Group Facilitation Skills

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering group facilitation concepts, facilitator roles, questioning techniques, participation management, and debriefing frameworks.

Group Facilitation

The process of helping a group communicate, participate, make decisions, solve problems, and reach its goals without taking over the group's work.

Task (Facilitation)

The dimension of group facilitation focused on what the group must accomplish.

Process (Facilitation)

The dimension of group facilitation focused on how members interact, including who speaks, who is silent, and whether conflict is constructive.

Guide

A facilitator role responsible for keeping the group's focus on its purpose.

Process Observer

A facilitator role responsible for noticing how members interact with one another.

Encourager

A facilitator role that intentionally opens space for all members to participate.

Clarifier

A facilitator role dedicated to making unclear ideas clear and understandable.

Summarizer

A facilitator role that pulls out and articulates the group's key points.

Timekeeper

A facilitator role that manages the available time during a session.

Mediator

A facilitator role that helps members communicate during disagreements rather than picking winners.

Climate Builder

A facilitator role responsible for establishing safety, respect, and positive tone in the group.

Probing Questions

Follow-up questions used to encourage a person to explain an answer more clearly, provide additional details, explore feelings, or examine the reasons behind their thoughts and behavior.

Open-ended Questions

Questions that invite people to express thoughts, feelings, experiences, and ideas in their own words, which cannot usually be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no.'

Clarifying Questions

Questions asked to make a person's statement, idea, or experience clearer and easier to understand, helping check understanding before interpreting or responding.

Reflective Questions

Questions that encourage individuals to examine their own thoughts, feelings, actions, experiences, and decisions to gain deeper self-awareness.

Connecting Questions

Questions that help participants link their thoughts, feelings, experiences, or ideas with those of others to identify similarities, differences, and build shared understanding.

Challenging Questions

Questions that encourage individuals to examine their assumptions, question beliefs, reconsider behavior, and view situations from different perspectives.

Summarizing (Questioning Technique)

A technique in which the facilitator briefly brings together the main ideas, feelings, experiences, and insights shared by an individual or the group.

Rule Questions

Questions that help a group establish, clarify, understand, or follow its expectations and the boundaries guiding communication, participation, and behavior.

Acknowledge + Redirect

A dominant member management technique that validates a speaker's contribution while inviting others to talk (e.g., 'Thanks, Carlo. Let's hear someone who hasn't spoken.').

Structured Turns

A group management technique establishing that each participant provides one response before anyone speaks again.

Debriefing

A structured reflection process that links an activity or group experience directly to meaningful learning.

WHAT? (Debrief Stage)

The first phase of the debriefing cycle that asks participants what happened and what they noticed during an activity.

SO WHAT? (Debrief Stage)

The second phase of the debriefing cycle that explores why things happened, what the experience means, and how participants felt.

NOW WHAT? (Debrief Stage)

The third phase of the debriefing cycle asking what participants will do differently next time.

TRANSFER (Debrief Stage)

The fourth phase of the debriefing cycle that explores where else participants will apply or use the lessons learned.

One-Minute Takeaway

A closing facilitation activity where each member answers the prompt: 'What is one thing you learned?'

Action Commitment

A closing facilitation activity in which participants identify one specific behavior they commit to practicing.