Facilitation is a powerful medium for change within an organization. This is because when it is done well it engages the whole population and therefore makes it possible to develop in new ways and directions that previously were not possible.”Getting buy-in”, listening to the voices of everyone involved, and helping them to understand the perspectives of other stakeholders, are all vital components of facilitation. This is a mode of working which is inclusive, flexible, creative, and, crucially, collaborative.Facilitation that isn’t going well can sometimes resort to Guerrilla tactics. This is a big no-no, and is guaranteed to alienate your audience and blow your credibility out of the water.To be a successful facilitator, and to enjoy the work of facilitation, it is necessary to build trust and to adopt an open, prejudice-free frame of mind.If you sense there might be a sadistic tendency lurking somewhere in your agenda to “catch out” your participants, or “teach them a lesson”, then STOP RIGHT NOW. You are in danger of trying to use covert guerrilla tactics to “wake them up to learning”.I speak from experience. On one occasion I became so frustrated with the lack of response I was receiving from a group of lawyers in a workshop that I “staged” a tantrum my daughter would have been proud of when she was a toddler, including flinging myself on the floor and screaming. My intention was to make them see that we can take on any perspective we choose at any point in time. Unfortunately all they saw was a mad woman losing control of herself in a way that didn’t make any sense to them whatsoever.On another occasion I heard some novice facilitators devise a rouse to leave their participants out in the corridor prior to their workshop, in an attempt to make the point that “even when circumstances work against you, you can still make the best of a situation.” This would not have got them very far in building a relationship of safety and trust with their audience.Guerrilla tactics may be innocently borne out of your own excitement and enthusiasm for what you want your participants to GET. Add a dash of doubt in their capacity to GET IT, and a pinch of nervousness in your own ability to deliver IT, and you’re on dangerous ground.As with anything in life, when we feel insecure we tend to over-dramatize. Guerrilla facilitation tactics are always dodgy and rarely well-received. People do not like to be treated like fools or patronized.It is much more simple and straightforward to believe in the participants as human beings with stacks of knowledge, skill, opinion and an unfailing desire to always do their best. This way you can move towards them in the facilitation, invite them to participate, help them use their “choice muscle” (one of the most underused capabilities in those new to facilitated personal development work).”Meeting people where they are”, acknowledging their fears and prejudices, and respectfully inviting them to join in with the session are much more effective ways of encouraging people to lower their defenses and heighten their own responsibility.Author: Juliet PlattArticle Source: EzineArticles.comProvided by: Credit card currency-exchange fees
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