Technology of Participation (ToP) Facilitation Methods (TFM) Course

OVERVIEW
Do you find you or your team facilitating important conversations with staff, board members, and volunteers, but don't necessarily have the tools to do so effectively? Do you struggle with circular conversation in meetings that don't seem to go anywhere? Are you anxious about what to do when conflict arises or someone dominates the conversation? Whether a routine staff meeting or a full-day strategic planning session, is it challenging to have a productive conversation that achieves consensus and produces results?

Exploring the very same facilitation techniques the Event Garde team uses with clients, grow your facilitation knowledge, skills, and confidence through this engaging, two-day course. Through hands-on practice, you will learn three simple, proven approaches to help you move any group from conflict or confusion to consensus and commitment.

FOCUSED CONVERSATION
A universal framework to generate meaningful, productive dialogue around any topic.

• Conduct purposeful, productive meetings and discussions
• Stimulate candid feedback
• Surface new ideas and solutions

CONSENSUS WORKSHOP
Infuse a group with creative energy and bring diverse opinions and perspectives into an agreement everyone can own and support.

• Tap rational and intuitive thought processes
• Equitably integrate diverse ideas into a larger whole
• Generate practical and creative solutions from multiple perspectives
• Minimize conflict and achieve consensus

ACTION PLANNING
Quickly plan and prepare a group project for launch, and develop shared commitment to timelines, tasks, and success measures.

• Analyze the current reality and set inspiring goals
• Maximize group ownership and creativity
• Craft a doable plan with clear ownership, timelines, and success measures

WHAT YOU GET
You can expect both pre- and post-session resources, a step-by-step printed manual, a brief introduction to each method, immersive demonstrations, practical presentations explaining the theory behind each method, hands-on practice, peer coaching and trainer feedback, and real-life application opportunities to ensure you leave with the confidence to immediately put your new facilitation skills to use.

AUDIENCE
This course is applicable for facilitators of all experience levels, including those who would like to experience the content for a second or third time; however, the course is limited to the first 20 registrants. There are no pre-requisites for this course as the methods introduced are foundational and all future courses will build upon them.