CRMP HANDBOOK
Appendix D
Facilitation:
The Art of Making Things Happen Easily
An effective facilitator:
- gets agreement on desired outcomes/agenda
- suggests ways to proceed and checks for agreement, as a process advocate
- makes sure everyone has a chance to participate
- keeps discussions and interactions orderly and on track
- ensures that time is monitored and information is recorded
- listens and observes
- defends others from personal attack
- remains neutral and does not contribute content ideas or evaluate group members’ ideas
- knows when and how to get others to perform the facilitating and recording functions
- balances process and content focus
- creates a safe working environment in which members can contribute their thoughts and ideas.
Facilitation is
creating a safe environment by:
- enabling people to communicate and fully contribute their thoughts and ideas
- listening
- being patient
- focusing on the group’s process
- getting agreements on process
- remaining neutral on content issues
- preventing personal confrontations.
Facilitation is not
creating an unsafe environment by:
- interrupting
- being impatient
- completing people’s sentences for them
- attacking those who disagree
- sending negative, verbal or nonverbal, messages.
California
Coordinated Resource Management & Planning Council
contact:
916-447-7237, staff@carcd.org
site
location: www.crmp.org/download/hb/apend-d1.html