Aqua Facilitation Skills Training: A Review
Yay, an in-person training course in Manchester!
In a building that I know, not too far from home, covering a topic on something I am still pretty rubbish at. And it was free; our Trust is currently under a total funding freeze, so free CPD is a rare and welcome find. I’ve done a few facilitation or train-the-trainer style workshops in the past, but it’s been a while, and I still don’t feel particularly confident at it.
I do have a bit of a track record for signing up to courses that turn out to be slightly different from what I expected and quite honestly, this is usually because I skim the description or just see what I want to see.
My gig usually involves teaching groups, mostly on Evidence-Based Practice, and I tend to deliver it in a fairly structured, presentation-style format, more of a one-hour show-and-tell than a facilitated session.
What I was hoping for
Some practical tips and tricks to help me engage audiences more naturally, feel more relaxed in delivery, and maybe pick up a few short, interactive techniques to use in sessions.
What it actually was
The course focused more on facilitating full-day sessions rather than shorter teaching slots. It covered things like using icebreakers, structuring a day’s agenda, and managing group energy over time.
Even though I don’t do that, the content still included some really useful elements such as:
· Building rapport
· Showing empathy
· Coaching techniques
· Active listening
None of it was brand new to me, but it was genuinely helpful to revisit these skills in the context of facilitation. Learning styles, the challenges of facilitation and the shift to facilitating virtually were also covered. I really enjoyed the day, meeting and catching up with colleagues and even the activities which included ‘people bingo’.
We spent a good chunk of time discussing how to handle challenging participants, those who seem disengaged or resistant. There were some great practical suggestions, like spotting them on entry, making them feel welcome, and using specific types of questions to draw them in.
The facilitator was pleasant, engaging and effective, although I did cop her directing some rather blunt questions at me, which made me wonder whether she had identified me as one of the challenging ones!
I haven’t had the opportunity to deliver a session since attending the course, but writing this review has prompted me to revisit and apply some of the techniques we covered. I’m planning to weave in a few story-driven anecdotes to make some of the key concepts less dry.
I’ve got a session with the IMT doctors tomorrow, and I’ve tailored the content to better reflect their primary interest, which is getting published!
Holly Cook
Clinical Librarian
Macclesfield District General Hospital, East Cheshire NHS Trust
