The facilitator’s role in running the session
Once the workshop starts, you, as the facilitator, are responsible for ensuring that the group
accomplishes the activities set, and maintains itself as a group.
In order to maintain the group, you will need to observe, listen and
be aware of the way individuals are reacting to one another (the
group dynamics); enabling each person to feel accepted as part of the
group and able to participate equally; enabling participants to listen
and learn from each other; drawing common threads and pointing
out differences of opinion. You need to be aware of possible
difficulties, such as ‘scapegoating’ of individuals, or individual members
dominating the group. You need to find ways of working with them
constructively.
Encouraging balanced group participation
People learn better and feel better if they are in a group with balanced participation. As a facilitator
you need to be very aware who is speaking and who is not. For those people who find it difficult to
speak out in a group, the facilitator can:
Build confidence and trust within the group –for example, get participants to work in small
groups and use introductory activities.
Make explicit the principles of participatory training and help the group to establish relevant
ground rules (for example, you may tell the group that men usually talk more than women in
groups and that you would like to encourage more equal participation).
Make everyone feel valued and that their experiences are relevant.
Draw people out by using specific questions or rounds.
Do a round of ’something I’ve been wanting to say all morning’.
Divide participants into separate-sex groups, if the women are being quieter than the men.
Remember that people should not be forced to participate in an activity if they do not want to.
Some individuals speak too much and dominate the group. In these cases the facilitator can:
Use the ‘talking stick’ method where people only speak when they hold the stick; and
no interruptions are allowed.
Divide people into small groups, with the quiet ones together and the talkative ones together.
Speak privately to the individual/s concerned.
Ask the dominant individual to present a topic, which others then discuss.
Introduce a rule that no-one speaks twice before everyone has spoken once.
In Appendix 2 there
are expanded notes on
facilitation skills and
techniques (page XX),
and a Trainer Evaluation
Sheet (page XX)note !!
Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Unit 2, Facilitator’s Guidelines^75