Facilitation Can Be like Riding a Bike down a Busy City Street

If you facilitate – every day or every so often as part of your ‘day’ job – you know that expectations on you can be overwhelming. 

In the conference room, the board room, the community hall and the class room.

External facilitators are often called in to ‘wave their magic wand’.

Expectations on internal facilitators can be even greater, as you step up before your colleagues and leaders. After all, you know the culture and the content, so it should be easier for you, right?

Whether external or internal, facilitation can be like riding a bike down a busy city street.

There is a lot to take in if you are to stay on your bike and get to where you are headed.

On your bike, you’re constantly scanning for car doors suddenly opening, pedestrians running out from between parked cars, as well as pot holes, glass and rubbish on the road. You’ve got your eye on the car in front of you and the traffic ahead.

Facilitators need to be on as high alert as a bike rider, while remaining grounded and calm.

You have to hold the space, listen to different voices, grasp the tone and content of what’s being said, watch for reactions in the rest of the group, shift focus to create opportunities for quieter people, keep an eye on energy levels and, of course, the time.

You have to deal with shifting goal posts and sometimes even shelve your carefully prepared workshop plan. You’re constantly scanning for what people are saying and what is unsaid. Your internal voice continually asks questions like:

 What’s going on in this group?
 What’s happening in the corner?
 What am I missing?
 What does that tilt of the head mean?
 What’s behind the crossed arms, those raised eyebrows or that smile?
 Do they trust me?
 And secretly, do they like me?

We have to be able to read the room to respond to these challenges.

How would you rate your ability to read the room? How does your ability affect the experience that participants have? What impact does it have on the conversation?

And what does taking photos have to do with any of it?

If you’d like to find out more, grab a copy of my Insights Paper, Read the room like a street photographer.

Reply YES below if you’d like a copy.

And the first person to say YES wins a free online facilitation mentoring session with me 😊.