Corporate Training By Zack Academy - Facilitation Skills For Environmental Professionals

Why Should You Take This Facilitation Skills For Environmental Professionals course?

This two-day Facilitation Skills For Environmental Professionals course provides a core program of theory, discussion and practice designed to develop attendees' basic and more advanced facilitation skills. Facilitation skills are used to form productive teams, plan programs, and to implement controversial projects. Trained facilitators help groups communicate productively, constructively manage diverse points of view, and create concrete actions as a result of meetings. It is also a personally satisfying experience when you, as the meeting facilitator, bring out the best in the people in a meeting and can help a team improve its performance.

After reviewing basic facilitation skills such as how to set up a meeting for success (writing objectives, sharing agendas, etc.), the instructor will introduce and provide opportunity to practice techniques for facilitating groups with specific goals. For example, certain methods are utilized when answers need to be generated, and others are used to facilitate groups that need to make decisions. In addition, time will be allocated to practice techniques to handle difficult behaviors.

Intended Audience:

This course is intended for scientists and resource managers who must plan, facilitate or manage meetings or anyone interested in learning facilitation skills. The skills learned in the class are applicable to work groups and project teams, larger staff groups, interdisciplinary teams, multiagency groups, and public meetings. Past attendees have included senior scientists, technical committee chairs, project leaders, executives, managers, supervisors, technical staff, and clerical, seasonal, and contract employees.

Topics To Be Covered Include:  Please see syllabus for complete listing of course topics. 

What to Bring to Class:  Pen or pencil, and paper if you do not want to take notes in your manual. Drinks and snacks will be provided each day. Lunch will be on your own.

Syllabus

Syllabus:

Perspectives
Why doesn"t everyone think like me?

Meetings
Different meetings for different needs

Roles and Responsibilities - 
Who wears what hat?

Planning Meetings
Assessing needs, objectives, and purpose

Process and Content
The two parts of effective meetings

Logistical Considerations
The right room, the right set up

Basic Facilitator Skills
Verbal and nonverbal communication skills
Maintaining rapport
Framing, reframing, and paraphrasing
Managing personal states of being

Basic Facilitation Processes and Their Use
Use the right process 
Agenda
Ground rules
Open participation
Presenting information
Collecting information
Analyzing information
Decision making
Closing the meeting
Evaluation

A Facilitator"s Tool Kit
Tools that make meetings better and easier

Managing Group Dynamics
Tracking and assessing audience needs

Skills Practice and Feedback
Creating a safe place to explore

Discussion on Challenges
How to prevent or deal with problems