Facilitator's and Trainer's Toolkit

Book excerpt: Master frameworks, techniques, and tools for conducting meetings, leading sessions and workshops, and transferring knowledge through education and training. In addition to focusing on proven methods, this book contains many new and innovative ideas developed through decades of the author’s experience. There are 12 chapters: • Chapter 1, Facilitation Framework, classifies all facilitation types into four generic categories: Strategies and Solutions, Programs and Processes, Learning and Development, and Cooperation and Collaboration. • Chapter 2, Value Proposition, leverages the Career Steps Framework to prove the return on investment of facilitation skills and competency. • Chapter 3, Facilitation Process, explains each phase of the facilitation process: Contract, Prepare, During Session, Conclude, and Evaluate. • Chapter 4, Facilitation Leadership, explores Napoleon Hills’ eleven factors of leadership, along with values, ethics, and competencies established by the International Association of Facilitators. • Chapter 5, Engagers and Energizers, reveals the art and science of educating and transferring learning to adults and optimizing the engagement of session participants using Dr. Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. • Chapter 6, Tools, introduces the foundational technique of brainstorming and shows how to use 35 handy facilitation tools for a variety of situations including problem solving, group dynamics, and storytelling. • Chapter 7, Workshop Environment, outlines facilitation-friendly principles followed by guidance on room set up, various seating patterns, equipment, food, and supplies. • Chapter 8, Virtual Facilitation, provides suitable alternatives to face-to-face facilitation using practical techniques in four key areas: Engagement, Relationship, Communication, and Technology. • Chapter 9, Cross-Cultural Facilitation, introduces proven techniques for how to facilitate learning transfer and effective collaboration across cultures through the application of Dr. Geert Hofsgtede’s dimensions of cross-cultural communication. • Chapter 10, Visual Facilitation, introduces the power of Visuals and Graphics Recording as a tool for effective collaboration and communication in organizational settings. • Chapter 11, Self-Development, provides guidelines on how to develop your facilitation competency and track your progress. This chapter concludes with the author’s own journey on becoming an accomplished facilitator. • Chapter 12, Tools Library, outlines a step-by-step approach along with templates and examples where each of the 35 tools from Chapter 6 can be successfully leveraged. The book concludes with a section on facilitator and trainer resources. Good facilitation is often the difference between a meeting that delivers outputs and actions, and one that delivers breakthrough solutions and results. Artie Mahal, who is a master facilitator and trainer, has delivered an easy to read book that describes the science and art of effective facilitation. He offers insights, techniques, tools, and knowledge that anyone can use to improve their facilitation and training skills. Paul Marabella Vice President & Chief Information Officer K. Hovnanian Companies, LLC USA In this book Artie has brought together a great collection of tools, techniques and advice that provides a sound basis for anyone looking to become a more engaging and effective facilitator. Phil Short IT Director, Speaker, Business Process Practitioner Canada Artie Mahal used his wealth of experience in process management to create an easy to read book and a process to follow for any facilitator and trainer. The book contains valuable tools, templates, checklists, methodology, and a framework. He created a great framework structure for any facilitated session to deal with various business issues such as strategies, processes, projects, and team cooperation and collaboration. Bassam A. AlKharashi Director of Business Innovation Services, ES Consulting Saudi Arabia Artie Mahal has taken a difficult and often misunderstood skill and made it easy to learn for the professional and novice alike. As a skilled facilitator for the past twenty-five years, this book has helped me “sharpen the saw” with new tools and concepts to help tackle any business challenge. For the novice facilitator, this book is an excellent guide as Mr. Mahal provides in-depth background and context for each facilitation concept before diving in with tools, tips, and techniques to master that concept. Jeffrey Diton BPTrends Certified BPM Professional, Business Process Center of Excellence Director USA Knowledge in any form aims to bring transformation. Mr. Mahal has articulated his own experience and training skills in form of this book as an endeavor to share his expertise and bring transformation in many lives. Today, the world is full of challenges and I would say that the challenges are like strangers’ appearing on the floor all of sudden. You need to be equipped with all tools and techniques to face such exigencies. For this, either you have to be trained or you must know how to train others to achieve desired goal. This text caters to both requirements. The flow of text is tremendously designed from Framework to proposition, process, Leadership, Engaging, Techniques of training and environment. Each part of the book is thoroughly shaped up and presented in real terms. Dr. Sandhir Sharma Dean, Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University India Artie Mahal has kindly given the blueprint on how to "wow" your audience every time they attend a session. The book in essence lays out practical processes facilitators can follow to ensure learning is happening, collaboration is taking place and your learners will be engaged! After reading this book, you will never facilitate a workshop, training session or meeting ever the same again. Faisal Usta Senior Account Executive in Learning and Development. USA Sooner or later you will have to facilitate. You have two options to get or improve facilitation competence: a) the long and painful trial and error way or b) the short and smart way, namely, using other experiences to prevent the errors, learn the shortcuts and avoid the pitfalls. This is a book for novice and even experienced facilitators. Read it. Use it. Learn from it. Take the short and smart way! Alexandre Magno Vazquez Mello BPM Experts, Partner and CEO Brazil People working together provide the foundation of human achievement. As we continue to move toward work that is more intellectual than physical, unlocking, compiling and harmonizing divergent views toward some common understanding is best accomplished through competent facilitation. This is not easy. In this groundbreaking book, Arjit Mahal moves far beyond a description of tools and techniques by providing a framework for the development of a career and, if desired a successful business in the growing area of facilitation. Dr. Edward Peters Chief Executive Officer, OpenConnect Systems Incorporated USA