Attention conversation leaders, workshop facilitators. I feel the need…
… the need to tell you a little bit about what I’ve learned in all my years as your workshop wingman.
As a visual scribe for many years now, I’ve had the unique vantage point of quietly working alongside some of the greatest facilitators, and I’ve really learned a lot about what it takes to design, set up and deliver a great conversation – I say ‘conversation’ here as a broad term rather than ‘workshop’ because I think the best facilitated workshops feel effortless, flowing and productive like a great conversation, don’t you think? I do sometimes step into the pilot seat myself and that, along with the countless flight hours I have clocked as wingman, has meant I get to learn through both observation and experience, something I have truly valued. So today I’d like to share with you what I believe it takes to design and lead great conversations.
Great facilitators are always well prepared with a thorough plan that they have carefully compiled and are totally willing to abandon. They are planned but flexible. They’ve done the work ahead of time. They don’t wing it. They’ve literally thought it all through. Each question, each process. They’ve considered inputs, materials, guardrails, and framing that people might need for the conversation to be successful. They’ve worked it all through and mapped it all out well before they ever stepped into the room. But they’re not so rigid in this plan that they can’t make adjustments on the fly if they can see they’re needed – in fact having mapped out is what makes this possible. As a leader I once had, was fond of saying, ‘structure liberates’.
From my experience and observations, this planning fits into five categories which I’m going to run through now.
Purpose
First up, (for good reason) purpose is absolutely where the great facilitators start – and this happens well before anyone has been gathered into a room or online session. They are very clear on the purpose of the conversation they are leading. They know why they are bringing this particular group of people together, they know what they need to achieve and how it needs to be used and when it all needs to occur. They start with a very clear idea in mind of ‘what done looks like’. Because if you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? And how will you know with confidence if a detour or pit stop is required? Not being clear on the purpose from the start is, in my opinion, how so many of those emails end up being meetings. Know what I’m sayin’?
Pathing
Once they have the purpose clearly expressed, great facilitators invest time in thinking through the path the conversation will/should take – step by step. I like to do this is by creating conversation canvases, which is kind of a fancy way of saying ‘having a template’. But I don’t call it that because that comes with a whole bunch of connotations that sound boring and tedious. That isn’t what a conversation Canvas is, I can assure you.
So it is literally as I say, the blank canvas through which a conversation can occur and be captured. And sometimes that means knowing that maybe we need to build things into a triangle are because we’re going to start with a lot and then we’re going to move from the wider base to the pointy top and we’re going to decrease the number of ideas as we move up because we’re looking to come up with a prioritized list. That might be effectively using the triangle shape to drive a prioritization conversation. Maybe we are looking to build a team culture and just the right metaphor will be helpful to form a cohesive and inclusive narrative for the team.
Pathing is also about recognising if your conversation actually needs to be a series of smaller conversations, recognising the questions that need to be answered and the best way to word them to reach the desired outcome. It’s also about having a clear plan for how you are going to capture the content as it emerges. Are you playing the role of both facilitator and notetaker? Are you having participants post-it note? Or are you using a live scribe like me? (great idea by the way)
People
Another thing that some of the best facilitators do is they really understand the people in the room and the roles they want them to play. So they will ensure all the right people are invited and equally clear on the purpose. They will invest time in really understanding the people. Where are they from? What do they bring? Why would they want to be in the room? That might all seem like a ridiculous amount of information to have, but it all helps the facilitator to understand how to guide and steer the conversation so that it achieves its objectives. What they need to get out of it and then everyone can play the role that they are best suited to play. Good facilitators will know who’s coming into the room and what attitudes they are likely to have to the activity and they will do the work to prep them ahead of time. Perhaps that means some extra engagement to to get them into the role that they need them to play for that particular conversation. Good facilitators also know how to use the personalities they have in the room to the greatest advantage. So if you have some great Black-hat style thinkers they can play a very valuable role in sense-checking ideation or identifying potentials risks.
Place
Getting the venue for the conversation right sounds like a no-brainer but its not just about a room with enough chairs. You need to make sure the room is equipped to hold the kinds of activities you want to do. If you are going to be flip charting – is there enough space to stick them up? If you’re going to be in there for a while, is there natural light? Does the tech do what you need it to do? This extends to online and hybrid too – good facilitators don’t leave any of this chance, they think it through and test it out ahead of time to make sure a venue or tech issue doesn’t derail their conversation – as best they can that is! We all know that if there is one thing you can’t rely on it is that the tech will work as its supposed to!! So good facilitators will often have a plan B up their sleeve as well.
Presence
Great facilitators are extremely present and extremely aware and mindful of themselves, their interactions and the environment around them. So they are in the moment and they’re reading the room constantly. They’re feeling the vibe they’re seeing if everyone is on board, they’ve got a sense of if people are leaning in or leaning out of the conversation. They are aware if some people are louder while others are quieter. They are aware of whether the environment is working for the conversation that they want to have. Is the space allowing for it to occur. Is the layout and flow correct? Are people sitting in a way that’s conducive to the activity you want them to be doing? Is it the right temperature? Is there enough whiteboard for capturing ideas? So they’re kind of using all of their senses in the moment to assess or to make micro assessments and adjustments around how things are going.
Great facilitators also make the space for all the other participants to be fully present too. They recognise that someone may have just stepped out of another room and are rushing into your room and they will have just been talking about finance or been doing some sort of risk and compliance checklist. They’ve been using a different part of their brain to the one that you’re going to ask them to use. So you need to make space to allow them to shift gears and you need to facilitate that shifting of gears. So how are you inviting them into the space and how are you setting their mindset to successfully have the conversation that you need them to have?
The 5P Planning tool
Several years ago I built all of these 5Ps into a planning tool, to help myself with planning and delivering sessions. I would now like to offer it to you today for free. You can download it here.
I would love it if you could give me some feedback around what what’s working and what’s not working for you in this tool because I would love to keep iterating and evolving it. And if you need a ‘workshop wingman’ next time you step into the pilot seat, you know where to find me…
