How can you overcome common challenges when facilitating group discussions?

A supportive tip within group discussions is last, first and first, last. What is the absolute last thing you want to talk about during that discussion. Put that first. Noting difficult pressure points or areas where discussion feels challenging is best upfront because time can often get away from us. This gives us space to talk about whats needed, take a slight pause if necessary and move forward. Always leave space for feedback to make people know your listening and not just waiting for your turn to share. First, last describes that sometimes the easy one-off questions can be better sent through email or text. Ask yourself whats really supportive for this discussion? Creating collaboration is essential to building trust in groups.

What I find helpful is to have timing for every session and have a volunteer or nominated person keeping track of time. If a conversation overruns but participants are engaged, as long as the discussion helps achieve the meeting's outcome, facilitators can repriorize the agenda. Another tool is to agree to call out if people are going down a rabbit hole, along with time keeping. These items can be captured on a 'parking lot' page and revisited at a later stage.

Recently, I realized the value of sending out expectations, potential questions, or topics to participants before sessions. I love impromptu discussions; it is exciting to see where the discussion will lead. For example, talking about preparing for retirement, then somehow end up talking about someone’s dog saving their life at a festival. Having fun during a discussion is essential; but during training I have specific skills/knowledge outcomes needed by the end of the session. With accessibility & inclusion in mind, I give participants time to think, write out, and pick key talking points before the discussion. This factors in the different types of personality and the time it takes to process information (e.g., introverts and extroverts).

If you are asked to facilitate another's group, find out "why" you are there. The perception a leader may have of the group, may be a different perspective than the members of the group are experiencing. No matter the planning or framework, it is difficult to help others upgrade their culture to what can be without first determining what members think is working and what is not.

Co-cresting a “group culture” at the top of any facilitated session is essential - And the flow and steps vary greatly depending on the make up of the group: if a group has been together and you’re an outsider coming in, or an outsider with a group that doesn’t meet very often, or an insider with a group that meets often. Getting buy-in by creating a “group culture” together, simple and guided, is far more powerful than telling people what the group rules are. You save time and build more trust in the long run by skillfully facilitating the session parameters or rules with them at the top.

To build rapport and trust, the use of the tools, more than the tools themslves is essential. We too often throw more tools at a situation, rather than truly learning how to use the tool. Our technique when using an icebreaker to create and build trust and report is far more important than what icebreaker you use. Perhaps challenge the use of the word icebreaker, even though it is traditional, and instead call it an integrator, or a connecting exercise. It’s undersrandable for people to be wary at the top of a session, and it’s our job to be highly skilled in order to create a safer space and build the trust. We need to focus more on how we do what we do rather than what we do.

I'm a big fan of building an environment of safety for increased participation through respectful 'invitation'. I find that if I let the group know at the beginning how much I value their contributions, and how often I hear that participant's main take away message is hearing from others and other experiences/point of view/questions, it helps create an environment of 'co-creation'. I also let them know that they can participate as they feel comfortable, but if they feel called to participate or even are 'on the fence', to give it a try - likely others attending will greatly appreciate it. The co-creation of material and discussion with the group (not just coming from me) has always been, in my experience, the most valuable AND impactful.

In my experience, a story goes a really long way to bring the topic to life and can create a shared experience from the start if opened up to participants. In case of conflict, Transactional Analysis was a real revelation in my career and I always go back to it. It's quite easy to spot who is in what ego state (rebellious child, critical parent, etc ), and the facilitator has to be the adult in the room, bringing the discussion back to facts and what's really happening in the room.

One of the things that can be done is an agreement on what we do when we get into a conflict. Another option is to use a parking lot. This may help us set ground rules and park topics which have potential conflicts

I don't do 'icebreakers' but always include an appropriate warm-up. JL Moreno, father of sociometry and psychodrama, believed that groups or individuals were not resistant, but were not properly warmed up, or warmed up to a different topic than the presenter. Time spent developing and introducing warm-ups involving participants will pay off in the overall group process.

