Communication Requirements for Effective Facilitation

Clear, unambiguous communication is a constant foundation that is central to all facilitation processes. The major requirements for embarking on a facilitation process are:

Requirements for the Facilitation Topic (theme/issue/problem/vision)

The topic chosen for the facilitation must be:

• important to the group (“I want something to happen/change”),
• complex (“I don’t know how we can do it”; “There are so many things that could be done.”),  and
• multi-faceted (“The boss can’t solve this problem alone.”).

It helps to formulate the theme on two levels:

Requirements Regarding the Facilitator

The facilitator needs to ensure that all parties involved in the process are aware of his/her understanding of the role and should communicate this at least at the start.

Personal Characteristics and Guidelines for the Facilitator

Lecturer Broadcast: Click here to view an explanation about the key personal characteristics and guidelines for the facilitator.

Requirements for the Group

The group also needs to be aware of their roles, responsibilities and the expectations on them from the start of the facilitated process.

This may even involve presenting them with a chart on which “rules” are written such as:

A facilitator will have difficulties facilitating a group, unless they show the following prerequisites: