How can you change your facilitation approach to better engage participants?

1 Know your audience

Before you plan your facilitation approach, you need to know who your participants are, what their needs and expectations are, and how they prefer to learn and interact. You can use various methods to gather this information, such as surveys, interviews, persona profiles, or stakeholder maps. Knowing your audience will help you design your facilitation approach to suit their preferences, motivations, and learning styles. For example, if your participants are more introverted, you might want to use more individual or small group activities, rather than large group discussions. If your participants are more visual, you might want to use more graphics, diagrams, or videos, rather than text-heavy slides.

3 Set clear objectives

Another way to change your facilitation approach to better engage participants is to set clear and specific objectives for your session. Your objectives should describe what you want to achieve, why it is important, and how you will measure it. Your objectives should also be aligned with your participants' needs and expectations, and communicated clearly and transparently. Setting clear objectives will help you focus your facilitation approach on the most relevant and valuable topics and activities, and also help your participants understand the purpose and value of your session. For example, if your objective is to generate new ideas for a project, you might use brainstorming, mind mapping, or ideation techniques. If your objective is to make a decision or reach a consensus, you might use voting, ranking, or prioritization techniques.

4 Use different methods

One of the most effective ways to change your facilitation approach to better engage participants is to use different methods and techniques throughout your session. Using different methods will help you cater to different learning styles, stimulate different types of thinking, and create variety and interest. You can use different methods for different phases of your session, such as introduction, exploration, synthesis, action, and evaluation. You can also use different methods for different types of interactions, such as presentation, discussion, collaboration, reflection, and feedback. For example, if you want to introduce a topic or concept, you might use a story, a metaphor, or a quiz. If you want to explore a problem or opportunity, you might use a SWOT analysis, a fishbone diagram, or a scenario. If you want to synthesize or summarize the key points, you might use a mind map, a graphic organizer, or a word cloud.

5 Encourage participation

Another way to change your facilitation approach to better engage participants is to encourage their participation and involvement throughout your session. Participation is essential for creating a sense of ownership, engagement, and learning among your participants. You can encourage participation by using various strategies, such as asking open-ended questions, inviting feedback and input, acknowledging and appreciating contributions, creating a safe and respectful environment, and providing incentives and rewards. For example, if you want to ask a question, you might use a poll, a chat, or a breakout room. If you want to invite feedback or input, you might use a sticky note, a flip chart, or a shared document. If you want to acknowledge or appreciate contributions, you might use a clap, a thumbs up, or a verbal praise.

6 Adapt and improvise

The final way to change your facilitation approach to better engage participants is to adapt and improvise according to the situation and feedback. No matter how well you plan and prepare your facilitation approach, you might encounter unexpected challenges, changes, or opportunities during your session. You need to be flexible and responsive to adapt and improvise your facilitation approach to suit the emerging needs and dynamics of your participants and your session. You can adapt and improvise by using various skills, such as observation, listening, empathy, creativity, and humor. For example, if you notice that your participants are losing interest or energy, you might change the pace or tone of your session, or introduce a game or a break. If you hear that your participants have a new idea or insight, you might explore it further or adjust your objectives or agenda.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?