One Way to Facilitate your Learners' Success

On Tuesday, Gwyn invited me to join the first live session of her 6-week online course - Breakthrough Facilitation Cohort 3.

She asked me to share as a Breakthrough Facilitation Alumni, my Virtual Facilitator Coefficient, and my breakthrough in Cohort 1.

Before the course, I couldn’t grasp what facilitation actually is.

It felt like magic - it just happened.

I’d be like, that is amazing, I got so much out of that session. I want to create that energy for my sessions too… but how?!

I’d spend hours (over)preparing. My 1:1 or group sessions felt like a mix of activities and content that lacked flow.

I’d have questions like:

• Did they really understand what I shared?
• Did they find the activities valuable and engaging?
• Did they feel inspired and achieve the transformation I wanted them to have?

When I took the Virtual Facilitator Coefficient at the start of the course, I was surprised to discover I was 50% of the way to design and facilitate engaging online sessions.

I understood Gwyn’s facilitation framework: Design, Prepare, Connect, and Guide.

But it wasn’t until Gwyn invited me to take the Virtual Facilitator Coefficient, did I actually stop and reflect on my level of performance in each facilitation skill in the framework.

When writing down my reflections I:

1. Learnt what facilitation is.
2. Became aware of my current strengths as a facilitator. AND the transferable skills I can apply from other areas of my life.

You can see in my results I scored high in the pillars connect and guide. These strengths came from 10 years experience of working as a qualified Reflexologist and Grinberg Method Practitioner.

This gave me confidence. I wasn’t starting on a back foot. I started the course with a sense of hope, encouragement and curiosity.

The Coefficient helped me realise what to focus on to improve my facilitation. My goal for the course was to be more confident when leading virtual 1:1 and group sessions. I chose with clarity and objectivity to double down on my preparation and design facilitation skills.

I kept an eye and ear out for the structures, tools, and techniques to create an online experience that engages people from beginning to end.

I put into practice the key steps to prepare and design for a powerful session. My breakthrough was there is a system to create an impactful session. Each time I practised the steps, I became more familiar and confident with taking them.

Taking the Virtual Facilitator Coefficient gave me the time to stop, reflect, and assess how best to make the most of the course to achieve my goal.

If I didn't do it, my efforts and attention in the course would have been dispersed. I would have walked away with knowing more, but without a sense of achievement.

It gave me the information and clarity I needed to focus on the actions that would make the difference to achieving my goal. I completed the course with a sense of satisfaction and success.

I now spend less time worrying about what to do. I focus on taking the steps to prepare and design an engaging session. I get to enjoy the sessions more too!

After my share, Gwyn invited the participants of Cohort 3 to go into breakout rooms of 2 people to share:

• Their strengths and areas for growth.
• One breakthrough they’d like to have in the course.

My share role-modelled and facilitated the activity. An example of great facilitation at work and how to use the MySnapshot Self-Assessment tool to empower your learners at the start of your course and set them up for success.

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Community Business Summit

I'm excited to share the Community Business Summit Tatiana Figueiredo is co-hosting with the community I'm a proud member of: Build A Community Business.

The line up is incredible, including Peter Block, author of Community: The Structure of Belonging.

Join us next week, 4-6 October for the free and welcoming 3-day gathering where we'll celebrate, promote, and uplift community businesses as powerful vehicles for belonging.

More details + how to join us here! https://summit.businessofcommunity.co​

Charlotte

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