Facilitation and Master Facilitation 

aka "Herding Cats"

Program Description and Detail

The skill-building content for Facilitation consists of core content which we believe to be mandatory, and additional content to be selected by yourself based on your needs. Course length can be increased to accommodate large amounts of additional content.

Facilitation can be conducted to train professional facilitators, or to help self-directed teams facilitate themselves. Course includes follow-up evaluation of process-oriented facilitation skills. This includes our staff acting as a silent facilitator observing a real team meeting conducted some time after the training.

Facilitating: a Leadership Style, Core Objectives

	Ability to recognize different dysfunctional behaviors and balance them to improve team dynamics
	Knowledge of value of team vs. individual contributions
	Recognition of process dynamics within a team rather than content alone, including percentage of contribution, other's reactions to contributions, and ability to keep content on track
	Ability to periodically watch the team process in addition to content
	Improvement in active listening skills, including awareness and changed behavior in areas of blocks to listening
	Understanding importance of meeting agendas and their architecture and dynamic modification, including structured and unstructured time
	Ability to recognize and use problem solving techniques
	If specified, building a permanent team with the team members present

Facilitating: A Leadership Style

	How well do you get your point across in the face of conflict? How effective are you in bringing out the best in people?
	How prepared are you for the new leadership skills that will be required in this coming decade?
	Would you like to impart ownership of your quality skills to others?
	Did you ever wish that others could have as clear an understanding of your experience as you do?

This 3-day seminar/workshop is a basic application of the skills needed to manage quality in an influential way. It will benefit you immediately by sharpening your current leadership skills and teaching you new ways to be more constructive.

What You'll Learn: 

1. Master the 7 key principles of negotiation
2. Develop powerful skills needed to facilitate groups, through translation, moderation, motivation, and individual enabling and empowerment
3. Hold meetings which others say are models of constructiveness
4. Recognize potential misunderstandings before they reach the conflict point
5. Deal positively with conflict when it occurs, and be a major force in conflict resolution
6. Understand people's internal representational systems and decision strategies to promote ownership of your ideas
7. Learn how to identify and understand critical non-verbal feedback (especially from sources you may not have considered)
8. See yourself with new confidence by using the 4 proven methods of developing rapport with others
9. Speak the way others can hear and understand
10. Build highly competent teams
11. Solve tough problems using a dramatic 8-step technique
12. Make what people expect crystal clear
13. Become a more convincing leader

Core Content  

Importance of Rapport, the value of teams compared with individuals alone, and the nature of relationship vs. task

• Relationship vs. task exercises
• Self-identified examples of team process
• Multiple models of the world

Basic NLP dynamics related to communication science

• Introduction to Representational Systems
• Introduction to Sorting Styles
• Introduction and practice in Logical Levels, including organizational mission; personal identity, belief, capability, behavior, and environment; associated conflicts, demonstration and practice; and practice in matching. 

Non-verbal feedback mechanism concepts

Recognition, and dealing with dysfunctional behaviors, minor and permanent

	Behavior types
	Single solution Fear method
	Multiple solution stereotype method
	Percent of response time exercise

Comprehensive team dynamics training

	Desert Survival or Winter Survival Exercise
	Video taped
	Feedback on results
	Awareness training on behaviors and process, including problem recognition

Active listening skills, one on one

	Minimal cue recognition
	Pauses
	Speaking top down, in other's language
	"Phantom" head nod, when actually lost
	Freedom to question
	Freedom to corroborate and confirm comprehension

12 listening blocks

	Writing vs listening
	Worry about the lingering thought
	Worry about making one's point
	Desire to get out the objection
	Practice coupled with active listening techniques

NLP based confidence building techniques

Individual diagnostic and thorough technique time can be spent to overcome severe blocks to good communication. This can be done, solely at the option of the individual, and with sponsorship of the company.

Group techniques

	Capability and Confidence - installation and method
	Excellence technique, and replication of excellence
	Public speaking behavior generation
	Meetings: Brainstorming: best meetings, worst meetings; Design, distribution, follow up of agenda; Meeting logistics, participants, materials, preparation

Negotiation concepts

	8 Step problem solving technique
	Disney model: Dreamer, Realist, Critic
	8-step model: including problem recognition: Example of problem recognition; Directed practice in Brainstorming; Directed practice in Nominal Grouping Techniques

Team Building with the same team involved in practice exercises. 

The Bottom Line

The success of any interaction is the response it elicits. This workshop provides a new model for group interaction. The outcome is to assist you to be more effective by bringing out the best in other people. The specific tools utilized include Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) skills, the most important and authoritative Behavioral Science dynamic since the 70's.