Quality Facilitation is Key to Compelling Classroom Training
by Bob Shively, Enerdynamics President and Lead Facilitator
We kicked off this Energy Training Today blog in March with a series of articles describing how to create quality online training. But last month also wrote a blog titled “In the Rush to Add Online Training, Don’t Forget the Classroom.” Classroom-based learning will continue to play a vital role in the future of training. But the old way of delivering classroom training will not satisfy today’s learners. No longer will PowerPoint-based, front-of-the-classroom lectures to passive listeners be tolerated. The keys to compelling sessions that drive successful learning are quality facilitators and quality design. Let's explore what makes a quality facilitator.
The Learner Experience is Paramount
Many leaders of classroom training still think of themselves as instructors who are there to impart their knowledge to learners. At Enerdynamics, our classroom leaders are designated as facilitators whose job is to create experiential learning opportunities:
As recently described in the article The Future of Training[1]:
“For facilitators, this new type of classroom learning requires a new mindset and new skills. Rather than being the experts with the answers, they must learn to stimulate and guide discussions, and ask the right questions to get learners talking and exploring the issues.”
We often say learners in our seminars will learn as much from each other as they will from our facilitators. At the same time, it is the facilitator’s job to make sure all key concepts are discovered and discussed, and that the class stays focused on learning objectives. That’s not an easy job – it's almost like directing an orchestra compared to leading a march!
Key Traits and Skills for Facilitators
Some of what makes an excellent facilitator are skills that can be taught, but some are also inherent personality traits. Many former instructors have the right personality traits but have never had the opportunity to learn or implement the required skills.
Quality live training starts with a facilitator who truly cares about learners gaining the right knowledge and having their needs addressed. These needs may fit within the content outline or may pertain to other aspects of learning such as feeling respected or comfortable. One of the most rewarding comments I ever received came after facilitating a class when a woman told me she was very shy and almost never spoke in public but in my seminar she felt free to ask multiple questions and engage with other students.
Centering the seminar around participation with ongoing discussion and questioning leads to uncertainty on how any single seminar will flow. No more just following the script! Thus, facilitators must be comfortable with uncertainty and must embrace flexibility. But while doing so, facilitators must also keep a strong focus on learning objectives and ensure that all content has been covered and all learning objectives have been achieved — they just might be achieved in a different way from seminar to seminar. Lastly, facilitators must be humble. Participants must feel that their input and participation is strongly valued and that the group and the facilitator can learn from each other. I continually tell my audiences that I learn something new every time I facilitate!
As for skills, there seems to be a trend suggesting that any good facilitator can deliver any training content. At Enerdynamics we could not disagree more! To help learners on their journey, it is critical that the facilitator is knowledgable on the content plus the learner’s organization and specific circumstances. This gives the facilitator the confidence to let discussions go in any direction, to provide benefits to participants with deeper levels of knowledge than average, and to apply learning directly to the organization and to each individual’s specific job responsibilities. Facilitators must develop abilities to relate to learners, to ask questions and wait for answers even during an uncomfortable silence, and to stimulate discussion with and among participants. To get learners to participate, facilitators must help them feel comfortable enough to expose vulnerability in asking “dumb” questions or in answering a question incorrectly. Lastly, when it is time for the facilitator to present some key concepts, it is important to be a good storyteller. Stories tie the content together and keep learners engaged.
Sound tough? It is. Being an effective facilitator is a big task and involves much more than being a good speaker or a subject matter expert. But those who achieve success will have the pleasure of seeing learners leave a class energized and ready to apply what they've learned when they go back to work.
Footnotes
[1] www.traningmag.com, May 2018
