How can active listening help participants identify and address roadblocks during facilitation?

Active listening allows you to understand and connect with the audience and participate in a meaningful discussion. It also builds rapport and enables the facilitator to sense and gauge the room's energy and, if required, apply meaningful interventions based on what has been shared.

The goal of Active Listening is to have the other person say, “Yes! That’s it! You understand!”, because Active Listening makes people feel heard. It’s only when people feel heard, that they will willingly explore new information or perspectives.

Active listening allows you to hear what is "below the words." By that I mean you can get in touch with the emotion behind the language. Active listening requires attention to body positions, intonation, pacing and word choices. The more actively you listen, the more truth you will hear.

As a 4Her in Michigan, I benefited from active/reflective listening training. It has underpinned my approach to designing and conducting facilitated sessions. While most people tend to focus on what they'd like to say, there is a great opportunity to help participants utilize these principles to receive information and thoughts from others. This conversation has prompted me to think about additional ways we, as facilitators, can model and encourage the use of active listening - repeating, paraphrasing, reflecting - among session participants. Can anyone suggest templates or other tools that support this goal?

I find that involving the participants from the get, and showing them through verbal and non verbal cues, that I am listening to them, makes them more alert and willing to receive information. Even when it’s something muttered at the back of the class by someone unsure of their point, active listening enables me get that person involved by asking them to share, and in many cases that act opens up a broader topic for discussion and class engagement.

Active listening is not only about attentively listening to your audience but also involves being acutely aware of your own responses as a facilitator. It's essential to listen to yourself and recognize your triggers. Being conscious of these triggers is crucial because if they go unnoticed, they can hinder your ability to fully engage with your audience. Active listening demands intentionality; it’s a skill that encompasses both external and internal attentiveness, ensuring a more effective and empathetic communication process.

When playing back what you've heard, to check understanding, you can show ownership and be responsible by saying "what I hear is xyz" rather than saying "what you said is xyz". You can be more effective in facilitating if you say what you heard, rather than asserting what the other person said. This approach allows any differences to be noted and dealt with in a non-confrontational way.

I like the concept of listening for oneself, listening to glean content, and listening for reflection, with a focus on their tone, body language. I like to ask probing questions, as appropriate to clarify unclear points and to allow the speaker to take a deeper dive into content.

It's essential to be authentic in this facilitation space. As the world has learnt what is manipulation vs sincere engagement.

After you have repeated back what you have heard, using the phrase ‘what I heard’, you can also ask the group if anybody had heard it differently? Then give them the space to explain what they heard. This allows for others to contribute and the whole group to get a greater insight into whether what was said and what was meant, were the same.

I just ask! Right at the start of a session. What is going to stop you from being 100% present today? Get them to realise and share their blocks, it takes the guesswork out.

From my experience handling facilitation sessions that would take up to a month, I really had the time and opportunity to get to know my participants. Once you get to know them, whether through direct questions, group activities, or check-in initiatives, you'll indirectly get an idea where possible roadblocks can stand and how it will affect them and the session. My advice is: get to know them, and work with them, and help the group work with them too, making it a team job - apply this for everyone, fostering unity and collaboration.

I have learned over the years to build in longer or more frequent breaks throughout your session so you can check-in one on one with individuals who might be distracted/not understanding, etc. These breaks also enable participants to check emails/phone calls, etc. so that they can return back to the session fully present. Also - at the end of each day - engage in a constructive feedback session to ensure the following day is productive and roadblocks can be minimized or addressed.

Roadblocks, barriers that hinder participant progress, can take various forms - from internal struggles like lack of confidence to external factors like resource constraints. As a facilitator, keen observation and attuned listening are vital. Silence or hesitation may indicate uncertainty or disinterest, while contradictions or repeated points may signal confusion. Disagreements or criticisms often reflect diverse viewpoints or unmet expectations. Complaints and excuses can reveal underlying frustrations or obstacles. Requests and suggestions call for additional support or clarification. By recognizing these signals, you can effectively address roadblocks and foster a more productive environment.

Asking 'why is this important?' and 'what's stopping us?' is a tactic to help understand roadblocks. Sometimes it's a difference in risk tolerance between the people trying to drive change and the people opposing it. These questions can help groups come to a common understanding of the issues at hand and in many instances, reframe the question that might be causing the block to begin with.

I'd like to chime in here and advocate for paying attention to your own roadblocks. What challenging self-talk are you hearing? Where does you judgement of self and others block open communication? How can you use your understanding of your roadblocks to help the group explore their own.

