Library of facilitation techniques

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IAF is a worldwide community of facilitators promoting excellence in the use of professional group process facilitation to create engagement and impact.

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194 results

Methods (194)

Liberating Structures

Talking with Pixies

Uncover and challenge the hidden beliefs, assumptions, and internal voices that are limiting progress toward an important goal. In small groups, one person shares a personal or professional challenge while two others play contrasting “pixie” roles – one advocating for change and possibility and the other representing resistance and caution.

Through this playful exchange, participants surface unconscious assumptions, explore opposing perspectives on risks and opportunities, and gain clarity on how to move forward. This structure helps reveal internal barriers, generate new insights, and support more informed action planning in individual and group settings.

Thiagi Group

Double Talk

Participants at a training session are often preoccupied with other important things in their life. Here's a simple jolt to wake them up.

Thiagi Group

CIA

Here's what the three letters of the acronym stand for: constructive, immediate, and active. Whenever someone shares some news about positive things that happened to her, react constructively, immediately, and actively. This strengthens your relationship and makes both of you happy. To learn more about this approach, read the handout at the end of the game instructions.

Liberating Structures

Social Network Webbing

Social Network Webbing quickly illuminates for a whole group what resources are hidden within their existing network of relationships and what steps to take for tapping those resources. It also makes it easy to identify opportunities for building stronger connections as well as new ones. 

The inclusive approach makes the network visible and understandable to everybody in the group simultaneously. It encourages individuals to take the initiative for building a stronger network rather than receiving directions through top-down assignments. Informal or loose connections—even your friends’ friends—are tapped in a way that can have a powerful influence on progress without detailed planning and big investments.

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Elevator Pitch

De kern van je boodschap in 1 minuut kunnen presenteren zonder ondersteuning van audiovisuele middelen.

In dit voorbeeld presenteren studenten binnen de cursus "De Handelend Mens" een voorbereidende opdracht aan elkaar. Op basis van deze pitches worden onderzoeksonderwerpen bepaald en onderzoeksgroepen gevormd.

Sarah Millsaps

Liberating Structures

Critical Uncertainities

In Critical Uncertainties, groups develop strategies for handling factors that are impossible to predict or control. This helps to quickly test strategies and improve our ability to respond to future challenges. Rather than creating fixed plans, this structure builds creative adaptability, enabling groups to envision multiple futures, articulate higher-order goals, and act flexibly. It brings to life LS Principle #7, Emphasize Possibilities: Believe Before You See.