Facilitation Techniques for Consultants: Indispensable tools to engage clients, improve meetings and build collaborative teams

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