How can you steer a Facilitation session back on track?
Facilitation is a skill that involves guiding a group of people through a process of learning, problem-solving, or decision-making. It can be applied to various contexts, such as workshops, meetings, trainings, or interviews. However, facilitation is not always smooth and easy. Sometimes, you may encounter challenges that can derail your session, such as conflicts, distractions, confusion, or resistance. How can you steer a facilitation session back on track? Here are some tips to help you.
The first step to get your session back on track is to identify the root cause of the issue. Is it a lack of clarity, a misunderstanding, a disagreement, or a lack of engagement? By asking questions, listening actively, and observing the group dynamics, you can diagnose the problem and address it accordingly. For example, if the issue is a lack of clarity, you can restate the objectives, agenda, and expectations of the session. If the issue is a misunderstanding, you can clarify the terms, concepts, and assumptions that are causing confusion.
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Marci French, CAM, CAPS
DE&I and Leadership Facilitator and Keynote Speaker. NAAEI Sr. Faculty, and VP of Asset Management.
I agree, questions are the answer! Asking questions can increase engagement by 4 times. Finding out why the participants aren’t engaged comes by way of additional questions.
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Oussama BEN-ALEYA
Agile Trainer & Solution Architect @ Sofrecom | Agile Project Management, Cloud Computing
Before any facilitated session, clear communication about the agenda is crucial. In my experience, setting expectations early and providing a detailed outline of the topics to be discussed helps prevent confusion. Ensuring that participants understand the purpose and flow of the meeting beforehand fosters a focused and productive environment from the start. This proactive approach minimizes the risk of going off track and enhances the overall effectiveness of the session.
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The second step to get your session back on track is to use appropriate interventions to resolve the issue. Depending on the nature and severity of the issue, you may need to use different types of interventions, such as redirecting, reframing, summarizing, or validating. For example, if the issue is a disagreement, you can redirect the conversation to focus on the common goals, reframe the conflict as an opportunity for learning, summarize the main points of each side, or validate the feelings and perspectives of the participants.
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Marci French, CAM, CAPS
DE&I and Leadership Facilitator and Keynote Speaker. NAAEI Sr. Faculty, and VP of Asset Management.
In addition, if the session is in person, you can use body language to help redirect a class. Standing with your back to someone who is disruptive or directing the class back up front to a presentation can change the class energy. A well placed break or activity an also get the class back on track.
The third step to get your session back on track is to adjust your plan accordingly. Sometimes, you may need to modify your agenda, timing, methods, or activities to suit the needs and preferences of the group. For example, if the issue is a lack of engagement, you can introduce more interactive, creative, or fun elements to your session, such as polls, games, or brainstorming. Alternatively, you can also ask the group for feedback and suggestions on how to improve the session.
The fourth step to get your session back on track is to reinforce positive behaviors that support the success of the session. This can include acknowledging contributions, appreciating efforts, celebrating achievements, or providing constructive feedback. By doing so, you can build rapport, trust, and motivation among the participants, and encourage them to continue participating actively and cooperatively.
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Marci French, CAM, CAPS
DE&I and Leadership Facilitator and Keynote Speaker. NAAEI Sr. Faculty, and VP of Asset Management.
In my experience, rewarding engagement with excitement and treating the participant as an “expert” will encourage others to participate. Of course not all participants are extroverted personalities, so it’s important to watch the expressions and body language of all your students to see if there might be an opportunity to call on them as well.
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The fifth step to get your session back on track is to seek support from others when needed. You don't have to handle everything by yourself. You can delegate tasks, ask for help, or consult experts to assist you with the facilitation. For example, you can assign roles to some participants, such as note-takers, timekeepers, or facilitators. You can also ask a colleague, a mentor, or a coach to join your session as a co-facilitator, an observer, or a feedback provider.
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Jasper Buys
I implement effective employee wellbeing, engagement, and peak performance strategies | Wellness Leader | Organizational Psychologist & Certified Health Coach
It can feel very lonely if you are a solo facilitator with a cohort that is close and collectively not engaged. Leaning into more participatory style can be a good option in these cases. Pulling challenging or disruptive participants into co-facilitation/responsible roles can also be a good judo/jedi move. This moves them out of the critic on the sideline role. If you have multiple sessions with the same group, having 1:1 conversations with particularly critical or disruptive participants can help surface and address the underlying issue(s). Asking a trusted mentor/coach/facilitator or client leader/sponsor to observe or participate might also help to give you perspective on what and how to adjust the next and following sessions.
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The sixth step to get your session back on track is to learn from experience and improve your facilitation skills. After the session, you can reflect on what went well and what went wrong, and identify the lessons learned and the areas for improvement. You can also solicit feedback from the participants, the co-facilitators, or the observers, and use it to enhance your future sessions. By doing so, you can become a more effective and confident facilitator.
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Jasper Buys
I implement effective employee wellbeing, engagement, and peak performance strategies | Wellness Leader | Organizational Psychologist & Certified Health Coach
The hardest part is knowing when to intervene and when to let a process or detour unfold, as premature intervention can actually stifle engagement, trust, creativity, and good but unplanned outcomes. However, if you get the sense that things are really heading off track in a detrimental way, pausing the session to regroup or check in with a few participants is often a better bet than just ploughing on. In the past I have paused a session to check in with the participants through informal and open discussion to get their perspectives on what was happening. This does require trust and the confidence to be able to adjust based on the feedback, or stay the course. Checking in with the sponsor or breaking early are also considerations.
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