Facilitation is the application of a set of proven techniques and processes to support a group to work together to meet a set of shared goals.

My preferred approach is what is termed "content-neutral facilitation." That means, for me, that facilitation is all about process. The group brings any content expertise to the meetings. The Facilitator brings only process expertise. My work is also "outcome-neutral." If you, as a manager or group leader, have already reached a decision and simply need to communicate that decision to the group, I will be happy to coach you on how that might best be accomplished. But that process is not, in my judgment, facilitation.

The Facilitator helps your group define and accomplish its goals

Facilitation is not training either, although one of the goals might be to enhance, for the long-term, the group's skills at working together. This approach, which usually entails many meetings over an extended time frame, is called "developmental facilitation." Facilitation which is focused only on achieving a more limited set of goals, during one meeting or a short series of meetings, is often referred to as simply "process facilitation."

As soon as you decide to hire a Facilitator! You already have some thoughts about what the facilitation will look like. If you are responsible for organizing a meeting, I will begin by sitting down with you to discuss your vision for the meeting and the outcomes you want. I will have a number of questions for you to consider - such as how much time you have allotted and what the group's prior experience together has been. I will then propose a design for the meeting or meetings which will, if possible, produce the desired outcomes within the time available. I will work with you (or with a meeting design team) to refine the design to one which will be most effective.

During the meetings, I will introduce and describe the processes to be used. I may act as a timekeeper to help the group stay on track. I may capture a "group memory" on flip charts and may maintain during the meeting a visible list of "to do" assignments and items tabled for later discussion. This will all be done in plain sight and I will not ordinarily paraphrase or summarize a participant's input except with the complete concurrence of the participant. My neutrality on the content will be a key part of the "contract" which I will offer to the group at the beginning of our time together.