Simple Questions to Help Participants Plug in to More Learning (Facilitation Friday #77)
Effective facilitation makes it easier for participants to discover the signals relevant to them among the general content noise.
So much content. So few connections.
That was my bottom line assessment of a recent conference I attended. The topics were timely, the presenters were knowledgeable, and the agenda was packed. But at the end of the day, I struggled to identify the relevant signals from the noise because we had been bombarded with non-stop content for almost five hours.
Effective facilitators make and invite connections to enhance meaning, understanding, and action. Their session design and facilitation intentionally engages participants in reflection and distillation periodically during meetings, workshops, or conferences to extract maximum value from the content and conversations.
Here are 15 questions that meeting facilitators, workshop presenters, panel moderators, or conference emcees can use to help participants get plugged in to more learning:
What one thing, as a result of what you just heard, might make the most difference in your organization if it was successfully implemented?
What’s an elevator speech, logline, or possible social post you could share that would highlight your core learning from this session?
What idea, practice, or thinking has provoked the strongest negative reaction from you so far? Why is that? What learning might be waiting for you if you explore your strong reaction a bit more?
Thinking about what was just shared in this session, what’s the most significant small step forward you could easily take, one that would get you in action about a bigger idea or goal you want to pursue?
How will you contribute/are you contributing to others’ learning during this gathering? What more might you be able to do?
Great conversations often inspire questions you need to explore further with others. What’s a question this meeting, workshop, or conference has inspired for you so far?
What is a common theme emerging from the sessions you’ve attended and the conversations you’re having? What might it mean for your efforts?
What’s the most provocative perspective or idea you’ve heard so far? What do you make of it and how might it inform your efforts?
How are others’ experiences you’ve heard similar/dissimilar to your own and those in/of organizations like yours? What might that mean?
What, if anything, might you be doing that is getting in the way of your own learning? How can you manage this so that it doesn’t happen?
What’s the conversation you most came here to have with others? How will you ensure that happens?
Just like a car needs major maintenance at certainly mileage thresholds, periodically so do our own efforts need some major work. Based on what you’re learning, what major maintenance might you and/or your organization need to undertake?
How can you best capture not only what you are learning, but those you need to share it with during this gathering or after it concludes?
The contributions we make in our personal and professional relationships and work form the legacy we leave. Given what you’ve learned so far, what is one change you want to make in the way you show up and engage with others?
What do you still need to learn from this event and how will you ensure you do so in the time remaining?
Bottom Line
Effective session design and facilitation intentionally incorporates multiple moments for participants to make sense of what they are experiencing and identify its potential relevance for their efforts. Failure to do so can significantly reduce the value people take from the gathering, as well as their satisfaction with it.
Getting in Action
Review the 15 questions and categorize each one for possible use in your future efforts. Place a:
☆ star next to those you like most
✓ checkmark next to those that are your next favorites
? question mark next to any you’re unsure about using
2. Add 3-5 reflection and application questions that you find help participants distill conversations and/or plan their future efforts.
3. Review a meeting agenda or workshop content outline (either from an event that has passed or one that is forthcoming). Identify 1-2 moments when it might be useful to incorporate one of the 15 questions and which one(s) you think would work best.
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