The Art of Facilitation

Dale Ludwig & Greg Owen-Boger

©2008© Turpin Communication 2016

@turpincomm

www.TheOrderlyConversation.com/share

Guiding Principle #1

Training Sessions are Orderly Conversations

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Guiding Principle #1

Training Sessions are Orderly Conversations

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Guiding Principle #2

Only better.Be yourself.Find your focus.

Adapt to the

environment

you’re in.

Allow your

personality to

shine through.

Take control

of your

thoughts.

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Guiding Principle #3Learning Events Succeed on Two Levels

Meet Learning Objectives

Create a learner-centric plan

Deliver materialso that it is clear

Manage the Process

Create the conditions for fruitful learning

Make participating easy

Earn trust & good will

Create thinking opportunities

Manage the give & take

Reinforce what was previously learned

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When We Are Engaged

Focus outward

Are here, now (in the moment)

See faces and respond

Are self-aware & in control

Feel comfortable

Know instinctively what to do/say, as in everyday

conversation

Talk with, not at

Able to think on our feet6

Assessing Your Default as a TrainerWith each pair of statements, choose the one that describes you better. Try not to answer them in terms of

how you would like to see yourself, but in terms of how you actually are, or have tended to be in the past.

W I

I feel that if I put a lot of work into my slides, I’ll succeed. O O I feel that slides are just a part of effective training.

Organizing information comes easily to me. O O Speaking to groups comes easily to me.

Whether it’s true or not, I feel I’m more likely to succeed

if I practice my training session. O O Whether it’s true or not, I feel that I can wing it and be okay.

If I could, I’d deliver information then answer questions about it. O O If I could make them that way, my training sessions would be

nothing but a series of questions and answers.

Having to make last-minute adjustments to my slides frustrates me. O O One of my fears is delivering training and getting no response from

my audience.

I like preparing training more than delivering it. O O I like delivering training more than preparing it.

For me to feel confident, training needs to take

a logical path from A to B to C. O O For me, successful training could follow any path.

I spend a lot of time making sure that what I deliver is

thorough and accurate. O O Even when I have plenty of time to prepare, I often delay

preparation until the last minute.

I feel confident that my training is well organized. O O I feel confident that I can engage my audience in the conversation.

When I’m delivering training, I often get too wrapped

up in the details of my slides and forget about my audience. O O When I’m delivering training, I often lose track or

get ahead of my slides.

I feel that I am naturally organized. O O I feel that I am naturally disorganized.

Timing my training sessions carefully is part of being well prepared. O O I tend to run out of time.

I find it difficult to speak off the cuff. O O Speaking off the cuff is easy for me.7

Thrive with organization and preparation.

But can be inflexible and strict during delivery.

Thrive with connection to listeners.

But can lose focus and confuse during delivery.

Writers• Focus goes to the plan.

• Feel there is never enough time to prepare.

• Need structure and predictability.

• Are naturally thorough, careful, detailed and

accurate.

Improvisers• Focus goes to the people.

• Delay preparation until the last minute.

• Need to be spontaneous and engaged.

• Are responsive and unafraid to make last

minute changes.

We All Have a

Default Approach

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Writers

Adapting during

preparation

My assumptions and habits

lead to:

Therefore, I should make

adjustments such as:

Which may feel as if:

But will lead to successfully

managing my Default

Approach.

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Writers

Adapting during

presentations

My assumptions and habits

lead to:

Therefore, I should make

adjustments such as:

Which may feel as if:

But will lead to successfully

managing my Default

Approach.

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Writers

Adapting during

training

My assumptions and habits

lead to:

Therefore, I should make

adjustments such as:

Which may feel as if:

But will lead to successfully

managing my Default

Approach.

“I worry about being an expert”

“I need an ice breaker”

“I have a lot to cover”

“I worry about managing this group”

Adapt the plan

Trust the process

Be flexible

Let others make the point

Dig deeper

Think about nuance

“I may not find my way back”

“I may not know what to say or do”

“I could be wrong”

“I could lose control”

Successful training

Stifled interaction

Weak applications

Skimming the surface

Just the “right” answers

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Notes

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Improvisers

Adapting during

preparation

My assumptions and habits

lead to:

Therefore, I should make

adjustments such as:

Which may feel as if:

But will lead to successfully

managing my Default

Approach.

