Bij het ondersteunen van mijn opdrachtgevers ben ik vaak de "facilitator" van gesprekken, workshops, risicosessies of bijeenkomsten. Het is daarbij goed te bedenken wat mijn rol daarin is. De verleiding is groot om zelf ook input te leveren en eigen conclusies te trekken, of de deelnemers te sturen. Dat is niet de bedoeling.
Een artikel van Kavi Guppta (Strategyzer) geeft de volgende vijf tips die ik toepas bij het faciliteren van uw gesprekken, workshops of bijeenkomsten:
1. Remember: it’s not about you.
Your main role as a facilitator is to make sure that everyone in the room is getting involved; that everyone is collaborating; and that the planned exercises are being acted out in the way they were intended. You have to make sure the session is going well, and avoid getting in the way of the activities that are taking place. It’s not about you, it’s about the people in the room.
Het gaat niet om de mij, maar om u. U bent in de bijeenkomst de belangrijkste aanwezige.
2. Ask a lot of questions.
As a facilitator you will be responsible for bringing out what people are thinking. This means you’ll have to ask a lot of questions to get participants going. The best way to ask good questions is to be curious: be really interested in what your attendees have to say in order to get their creative juices flowing.
Ik ga u veel vragen stellen. Om u te prikkelen en u te betrekken. Zodat u uw verhaal kwijt kunt.
3. Be a brilliant listener.
A great facilitator will be very patient and a brilliant listener. There will be a lot of ideas, comments, and opinions coming out from participants throughout the meeting. You will have to rephrase a lot of that activity to make sure it’s all understood and captured correctly onto the tools or devices that are being used during the session.
Ik ga goed luisteren. Om goed te begrijpen waar u het over hebt en wat u bedoeld, en om dat over te brengen bij de andere deelnemers.
4. Help to bring ideas together.
This tip ties on to being a brilliant listener. As all of these ideas are coming out, you will be there to help participants see connections, spot relationships or themes with the ideas they might not notice or have considered before.
Ik ga verbindingen leggen tussen al uw inbreng, ideeën en suggesties. Om niets achterwege te laten of ongezegd te laten blijven.
5. Be external to the process.
We end this list in the same vein: remove yourself from the interactions taking place in the room. Be available to give a good overview of exercises and results; keep things going throughout the day; keep people engaged; and make sure that each part of the session is connected to each other to ensure proper flow and structure.
Ik sta buiten het proces. Het gaat om u. Het is mijn taak u te betrekken en aan het woord te laten, en u daarin te begeleiden. Het gaat om u.
