The only rules you need to be the
world’s best facilitator.

1. Be human. Get a good night’s sleep beforehand, be well fed and watered. Hangry doesn’t feel good.

2. Don’t forget step point 1.

3. Arrive early to set up the room, with time to spare. Enough time that you could write a novel, cook for the queen and build a shed. You get the point. Get there early.

4. Know where key things are. Become lifelong buddies with the Events Team. Identify restrooms and check coffee is on tap.

5. It’s always a good aim to have your participants leave the course feeling they’ve been on holiday. So hang out with people as they arrive and resound to making this as unforgettable experience.

6. Content is key, but it comes hand-in-hand with process and design. Prepare all elements like a ninja.

7. Know your content in advance. Familiarise with it a week before so it floats through your mind. It should ruminate and solidify in your mind as you in the shower, as you park your car and as you feed your children...as you feed yourself!

8. Activate your inner timer. Yes, we’re saying you should become a human clock. Your intuition should tell you when 5, 10 or 15 minutes have passed so that you can stay to time and ensure no coffee breaks are missed!

9.  Listen. #nuffsaid (if you need some inspo, I’ll let Beyonce tell you)

10. But seriously, to help with building those listening skills...watch out for those verbal cues AND those body signals. Those moments during the coffee breaks are golden can be hugely informative if you are listening. You ‘ear that?

11. Mirror mirror on the wall. Look for inside out change. Superficial change will wash off after the next shower. Internal change, on the other hand, lasts.

12.  If you know the content more than the participants, JUST TELL THEM...DON’T attempt to coax it out of them. Fail to follow this tip and blank faces and awkward silences will be yours.

13.  Have a start, middle and end. Not an end, middle and start.

14. Questions, if not careful, can send your audience into a flurry of confusion. Be specific and ON POINT. Prepare them before the session.

15. For each session, think of a clear message that if they only walked away with that, you’d be happy with.

16. Structure things. There are a few different ways:

• IAR: Inform the theory, run the Activity, Review the learning

• EDI: Explain the theory, Demonstrate the activity and then ask the group to Imitate the activity

• SUD: Set-up, Upset, Set-Down.

• Depending on the situation, some of these are more appropriate than others.

 17. Always set a CRYSTAL CLEAR activity brief. Seriously. It’s not rocket science.

18. DON’T be that guy that creates redundant activities. Asking your participants to contribute something without having a clear purpose or reason for them will cause tears.

19. Be a buffet detective. You’re not there to eat, you’re there to understand the hopes, fears and dreams of your participants. This will enable you to build a relationships and rapport so that your delivery can be relevant and on point

20. Sedentary behaviour IS a big no-no. Keep your participants moving throughout the day. Energise them with activities that involve movement. Engage them with all five senses.

21. Practise your facilitation skills with your grandma, your sibling, your cousin, auntie and nephew. Facilitating is like working out...your brain is a muscle...it can be trained!  

22. What do facilitators eat for breakfast? Feedback. Seek feedback at every opportunity. (A side of tomatoes and mushrooms optional).

23. Kicking off a new session? It’s time to HOOK them in. Shock, mystery, a rhetorical question or intrigue all work like a dream. Master your Hook and they will hang off your every word.

24. Difficult questions. Welcome them. They are the best learning opportunities.

25. That tricky character with the odd questions? Don’t ignore them...welcome them like you would a sibling! They’re likely to be the contrarians, the round pegs in the square holes, the changemakers! They’ll probably be the ones to help you see differently so embrace them as a potential driver of innovation and creativity.

26. Role model what you’re presenting and live your message! Walk your talk.

27. Storytelling. We know, we know. It’s always tempting to be the hero of your own story. But we plead with you, don’t do it! By all means, be Superman outside of work and at the weekends if you like, but not during a training environment.

28. Have a “Phrase That Pays”. That punchline, that last line that makes jaws drop and the lesson hit home. Our favourite… “Find your Inner Dog!” Woof.

29. Don’t talk about running in your story, show it. A little West-End/ Broadway/ Hollywood magic goes a long way bringing your story to life! Let your inner actor shine through. That way, the learning will never be forgotten.

30. Don’t’ tell a story to be the funny guy or to look good. Tempting, but no. Make sure it has a purpose and a learning landing point.

31. Great storytellers NEVER make presuppositions about their stories.

32. Develop your story repertoire. You can imagine and practise these on friends and family. Make sure you have one in your “Bank of Stories” whenever you have learnt something new or have successfully worked in a team.

33. If the story is pretty heavy, lighten it carefully with humour.

34. Use your “chest voice”, yes it’s a thing. Youtube it...or just watch the video below.

35. Pause……………….

36. Pause………………..

37. Pause………………..

38. Silence is golden and a key technique. Especially when you don’t feel like it or forget to.

39. Pause………………

40. That space you have around you? See that? Use it. Go beyond standing in a single small square metre and walk towards your audience when you want to involve them.

41. Eye contact is as important here as it is when dating or picking up in a bar. But don’t hold for too long on one person. That only makes them feel uncomfortable. Hold eye contact with individuals but spread this love throughout the group as you present.

42. Thank your participants for their contributions and repeat what has been shared to show the gratitude you feel. Their post-its should be treated like gold-plated placards that are handled with gentle loving care.

43. Try not to say ‘I’ve lost my flow”. Just don’t do it. It’s not cool.

44. Believe it or not, there is a technique to writing and holding marker pens properly. A mix of thin writing with thick is so 1990. Perfect your marker pen skills before your training kicks off.

45. Pencils can always be used to write secret prompts on the flipchart. Let’s keep that an industry secret. *Wink wink*

46. If you can get awkward Jane and a silent Bill* to integrate into a high performing team, you’re on your way to a job well done. Resist temptation to always veer towards the cool kids and make the team-wide bonding happen. (No Janes or Bills were harmed in the making of this point)

47. Stand balanced. One leg is risky. Wear heels at your own peril. You heard it here first.

48. Know the difference between summarising and paraphrasing. The former is to boil down the essential points, the latter is to say the same thing in a different way.

49. Make flipcharts pretty. Borders are a minimum standard. Do not, under any circumstances, throw participants’ (messy looking) flipcharts in the bin until they have left the building.

50. Take a selfie of the group and share it on the old social media. Everyone wants to feel like they belong.

51. Everyone loves a happy ending right? So end with one. And smile. And maybe bow. #Namaste

52. Never never forget point 1. Do you even remember point 1?!