’s Cave of tools for a host of business challenges; www.businessballs.com
For facilitators at all stages of your development journey, this site includes articles, downloadable guides and opportunities to sign up for web seminars, www.facilitatorU.com
Roger Greenway has a great site for those facilitators interested in the skills of reviewing (that should be all of you!). Whilst the site focus is very much on reviewing in the outdoor experiential environment, facilitate this! has adopted and adapted the techniques to facilitate creative reveiws to support more traditional work place scenarios and to great effect. The website also features transfer of learning which can be adpated for training and development workshops alongside iterative learning from experiential tasks or workbased experiences. Take a look! http://www.reviewing.co.uk/
Mind tools offer a wonderful array of articles and tools to inform and support effective decision making. Take a look http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_00.htm The tools are great and we can help you to develop the facilitation skills to use them confidently!
Another interesting Mind Tools article focuses on Conflict Resolution. Follow the link for some theory and tools on how to deal with this often difficult issue. http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm
If you are a trainer and interested to keep up to date with fresh thinking, take a look at www.trainingjournal.com
