A Day Out at the AQuA Facilitation Skills Programme

I was interested in the Facilitation Skills Programme because I deliver training frequently, but I’m not very familiar with facilitation techniques. I thought it might help me become more confident in moving away from PowerPoint presentations, as I find that I’m delivering sessions which would suit a workshop-style format more frequently.

It’s also rare to attend an in-person training day and catch up with colleagues across the network, so I grabbed this opportunity with both hands!

Being new to facilitation, a metaphor offered by the facilitator stuck with me. She described it as like being the conductor of the orchestra, guiding the musicians who are playing the piece and keeping it in time. Instead of telling and advising, a facilitator coaches to help the conversations and ideas come together.

The session was hands-on, with a ‘learning by doing’ approach to things like icebreakers and raising the energy in a room. I tend to shy away from those kinds of activities, but it was useful to reflect on how they can be used to change the atmosphere and increase engagement.

There were also a few opportunities to practice skills like active listening, which made me realise that I need to work on, instead of always adding my own input!

A lot of the techniques and approaches shared were suited to longer, face-to-face sessions, whereas most of the sessions I deliver are shorter and virtual.

However, there were a few quick tips that I will take away and use, such as:

· Involve participants in the decision-making for the session

· Put big chunks of time in session timings to allow for flexibility

· Include activities for different learning styles

· Give feedback rather than advice

I have been able to implement some of these in an academic skills session I delivered recently for a group of Trainee Nursing Associates. I kicked it off by asking the group which aspects they would find it most useful to focus on, and adjusted my planned timings and content around that. This flexibility meant I could tailor the session better to their needs and I will definitely be on the lookout for opportunities to do this more in the future.

Naomi Majek

Assistant Librarian

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust