Master Facilitator Journal | Issue #0435, March 16, 2010

How excited would you be about sitting down to dinner when every night you sat down to the same dish of luke warm green peas? Doesn't sound all that appealing does it. If you were the chef, would you expect people to be very interested in even showing up for your meals, much less being enthusiastic about them?

Sadly, many teachers, trainers, and meeting leaders, particularly in virtual environments, rely on this approach day in and day out. They serve up green peas and expect us to be excited about them. What do I mean by green peas you ask? Obviously, I'm using green peas as a metaphor here. For me, they represent the same, worn out way of doing of presenting things.

For example, most teleclass and virtual meeting leaders, in my experience, rely almost exclusively on the lecture mode to relate information and learning. This is the easiest way for the presenter to deliver information. It takes little, if any facilitation skill, and it's the way we were all "taught" in the twelve or more years of schooling we all endured.

As more of us shift to virtual modes of training, presenting, and leading, the lecture mode is even easier to fall into. In fact, in an auditory only environment, it's tempting for us to believe that there are few alternatives for us to rely upon.

Why use these other modes? There are several reasons. First, non-lecture modes are a whole lot more fun for both you and your participants; they tend to actively involve people more than lecturing; they can help participants remember and integrate what is being delivered; and they help you appeal to diverse learning styles in the group.

In my journey to use the virtual environment to deliver training and modeling of group facilitation skills, I've discovered and experimented with at least 9 other modes of delivery besides lecture that I summarize in the next section.

Even though we are typically confined to the auditory and/or visual channel in virtual groups, there are still at least 10 different delivery modes available to us that we can draw on to enrich the experience for everyone. Here is a brief description of each of these modes.

1. Lecture

• Typical one-way information delivery.
• Use to orient and stimulate.

2. Experience

• Group activity.
• Off-line partner activity.
• React to or draw a graphic, picture, or mind map.
• Draw a mind map.
• Journal write on a subject or experience.
• Get up and move or pose in a way that represents …
• Guided visualization or meditation.

3. Story

• Tell a story to illustrate or reinforce a point.
• Tell a story to inspire or orient around a perspective.
• Have participant share their stories around the topic.
• Have participants make up a story around an issue or desired outcome.

4. Role play

• Between you and participant to illustrate an activity.
• Between you and participant to demonstrate a skill.
• Between participants to practice a skill.
  

5. Sharing

• After an exercise to clarify experience.
• To share individual experience on a topic.
• To pole interest or experience in something, i.e., "How many of you …?"

6. Dialogue

• Dialogue is not something we can make happen, but we can be sensitive to when it’s trying to occur and allow it to unfold between participants for new insights and discoveries.
• Helping participants identify and release assumptions deepens dialogue.

7. M e t a p h o r

• What does this image say to you with regard to … ?
• If this picture could speak, what would it say?
• What image comes to mind when…?
• If the image could speak, what would it say?

8. Coaching

• To brainstorm solutions.
• To develop a plan.
• To fine tune performance.
• To expand perspective.
• To maintain accountability.

9. Discussion

• To facilitate communication among participants to deepen, expand, and build knowledge and understanding.
• To enhance relationships and connection among participants.

10. 3rd Party Sources

• Guest speaker.
• Recorded interview with expert, customer, or other stakeholder.
• Live or recorded panel of experts.

These modes are addressed in more detail in our workbook and teleclass offered below. We look forward to hearing additional approaches you've found useful in delivering teleclasses and virtual meetings.

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives. 
~Clay P. Bedford~

Add Your Comments

Which of these modes would be a stretch for you to apply in your groups? Which one are you willing to experiment with this week? What ideas have I left off the list? I’m interested in hearing your ideas around these delivery modes. Please click on the Add Your Comments link above and share your thoughts, stories, and experiences. I'd love to hear from you!