As facilitators, particularly when you're training, have you ever felt compelled to speak fast and spill out the goods in order to keep people interested and engaged? In a world where the McDonalds paradigm often infiltrates our better intentions, do you let quantity trump quality and speed overcome depth? I know I've done this before. I get caught up in the moment, loose myself...and the group, in my frantic desire to deliver the agenda...my agenda!

Most of us already suffer from information obesity and we're starving for quality, depth, and connection. And though we're conditioned to respond to high speed, broadband relationships, I believe we all yearn for a taste of thoughtful sincerity that touches our souls.

How do we deal with this pervasive expectation to deliver a lot of information quickly, keep it compelling, and still connect with our audience and their needs?

• Slow down. When we're spilling out information in broadband mode, we're in our heads and it's difficult to connect with ourselves, much less our audience. When you slow down and connect with yourself, you have access to your intuition and to your senses. These tools allow you to tune in to your audience and sense the nuances of their energy and behavior, giving you clues as to whether they're really interested in what you're sharing and how well their connecting with it. Slowing down also gives them space to interact with you so that you can respond to what they want to know in the moment.
  
  
• Less is more. These days, information is cheap and incredibly easy to get. Don't waste your time and that of your participants downloading information. Assume that all of your participants can read and deliver necessary information in an email before or after your meeting. Spend your time instead co-creating knowledge that is first, desired by your participants, and second, practical enough for them to put into immediate action. Just enough knowledge, that's readily useable, is of increasing value today.
  
  
• Be a facilitator of experience and understanding. When we focus on "learning" instead of "training," we have to work at stepping into our client's perspective. Much of this point of view won't be available until we're in the room with them. That means improvising is a given. I find that the more I practice the scales on my guitar, the better improvisor I become. This goes for group work as well. It's paradoxical but true that the better prepared you are with a clear plan, that includes contingencies to deal with what's likely to happen, the better prepared you'll be to flex your agenda and respond to your group's needs in the moment.
  
  
• It's not all about you. How would you feel if you could stand in a group you are training or facilitating for five minutes or more without doing a thing or saying a word? You're not doing or saying anything because your group is self-facilitating a discussion that is right on track. Could you live with that? I find this happens often in my groups and requires setting up a context, and operating with the attitude that I'm at times a catalyst rather than a performer. In a bright group of individuals, it's not you who will always have all the right information, energy, ideas, or support that everyone needs. No one can possibly be that person. But if you build a context for connection, listening, and dialogue, everyone will hear one another and they'll be space for people to meet each other's needs for information and relationship in real time.

Learn more about facilitating learning experiences with our "Becoming a Learning Facilitator" self-guided telecourse and/or learning guide. Click here to learn more.

Each year the Experiential Training & Development Alliance (ETDA) hosts the Super Summit, an intimate gathering of the top Experiential Training and Development Professionals in the industry committed to enhancing professional practices, building skills, deepening relationships, learning new ways to think about our work, and having fun. Limited to 50 participants, the 2006 Summit will be held at Sunrise Springs, outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico (www.sunrisesprings.com). This welcoming, informal atmosphere provides the perfect setting for this group to come together. For more information visit www.etdalliance.com or contact info@etdalliance.com, (866) 733-7607, (919) 732-1784.