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Improvisers

Adapting during

presentations

My assumptions and habits

lead to:

Therefore, I should make

adjustments such as:

Which may feel as if:

But will lead to successfully

managing my Default

Approach.

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Improvisers

Adapting during

training

My assumptions and habits

lead to:

Therefore, I should make

adjustments such as:

Which may feel as if:

But will lead to successfully

managing my Default

Approach.

“I worry that this training is too generic”

“I worry that this training isn’t going to be interesting”

“I worry about how the group will react”

Wandering discussions

Running out of time

Confusion for learners

Trying to tackle too much

Trust the plan

Focus discussions on goals

Summarize learning points

Think about clarity and ease of listening

“I’m a cookie cutter”

“I’m cutting off an interesting discussion”

“I’m not being creative”

“I’m not focusing on their needs”

Successful training

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Frame the Orderly Conversation

Direction

Purpose

Context

Reason to Participate

Introduction

TrainingContent

Conclusion

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Framing StrategyCurrent Situation

What’s the need for this training?

Goal

What is the primary learning goal?

Agenda

A list of topics you’d like to cover.

Benefits

What do they gain from learning this

content?

Introduction

Training

Content

Conclusion

Direction

Purpose

Context

Reason to

Participate

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Pay Attention to Slide Titles

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Which means you may:

Stifle discussions

Lose their interest

Stay on the surface

Interrupt

Ignore an

individual’s needs

Shut them down

Appear too controlling

Which means you may:

Let discussions go too long

Focus too much on a single

individual or concept

Bore some

Get off track

Run out of time

Lose control

Appear weak

We Have an Unconscious Preference (Knee Jerk Reaction)

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Encourage participation for good of the group

Keep learner needs in mind

Think of questions as opportunities

Listen fearlessly

Be patient, flexible, go where they lead and let

them have their say

Probe, discuss, dig deeper for good of the group

Ask open-ended questions

Discuss emotions so that individuals feel heard

Use B-key

Move to less controlling position

Techniques to Encourage

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Techniques to ControlTake control back for good of the group

Keep learning goal in mind

Stick to the agenda

Keep explanations short

Ask closed questions

Use parking lot

Acknowledge emotions so you can move on

Don’t be afraid

Use B-key

Move to more controlling position

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Notes

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Dale Ludwig is the Founder and President of Turpin Communication, a

presentation and facilitation training company in Chicago. Over the

past 23 years he and his partners have developed methodologies that

challenge much of the conventional wisdom in the field. Working with

presenters, facilitators and trainers, Turpin’s work (1) focuses on The

Orderly Conversation® that must take place, (2) acknowledges the

Default Approach that every presenter and facilitator brings to that

process and (3) helps communicators develop the skills they need to

engage listeners in a productive interaction. Dale has a PhD in

Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

He is a frequent blogger and is the author of the white paper, “Getting

Past 101,” which can be downloaded at www.turpincommunication.com

dale@turpincommunication.com

Turpin LeadershipGreg Owen-Boger is the Vice President of Turpin Communication, where

he is a speaker trainer and executive coach. Schooled in management

and the performing arts, coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit, Greg

brings a diverse set of skills and experiences to the organization. He

joined Turpin in 1995 as a camera man and quickly worked his way up. He

is a frequent blogger, popular speaker, and he is among many thought

leaders who contributed to the book “Master Presenter: Lessons from the

World's Top Experts on Becoming a More Influential Speaker.” Greg was

the 2015 President of ATD, Chicagoland Chapter.

greg@turpincommunication.com

Turpin Communication is a presentation and facilitation training company based in

Chicago. Turpin’s Founder, Dale Ludwig, and Vice President, Greg Owen-Boger, are

the co-authors of The Orderly Conversation: Business Presentations Redefined, which

challenges conventional thinking about what it means to present and facilitate in

today’s business environment and replaces it with something better. The book has

been called “ground-breaking” and “eminently practical” and is available at

amazon.com and at www.theorderlyconversation.com