10 Tips for Next Level Facilitators

If you are a presenter, chances are good you spend part of your time "speaking" and part of your time "facilitating." There is a big difference.

Speaking is the act of verbally communicating information.

Facilitating is the act of moving an audience via speaking, interaction, discussion, experiential exercises, multimedia, etc.

The difference in the definitions highlights the key difference between speaking and facilitating - the latter is a much more complicated art form. The following are a few strategies of how to improve your facilitation-based presentations...

This particular list of 10 was co-developed by myself and the 08-09 Georgia FFA State Officers at Camp John Hope in June 2008. Thanks team!



1. Get the group physically active
2. Give clear directions
3. Allow the participants opportunities to share ideas and give opinions
4. Let the group direct their own learning at certain times
5. Get the group writing
6. Allow the participants to work in teams
7. Take the sharing from personal reflection to small group discussion to large group sharing
8. Have mood-appropriate music and always make it CPP - Clean, Powerful and Positive
9. Build in group encouragement
10. Set the context early in the agenda (let the group know what you are going to do and why)