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THE FACILITATOR OF NOTE...

The word "facilitator" has its roots in the French word "Facile", which means, "to make easy or less difficult or "more easily achieved".

The definition begs the question: what is it that the facilitator needs to make more easily, and for whom? The answer is that the facilitator needs to make it easier for the learner to be competent in the outcomes for that particular training programme. The rest of this article will focus on the skills, qualities and knowledge that a facilitator needs to be able to achieve the task at hand.

Let's create the IDEAL FACILITATOR and provide a checklist of skills and qualities that any good facilitator should have.

HEAD . knowledge .education
What should our ideal facilitator KNOW?

• He\She should, without a doubt, be a SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT (SME). No amount of "trimmings" will disguise a facilitator's ignorance or lack of preparation.
• He\She should also know, and apply, the principles of ASSESSMENT. How else will they know whether he\she has achieved their goal of helping their learners to be competent?

HEART . qualities . enrichment!
What PERSONAL QUALITIES do they need to help their learners achieve their objectives?

• The "f" in the "facilitator" also stands for FLEXIBLE. Yes, a facilitator MUST be well prepared, but even the best-laid plans can come undone! What do I do when I plan for twenty learners, and only four arrive? What do I do when I plan to do a power point presentation and the only power outlet in the venue does not work?
• Our ideal facilitator must be TEACHABLE. No one is above training, and the facilitator who is teachable will invite comments from their learners, thus ensuring the learners active participation. The spin-off is that the facilitator also learns something new from his\her learners, and the learners in turn will learn that their opinions are important.

HANDS . skills empowerment!
What must he\she be able to DO that will assist in helping their learners?

• Good COMMUNICATION skills are non-negotiable. The common misconception is that good communication implies being a good speaker. Remember that communication includes speaking, writing, reading and listening. All of these are of utmost importance.
• PRESENTATION, or teaching skills, follows closely in the order of importance. Being an SME is not enough - a facilitator MUST be able to impart his\her knowledge with ease.
• ADMINISTRATION is often neglected. The disciplined facilitator should make sure that comprehensive and accurate records of attendance and progresses are kept. The job's not over till the paperwork is properly done!

The above list is by no means complete. As training is such a DYNAMIC factor, facilitators need to be dynamic. If the HEAD (knowledge), HEART (qualities), and HANDS (skills) of this ideal facilitator are all combined, we need to get a GESTALT picture.

The ideal facilitator will be more than just a good administrator and a good assessor, etc. He\She will be all this, and more. And the one element that binds all the above together, is a good and healthy ATTITUDE.

Remember that skills can be acquired, but attitudes are very difficult to change!

Darlene Wagner
Triple e Training Holdings (Pty) Ltd.