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Co-facilitation can be one of the most rewarding—and most complex—ways to lead a group. Whether you're planning a workshop, retreat, or strategic planning session, facilitating alongside someone else requires more than just dividing up the agenda. It calls for shared awareness, honest conversation, and mutual care. At Event Garde, we believe that strong co-facilitation partnerships are built before the session even begins. That’s why we created this checklist: a tool to help you and your facilitation partner move beyond logistics and into alignment around power, purpose, and participant experience.
Whether you use all ten sections or just a few, we hope this guide supports deeper intention and trust in your co-facilitation practice.
1. Foundations of Our Co-Facilitation Partnership
- What are the strengths I bring to this session?
- What strengths does my co-facilitator bring?
- How are we complementary? Where do we overlap?
- Where might we unintentionally step on each other’s toes?
- How might we share or trade off power and visibility?
- What are our boundaries, limits, or “no-go” zones for this session?
2. Social Identities, Power & Positionality
- How might our visible and invisible identities shape how participants perceive or respond to each of us?
- How do our identities impact the dynamic between us as co-facilitators?
- Who might feel more or less safe with me versus with my co-facilitator?
- Where do we hold privilege and how do we use it in support of one another?
- How might ableism, ageism, racism, gender dynamics, etc., show up during the session?
- How might our professional roles, institutional affiliations, or perceived authority impact our facilitation?
- What is our relationship to the institution or group (insider/outsider, consultant/staff, etc.) and how does that shape power?
3. Aspirations & Intentions
- What might liberation, joy, or transformation look like in this session—for us and for participants?
- Where can we model a different way of being, facilitating, or relating?
- What are we willing to risk in service of deeper connection or impact?
4. Anticipating Push Points
- What parts of the session could provoke resistance, discomfort, or strong reactions?
- How might those moments be experienced differently by each of us?
- Who is best suited to lead or support during those tough moments?
- How do we want to respond if one of us is targeted or marginalized during facilitation?
- What histories—personal, institutional, or systemic—are alive in this space?
- How might the legacy of oppression (e.g., colonialism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy) show up in participant dynamics or our own facilitation?
- Are there dominant norms or assumptions embedded in the session design that we want to challenge?
5. Showing Up for Each Other
- What does “having each other’s back” look like today?
- What kind of support might my co-facilitator need from me?
- How can I step in without stepping over?
- What are our cues/tells for when one of us needs help?
- How will we handle unexpected moments with care and grace?
- What shared rituals or transitions might help us stay connected to ourselves and each other?
6. My Inner Landscape Today
- How am I arriving today—emotionally, physically, mentally?
- What’s on my mind that could impact how I show up?
- What do I need support with today?
- What am I holding that I’d like to process after the session?
- How do we want to ground or center ourselves before stepping into the space?
7. Call-In & Self-Accountability
- What might I need to take accountability for during the session?
- What would I prefer to name or address myself if it arises?
- How can I stay open to feedback from my co-facilitator in real time?
- If harm happens—whether between us or with participants—how do we want to acknowledge and begin repair?
- How do we want to model accountability without centering ourselves?
8. Real-Time Communication
- How will we communicate silently or nonverbally during the session (e.g., hand signals, sticky notes, text, chat)?
- How do we transition smoothly between facilitators?
- What are our in-the-moment strategies for handling derailment or tension?
9. Supporting Participant Experience
- How will we assess how the session is landing for participants?
- How can we check in with one another without disrupting flow?
- Who might take the lead in tending to participant needs or addressing harm?
10. Post-Session Debrief
- What worked well? What did we do that we want to do again?
- Where did we struggle or feel misaligned?
- Were there moments of surprise, discomfort, or unspoken tension? If so, what were they?
- Did one of us do more emotional labor than the other? How do we rebalance in the future?
- What feedback did we receive (explicit or implicit)?
- What do we want to shift for next time?
No matter how experienced we are as facilitators, showing up alongside someone else is an ongoing practice in communication, humility, and shared purpose. The questions in this checklist are not about getting it “perfect”—they’re about staying curious, responsive, and aligned. They’re also about modeling the kind of connection and accountability we hope to foster in the groups we serve.
We’d love to hear how you use or adapt this tool in your own work. What conversations did it spark? What would you add? Co-facilitation is a learning journey—and we’re right there with you.
