Library of facilitation techniques

One person holds up an object to the camera The rest of the group is given 8 seconds to find a matching object The first person decides what is the best match

Players complete the sentence "I could tell you a story about...", responding to the facilitator's prompt of the nature of the story. The story is not told as part of the exercise.

Discuss many different topics in a structured and fair way.

Count fast down from 8 to 1 while shaking each body limb as a group

In pairs, players mirror one another's movements.  

The objectives are to build group member relationships through verbal and nonverbal cue-sensing and effective adaptation to others' displayed emotions through entertaining and nonthreatening skits.

A focused meditation to become present and aware. We accept our feelings, leaving behind what we doesn't serve us right now. A ideal way to open a workshop or team meeting.

Individuals or groups prepare a collage of photos, icons, or quick art that reviews the concepts and skills previously learned in the program. Others interpret what the art and images mean based on their own learning.

Whoosh, bangs, zaps etc. are passed around the circle. Great opportunity to introduce failure bow

The real name of this jolt is Proactive Planning, but using that name will give away the key point that we want players to discover. Presented as a word game, this jolt lulls lures players to go after immediate gains in a mindless fashion only to regret the action later.

I dread the moment when people ask me, “What do you do?” I don't know how to explain that I am a performance technologist, or an instructional designer, or a facilitator. So I cheat by saying that I am a trainer.

Here's an activity that helps you become more fluent in explaining what you do for a living.