Facilitation Techniques for Consultants

Consultants spend years developing their expertise in their respective fields, but most never learn to how to facilitate. This is a major skill gap when you consider just how much time expert consultants spend in client meetings.

This book aims to close that skill gap by describing the essential facilitation techniques that all expert consultants need to know. This book:

• describes the core practices and tools used by facilitators
• offers guidelines about effective questioning
• provides a bank of the key questions that consultants typically ask
• explains five different methods for helping groups make decisions
• provides instructions for using seven key conflict resolution tools
• outlines practical ways to ensure that every meeting is truly effective

In addition, this book outlines the essential conversations that all expert consultants need to be able to facilitate. Having a clear step-by-step process takes the stress out of large group meetings and makes them look orderly and well planned.

Each of the essential conversations described features instructions for structuring the dialogue and arriving at decisions that everyone can live with. These structured conversations include:

• Discovery
• Environmental Scanning
• Project Kickoff
• Vision and Mission
• Work Planning, Roles and Responsibilities
• Risk Assessment
• Stakeholder Analysis
• Communication Planning
• Status Update Meeting
• Creative Thinking
• Mid-point Check
• Systematic Problem Solving
• Constructive Controversy
• Survey Feedback
• Interpersonal Issue Resolution
• Overcoming Resistance
• Project Retrospective
• Project Adjournment