When facilitating, addressing roadblocks is crucial. Active listening helps identify them. Then, handle them with respect and a solution-oriented mindset. Adjust the facilitation based on the nature of the roadblock. Validate concerns, explore causes and consequences, and brainstorm solutions as a group. Finally, agree on an action plan with clear responsibilities. This comprehensive approach ensures smoother facilitation. The key is to remain flexible in your approach.

How I address roadblocks is to the explain to my students the experiences I have had with previous classes. I attempt to calm them with results of other training classes and assure them that my job is to teach and provide them with the tools to make them successful in their roles. I believe that by doing this, it instills trust in me and helps them buy in to the facilitation process.

I find a great way to address roadblocks is to combine active listening with empathy and coaching questions. Listen deeply to understand the concern, not just to know what to say next or redirect back to the facilitation plan. Empathize to get a better idea of the reasons for the concern and contributing issues. Then ask coaching questions to allow participants to reach their own breakthrough. Role playing is also helpful here. Finally, well-structured partner work can help participants work through roadblocks privately, without an audience.

Additionally, I think that starting your facilitation with being transparent that there are and will be roadblocks, hurdles or challenges, and they can voice them, however, the focus will be on finding solutions. Then throughout the facilitation, when the conversation starts to drift toward those roadblocks, I will make a statement similar to "yes, and we are...." This has seemed fairly effective at curtailing the conversations from spiraling into the negative.

Years ago, someone told me to try always to "learn something FROM the person you're listening to" and "learn something ABOUT the person too." That advice to learn from others and build stronger relationships too has been so helpful. It makes me work harder to listen carefully.

In my experience, if you keep thinking about what your are going to say and do next as facilitator, you are not listening. Prepare your session well, but work on your presence and hold the space in the room for everyone involved.

Eye contact and engaged body language are critical. Prior to this have you ensured the creation of a safe space? The respondent feels your interest or lack of it. I like to take some notes ...always ask permission first.

Be self-aware of your listening habits, seeking feedback from participants, peers, and mentors for valuable insights. Observe skilled active listeners for practical examples. Practice these skills in diverse settings to refine your approach. Active listening means comprehending and empathetically responding to underlying messages and emotions. Improve these skills to enhance facilitation effectiveness, participant engagement, and communication.

I present my do's and don't's to my students when I give listening workshops. But really, the only way to get good at listening is by listening to people. Active listening boils down to making your encounter with another person about him or her, not about you. Be a servant and open yourself to another's painful heart. Deep down, just about everyone longs to be heard. If you gain a reputation for listening, you'll never lack for opportunities to listen to others - and that leads to opportunities to say what you have to say.

Think beyond the "cute" child-like antics and buzz words, catch phrases and toys to engage the audience. Let contributors to the engagement choose from options of what they are excited by or passionate about - give them the art of choice and watch the engagement peak out to levels you never considered could occur. Give both introverts and extroverts ways to contribute and environments and that can mean comments and ideas trailing up to a week beyond the timeline of your events. Follow up to ensure you have everyone's input and stress the importance of their perspective. That said, make sure you have the right audience is 95% important. "Task oriented" folks can't be visionaries and visionaries can't think about "how to do something".

One approach that I’ve found effective in getting the group’s attention - whether in a roadblock situation or just in general - is to share a personal example where I dip into my own vulnerability. It’s surprising how much certain folks want to hear about you, the facilitator, and find elements of connection.

One of my favorite ways to think about listening is inspired by the book Creative Trespassing by Tania Katan She starts by saying, "...there is a difference between hearing and listening." Then she goes on to describe them as follows: Hearing is ↳ passively perceiving sounds ↳ involuntary ↳ involves no effort Now, listening... ↳ requires us to be actively engaged ↳ is finding meaning in sounds we are hearing How spot on is this?! right? This view of hearing and listening has helped me take a look inward with how I personally listen and help other realize the difference during sessions.

Haga sentir a la personas que tiene delante en una facilitación, que realmente vale mucho la pena para ellos estar ahí. Si llegan a tener esa sensación, experimentarán la necesidad de incorporar para ellos las ideas que se están compartiendo, puesto que su cerebro lo interpretará como algo necesario para su supervivencia, a modo de recurso que se pueda utilizar en un futuro.

There is always an assertive extrovert in any group. I suspect every facilitator will agree. The skill is how to intercede without making him or her bristle. My way in smaller groups is to interrupt them with a gracious comment then turn to another participant and invite them to comment. In bigger groups 20 then a intervention of “Thank You well said” Then proceed to redirect with another point.