Want to be a Thought Leader? Learn Facilitation Skills for Virtual Meetings

Overview and Role Issues for Thought Leader and Facilitator

In virtual meetings it is critical for the facilitator to play the role of initiator, information giver and seeker so as to keep the discussion on topic. Facilitators help the group to not lose sight of the overall goals of the program. They present issues, share opinions, and discuss practice concerns and challenges. Their main goal is to influence participant’s thinking and practices.  A facilitator can bring an intensified focus that increases the energy of the group and an outside perspective that helps to re-instill effective group dynamics and focused communication techniques.  This can overcome complex obstacles or information overload.

Professionals and executives  are always facing hectic schedules and demanding workloads, the virtual meeting environment requires all the strengths you bring to a face to face meeting.  The more is high energy and a commitment you bring the more the participants are in engaged and learning. Drawing from a mix of communication, creativity, meeting management, and project management tools, your role as a facilitator can be particularly helpful in teasing out challenges and obstacles for change, resolving disagreements, and replacing deeply entrenched ways of doing things with new and creative practice behaviors that improve patient care and recovery.

 

During the session you will be asked to play two roles: thought leader and facilitator. In your thought leader role participants want you to provide new ideas and clinical tips that will improve their effectiveness. So you need to try and fulfill these expectations. How to execute as a “thought leader” and a “facilitator” include the following behaviors:

 

Thought Leader

• Model the ability to listen closely, while at the same time assertively communicating the goals of the session.
• Remain neutral and objective
• Provide evidence and stories that support your point of view
• Seek win/win solutions over “I am the expert” which creates tension and a potential win/lose learning atmosphere.

Host/Facilitator

• establish rules of the road—guidelines for how the team will operate
• focus the group on the goals and expectations for the session
• set the expectations early on for a successful session
• keep all the participants engaged and involved
• ask the obvious and even so called stupid questions (there are none)
• record observations and feed back ideas and challenges to the participants
• provide closure to sessions
• appreciate the value of staying on time and finishing on time.

The thought leader and facilitator role enables you to take control and at the same time involve participants in the group session. If you are successful in the new combined roles, the session will move from a “tell and sell” lecture into an interactive discussion and peer-to-peer learning experience.

 

As with any consultant, facilitators have varying preferences, capabilities and approaches.

There are two distinct result orientations: producing results/task orientation (Goal Directed) versus improving group communication and learning process effectiveness (Process Directed).

Task or Goal Directed Facilitation

Sometimes a very specific task needs to be tackled in order to deliver a specific result, such as idea development, decision making, mission statements, or problem solving. A skilled facilitator can help the group focus on the task at hand and employ communication techniques (information providing, questioning etc.) that are effective in solving a particular task. Asking thought provoking questions, summarizing discussions, identifying and categorizing components, and root cause analysis are examples of specific task oriented group directed facilitation activities. Each technique is selected to support the group in delivering the needed results. Techniques can be combined or alternated to tackle even the most complex issues.

Process Directed Facilitation

These process techniques build the capacity to have meaningful dialogues that can lay the groundwork for interactive discussions and support changes in the behavior of participants. Facilitated discussions encourage critical thinking and exploration of ideas so that all assumptions and past practices can be reviewed and new learning can take place.

 

Facilitators need to possess basic skills to help a group communicate in an open and involved manner. Timely interventions are the key to you success. The tools we are focusing on will be active listening, questioning, and empathy.  Special tools and techniques are utilized to diagnose and address specific issues that face the group. The focus of this workshop is to improve your specific skills such as conflict resolution, reflection of feelings, and honest direct communication. Building interpersonal skills and dealing with problems that block adult learning can dramatically improve the overall productivity of the sessions.

 

 

Excellence in “sticky” presentations–Nail the Opening

“Excellence in presenting is not just informing or sharing technical knowledge. One must make a unique and emotional connection that rises above techniques or delivery style so that audience are met and exceed” Mark W. Hardwick, Ph.D.

Your first task as a presenter is to set a positive and enthusiastic tone for the meeting. To accomplish this task of rapport building you need to introduced every participant and agree on some “rules of the road” for interacting. Llike, saying their names before making a comment and putting their cell phones on mute etc. Next briefly highlight the purpose for the meeting. For example, say: “The goal of the meeting today is to share and problem solve “best practices” for the Transplant Team to positively impact the recovery of patients. This beginning process needs to be completed within 90 -12o seconds of starting the meeting. If you start too slow or with low energy you can lose participants from the get-go.

Next you need to review and agree to the Agenda making sure it meets the participants expectations and needs for learning. You need to take this opportunity to hook and get commitment from the participants that what is going to be discussed is relevant to their needs. Practice delivering the Agenda with clarity and conciseness. Don’t go into  minute detail because you run the risk of losing the audience. This review needs to be done in about 30-45 seconds to be effective. Before moving forward ask the listening audience for input and commitment to go forward with the body of your presentation. After this brief discussion summarize the Agenda by saying the following: Our agenda now includes these three key points: First, I will review the key process components for success in the Transplant Recover process, Second, we will review the roles of key personnel in the process and how each role is linked to the healing process.And finally we will have Mary introduce the Case we will discuss and analyze for more key learnings in Transplant process. Finally, we will share key take away points that can make a difference in how we add value to the process by finding better ways to  connect and care for our patients.

Now let’s start with one of the key points I would you to take away from this discussion: ( This is called the learning “hook” or attention grabber).