Master
Facilitator Journal | Issue #0289, February 13, 2007 ....
Dear
friends,
How excited would you be about sitting down to dinner when every night
you sat down to the same dish of luke warm green peas? Doesn't sound
all that appealing does it. Sadly, many teachers, trainers, and meeting
leaders, particularly in virtual environments, rely on this approach
day in and day out. They serve up green peas and expect us to be excited
about them. Obviously, I'm using green peas as a metaphor here. For
me, they represent the same, worn out way of doing things, of presenting
things. In this week's article, "Delivery Diversity," we briefly
review 10
modes of delivery that are all suited to not only live environments,
but to the virtual as well.
Warmest regards,
Steve
Davis
Publisher and Founder of FacilitatorU.com
Delivery
Diversity Use
multiple modes of delivery in your training and meeting events.
Presenting
Skill
How excited would you be about sitting down to dinner when every night you
sat down to the same dish of luke warm green peas? Doesn't sound all that
appealing does it. In fact, if we were the chef, we wouldn't expect people
to be too interested in even showing up for our meals, much less being enthusiastic
about them.
Sadly, many teachers, trainers, and meeting leaders, particularly in virtual
environments, rely on this approach day in and day out. They serve up green
peas and expect us to be excited about them. What do I mean by green peas
you ask? Obviously, I'm using green peas as a metaphor here. For me, they
represent the same, worn out way of doing things, of presenting things.
For example, most teleclass and virtual meeting leaders, in my experience,
rely almost exclusively on the lecture mode to relate information and learning.
This is the easiest way for the presenter to deliver information. It takes
little, if any facilitation skill, and it's the way we were all "taught"
in the twelve or more years of schooling we all endured.
As more of us shift to virtual modes of training, presenting, and leading,
the lecture mode is even easier to fall into. In fact, in an auditory only
environment, it's tempting for us to believe that there are few alternatives
for us to rely upon.
Why
use these other modes? There are several reasons. First, non-lecture modes
are a whole lot more fun for both you and your participants; they tend to
actively involve people more than lecturing; they can help participants
remember and integrate what is being delivered; and they help you appeal
to diverse learning styles in the group.
In my journey to use the virtual environment to deliver training and modeling
of group facilitation skills, I've discovered and experimented with at least
9 other modes of delivery besides lecture that I summarize in the next section.
Application
Even though we are typically confined to the auditory and/or visual channel
in virtual groups, there are still at least 10 different delivery modes
available to us that we can draw on to enrich the experience for everyone.
Here is a brief description of each of these modes.
1. Lecture
Typical
one-way information delivery.
Use to
orient and stimulate.
2. Experience
Group
activity.
Off-line
partner activity.
React
to or draw a graphic, picture, or mind map.
Draw a
mind map.
Journal
write on a subject or experience.
Get up
and move or pose in a way that represents …
Guided
visualization or meditation.
3. Story
Tell a
story to illustrate or reinforce a point.
Tell a
story to inspire or orient around a perspective.
Have participant
share their stories around the topic.
Have participants
make up a story around an issue or desired outcome.
4. Role
play
Between
you and participant to illustrate an activity.
Between
you and participant to demonstrate a skill.
Between
participants to practice a skill.
5. Sharing
After
an exercise to clarify experience.
To share
individual experience on a topic.
To pole
interest or experience in something, i.e., "How many of you …?"
6. Dialogue
Dialogue
is not something we can make happen, but we can be sensitive to when
it’s trying to occur and allow it to unfold between participants
for new insights and discoveries.
Helping
participants identify and release assumptions deepens dialogue.
7. M e
t a p h o r
What does
this image say to you with regard to … ?
If this
picture could speak, what would it say?
What image
comes to mind when….?
If the
image could speak, what would it say?
8. Coaching
To brainstorm
solutions.
To develop
a plan.
To fine
tune performance.
To expand
perspective.
To maintain
accountability.
9. Discussion
To facilitate
communication among participants to deepen, expand, and build knowledge
and understanding.
To enhance
relationships and connection among participants.
10. 3rd
Party Sources
Guest
speaker.
Recorded
interview with expert, customer, or other stakeholder.
Live or
recorded panel of experts.
These modes
are addressed in more detail in our workbook offered in the Resource section
below. We look forward to hearing additional approaches you've found useful
in delivering teleclasses and virtual meetings.
Action
Which of
these modes would be a stretch for you to apply in your groups? Which
one are you willing to experiment with this week? What ideas have I left
off the list? I’m interested in hearing your ideas around these delivery
modes. Just reply to this email to send me your comments.
Resource
Facilitating
at a Distance: The Core Essentials of Teleclass & Virtual Meeting
Facilitation Downloadable Workbook
Have
you considered offering a teleclass as a more efficient way to deliver
training, enhance group learning and generate more income for your business?
Or,
are you working with a distributed team that requires you to design
and facilitate virtual meetings?
When
done right, Teleclasses and Virtual Meetings (T/VM) are very effective
and inexpensive ways to train, collaborate, and problem-solve. But if
they aren't effectively facilitated, T/VM's can be a boring waste of
time!
Remove
the fear and uncertainty of teleclass/virtual meeting design and facilitation
with the workbook that accompanies the 5-day teleclass series: Leading
at a Distance: The Essentials of Teleclass & Virtual Meeting
Facilitation. Click
here for more details and purchase information.
Note
to Publishers
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you like to republish this or other articles from the journal? You are f$ree
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In
the Spotlight
Facilitator's
Checklist Collection This
38-page collection contains 25 checklists
on practically every aspect of group facilitation
and training including meeting preparation,
communication, participation, intervention,
teamwork, workshop preparation, and more...
Table
of Contents
1.
Agenda Template
2. Burn Out Self-Test
3. Consensus Building Checklist
4. Conflict Resolution Checklist
5. Creativity Competency Checklist
6. Facilitation Contracting Questionnaire
7. Facilitator's Full Participation Inventory
8. Facilitating Organizational Change
9. Facilitating Team Development Initiatives
10. Flip Charting Tips
11. “Hold It” Intervention Technique
12. Instructional Design Checklist
13. Intervention Checklist
14. Master Facilitator Competency Self-Assessment
15. Master Meeting Checklist
16. Meeting Manager Checklist
17. Participant’s Full Participation Inventory
18. Participant Meeting Preparation Checklist
19. Planning Checklist
20. Planning And Implementation Checklist
21. Presentation Preparation
22. Problem-Solving/Decision-Making
23. Teleconference Facilitation Checklist
24. Top Ten Things To Do As A Facilitator
25. Workshop Preparation Check List
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Full Participation Facilitator's
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This learning guide is for anyone who plays a facilitative
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