We facilitate by helping people realize their full potential and create their own solutions. By believing in people’s inherent wisdom, we activate their talents, rather than trying to fix them or tell them what to do. But reality is not so simple, especially in challenging situations.

Some myths about facilitation are widely held but don’t hold up under scrutiny:

• Better decisions are based on facts rather than feelings

• When things get too intense, take a break

• The facilitator should stay calm and neutral, even if personally attacked

• Difficult people can sabotage the meeting and they need to be stopped

When facilitators face a situation such as mistrust, fear, contempt or anger between people, how do we respond? We will explore ways to overcome challenging situations, include everyone and harvest the wisdom of all, by going beyond the myths about facilitating. Empathy, courage, authenticity, and vulnerability are key elements of our facilitation style.

We will introduce Nonviolent Communication, embodying consciousness as facilitators and using some practices such as:

• Listening empathically for needs and positive intention

• Differentiating between observations and interpretations

• Holding space for intense emotions

• Keeping it real by developing authentic presence

• Attuning to group energy and aliveness

This program is based on the principles of Nonviolent Communication, Reinventing Organizations, Empathic Leadership, and Facilitating with Heart.

Learning Outcomes:

The participant, upon attending the session, will:

1. Bring empathic, authentic presence into facilitation

2. Develop facilitator's consciousness to embrace whatever is alive

3. Appreciate every participant’s contribution by developing awareness of underlying needs