Facilitators of meetings have the golden opportunity to impact the meeting to the fullest. The ability to listen, to adapt their own communication to the styles of various participants, and thereby get the quiet members to open up and the verbose members to temper down and create a balance. And the ability to create psychological safety can bring the best out of the participants.

To balance out participation is one of the hardest things to do when facilitating to a group. You don't want to have endless discussions or hear examples but at the same time you also don't want to cut off people since this can harm their self confidence and interactiveness. I always try to balance it out, listen and try to 'feel' the group for what is their needs level of information.

If you find a few dominating the conversation, acknowledge their ability to speak up, and ask them to help involve the others.

I would add that facilitators need to be cognisant of the different cultures in the room, whether it's a physical or virtual room. Some cultures are more hierarchical or quiet unless invited to comment, others are more vocal or emotional. The facilitator needs to acknowledge the diversity in the group and maybe break out into smaller groups to facilitate a less intimidating exchange.

I appreciate the comment added by Linda Swindling because having a few people monopolize the conversation is something that makes me uncomfortable as a facilitator and participant. When I'm the facilitator, I sometimes respond by saying "That's an interesting perspective. I'd love to hear from others." But I wonder if that sounds too harsh to the person contributing and the other participants and might discourage further conversation.

Just like with teaching, you can never underestimate the value of a strong plan. It took me some time to learn these strategies but, with them, I almost never struggle with pacing now. I plan time stamps for each portion of my PD and insert “buffer” time where I can. Buffer time is extra time to account for anything that might run over. I usually add this to work-time or discussions. I also pre-determine which sections are critical (can’t be dropped) and which sections are flexible (can be dropped or reduced if pacing falls behind). If all else fails, never be afraid to poll your participants quickly if you need to make adjustments. That’s a great way to ensure you’re still meeting their interests and needs!

As well as managing time and space, make sure to vary different session types, e.g., tell, group activities, poll, etc. to make it more engaging. Having multiple speakers also ensures the session is less monotonous.

One thing I always find helpful is to not wait for the end to summarize. Summarizing at the end of each section reinforces the message, helps ensure participants follow the flow and have expressed their views before moving on.

Another helpful point to note about summarising is how it helps reinforce the main ideas and even the right message, sometimes during facilitation participants may pick up an idea that is not necessarily what they need. Summarising brings light key ideas and highlights participation.

You should also consider giving a survey or assessment at the end of your discussions, to be able to measure your results. In my experience, incorporating this technique to my curriculum development services has set my clients programs to a different tier. They are now yielding over $500,000 in grants due to adding this tip to their program systems. I hope this adds value to you.

Ask for champions to carry out whatever actions are determined. Everyone needs a role. Relying only on the facilitator or leader to summarize and implement prevents the culture from owning changes and solutions.

The ability to make notes help the facilitator not to miss out on contributions by all the members, this also enables the person to succinctly summarize the contents. Effective facilitators also possess the ability to rigorously follow up to the promised actions. And since success breeds success, participants in a meeting look forward to participate in a meeting facilitated by someone who has shown success in the past.

To overcome challenges in facilitating groups - it's critical to understand what some of those challenges could be. My favorite approach is two-pronged: 1. understand what the convener/stakeholder perceives the most important outcomes and goals of the facilitation are. And, what is the concern beneath that goal? And, 2. connect with group members in advance to understand their openness or resistance to the goals from #1. These conversations help us know what to prepare for, what sorts of exercises and tools will be most useful, and what discussions to bring forward in the event - and how to spot and maneuver around land-mines. All these require building trust and safety.

Be prepared, know the room and surroundings and test all the technical equipment in time. You don't want to delay your facilitation because there is too much noise outside due to construction work or because you cannot get your beamer or sound to work functionally. It this happens, you will be stressed already before the session begins

Meeting with group members prior to build trust, understand perspectives and pain points is essential to develop a good understanding of what exactly you’ll be facilitating. Use this information to build guiding questions and structure to the session, allocating time for the group to have a voice and air the pain points. Wrap up these with themes you’ve heard during the session from the group- checking you’ve heard correctly (validation) and moving to next session item.

One thing which I have found helpful is doing a dry run before the actual session. Helps to visualize the flow and potential issues that might come up.