There is no guaranteed way to identify the problems and challenges that a facilitator may face during sessions. However, they can prepare to deal with some common difficulties, such as dealing with large groups, managing a group of people who refuse to participate in discussions, handling dominant personalities that control the discussion, fostering a continuous learning culture, and alleviating boredom caused by repetitive content.
Facilitators and trainers often encounter new challenges, like the sudden shift to online work, addressing complex topics, and dealing with difficult participants.
Six common difficulties faced by facilitators
1. Dealing with Large Groups
Here are seven steps to manage large groups:
- Collaborate with a facilitators team. You can enlist a technical expert to handle technical issues and assign someone to manage the chat during online meetings. Hybrid sessions require at least two facilitators to manage virtual and in-person groups.
- Familiarize participants with the online platform and polling tools before the training program starts to feel comfortable using them. Ask them to share an idea related to the upcoming session to encourage communication and stimulate thinking about the training topic. For example, you might ask participants in management training to choose the task they are most likely to delegate or vote on the most challenging management task.
- Use collaborative tools like Padlet to ask trainees to share a photo of their workplace, an audio clip expressing their mood, or an article or video related to the training topic.
- Create an asynchronous virtual platform that allows participants to introduce themselves. You should post some questions that help you collect the data you need, with at least one being humorous to lighten the atmosphere.
- Use the collected data from introductory surveys and collaborative platforms during sessions whenever possible. For example, five of you mentioned interruptions during online meetings. What do you think about dedicating a few minutes to discuss how teams handle this issue?
- Divide participants into groups of 2-4 people to collaborate during the training program. Give them enough time to get acquainted and build rapport before the training. Also, ask them to meet after sessions. Clarify the collaboration and teamwork process you expect from each group during training.
- Invest in virtual and real environments to divide participants into smaller groups.
2. Managing Hybrid Sessions
Here are nine steps for managing sessions that include both online and in-person participants simultaneously:
- Prepare name tags and set them on the meeting table for in-person and virtual participants. Ensure that you have the names of online participants in front of you so that you can interact with them and call them by name.
- Ask attendees to sign up on the online participants' platform so they can communicate with them.
- Divide all participants into small groups or pairs.
- Assign at least one facilitator to manage each of the real and virtual environments.
- Test technological tools such as the room’s audio equipment and screens, checking that participants can clearly see and hear each other.
- Invite remote participants to test their technical before joining the session.
- Be prepared to address technical issues.
- Introduce all participants to each other or implement icebreaker activities.
- Schedule breaks during the meeting because remote participants often become tired faster than in-person ones.
3. Insufficient Discussion Participation
Some attendees may hesitate to participate, or their activity and enthusiasm may decline over time. In such cases, it is advisable to follow these steps:
- Take a short break, allowing attendees to move around and have refreshments to regain their energy before resuming the meeting.
- Personalize the session by inviting attendees to share examples and personal experiences related to the discussion topic.
- Quickly ask for attendees' opinions and adjust your explanations accordingly.
- Find out if the content is relevant to their daily work tasks; you may need to explain this relevance yourself or rephrase the content.
- Divide participants into small groups or pairs for discussions.
- Thank participants by name for their contributions to the discussion.
- Give participants enough time to reflect before responding.
- Invite attendees to participate in voting using stickers, raising hands, or conducting an online poll. Afterwards, ask one of them to explain the responses and feedback, especially when it is controversial or personal.
- Assign participants to write down their answers and share them with the rest of the group.
- Present a funny and entertaining segment for attendees.
4. Dealing with Dominant Personalities
At least one person will likely try to dominate the discussion, even if unintentionally. This person may be naturally social, trusted within their environment, or simply an active and leading individual. Here are some steps to handle dominant personalities:
- Request participants' agreement on a set of ground rules for the session and inquire about any additional suggestions they find appropriate. These rules can include controls for participation in discussions and mechanisms for collecting questions and inquiries. You should remind participants of the agreed-upon rules during the meeting when necessary.
- Hold a pre-meeting with group leaders to agree on managing the discussion. You can ask them to moderate themselves during the session and not dominate the conversation, allowing others to express their ideas and viewpoints.
- Encourage dominant personalities to make space for their colleagues during the session and motivate quieter people to participate and contribute to the discussion.
- Allow participants to object to side topics, interrupt them, and refocus the discussion when it veers off topic.
- Assign the dominant person to take notes and record key ideas in the discussion, aiming to reduce their verbal participation while ensuring that the main points are summarized and shared with the group after the session ends.
5. Ensuring Learning Continuity
Facilitators and trainers strive to embed information, ideas, and experiences in participants' minds. Here are a set of steps to remind participants to apply the acquired knowledge:
- Ask trainees to write a document in which they commit to applying the skills and knowledge gained before the training ends. Alternatively, you can ask each of them to collaborate with an accountability partner. Meetings should be arranged between accountability partners or with the trainer to discuss applying the acquired knowledge in practical life. If working with a full team, follow-up procedures can be implemented in one of the team members' meetings.
- Share a summary of the key points, notes, and visuals that arose during the discussions. You can also ask participants to summarize their experience and present it to the rest of the attendees.
- Remind participants of the available platforms for discussions and questions after the training ends. You can post a question on this platform to encourage trainees to engage and share their views. For example, How do you plan to apply the knowledge gained about communication styles in your upcoming meetings?
- Ask thought-provoking questions to get them thinking.
- During the last evaluation stage, include a question that invites participants to consider the lessons learned from the training. For example: What are the key ideas, practical steps, or questions learned from the sessions?
- Send a short quiz to assess participants' progress and their understanding of the topics discussed.
- Suggest practical applications for the acquired knowledge.
- Provide additional resources that allow participants to continue learning and applying the acquired skills.
- Check whether reports or follow-up exercises are available to support continuous learning.
6. Facilitator Boredom from Repeating Content
Facilitators are expected to feel bored regardless of their preparation, expertise, or skill in performing their job. Here are some steps to help overcome boredom:
- Update the content and change your presentation style and pace based on audience responsiveness and interaction, focusing more on audience feedback than on completing presentation slides and other content materials.
- Collaborate with another facilitator and exchange activities between you.
- Use innovative approaches to create a more relaxed atmosphere as trainees join the virtual platform or enter the room. These approaches enhance your connection with them and encourage collaboration and interaction among participants.
- Move around while explaining the content and smile at the attendees.
- Prepare a story or personal experience related to the session topic and share it with the attendees.
- Plan what you will do when participants work in small groups or alone.
- Identify what excites you about the topic and the ideas you want to share with attendees.
- Ask more questions during the session and pay attention to the group’s opinions and fresh responses.
- Use techniques to lighten the atmosphere and build mutual rapport between the facilitator and participants.
- Edit the presentation and content to reflect your own style better, especially if you are following guidelines and tools from facilitation manuals.
- Communicate with colleagues to exchange experiences and inquire about the tools and activities they prefer in their sessions.
In Conclusion
Developing a set of skills is essential for success in training and facilitation, with project management, communication, conflict resolution, storytelling, and problem-solving being the most important ones. These skills are learned, developable, and improvable through application and practice. A successful facilitator must be well-prepared, attentive to participants’ needs and interests, and an active listener.
