The Tao Of Facilitation: PART 3
PART 3 - Considerations
Giving feedback is an inevitable and important part of facilitation. There are many kinds of feedback of course, including valued forms, ambiguous, neutral etc, all of which can be delayed or immediate, specific or non-specific, public or private, individual or grouped, and in various practical forms - spoken, written, symbolised etc.
The specific categories and combinations are not important here, for there are wider, general appreciations that’ll serve our understanding better.
3 KEY POINTS to consider when observing oneself in the role of facilitator:
1) 80% of communication is body language
2) choosing to speak, to intervene, to give feedback of ANY kind is a choice, not a necessity
3) it’s NOT about YOU (or rather, the best interventions/feedbacks have the benefit of the ‘whole’ in mind, not just one specific part)
With these in mind, our behaviours, and the receiving of those behaviours from our students become quite subtle. A certain model or set of rules, although imperfect, can assist in this way. Heuristics are useful in this case and, given the nature of this theme, an effective tool for understanding….
What’s a Heuristic?
A heuristic in psychology is a mental shortcut or rule of thumb that simplifies decision-making and problem-solving. Heuristics often speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution (definition from simplypsychology.org)
Heuristic 1: Less Is More
This one applies to all areas of leading, instructing, facilitating, and one’s chosen instructions, cues, resources, technologies, models and exercises will benefit from being thoroughly ‘stripped down’ by this heuristic.
What does it mean? Simply put… Simplify!
If you don’t need to say it, then don’t. If the extra power point presentation, demonstration, set of notes, extra task progression adds little to the experience then get rid of it. Long term, your students will thank you for having left them a bit of room to breathe; some space within which they can ‘fill in in the blanks’.
Heuristic 2: First, Do No Harm
More of a medical heuristic, traditionally speaking, but nonetheless it applies to educators, facilitators and leaders of all kinds also. Whatever field you’re in, there are bodies at stake, as well as minds, both equally as fragile. Your chosen words, mannerisms and practices can inspire for a lifetime, but they can also wound, hurt, demotivate or (I dare say) even traumatise if used poorly.
The hidden meaning of this heuristic is really: make sure your students will recover and return for more; even more than that, make sure they survive!
No matter how profound our ideas and methods are, we cannot drag and will another to where we’d ideally like them to be. Patience, care and conscientiousness go a long way when dealing (long term) with human beings. And so… if you’re at all unsure of the mental or physical strain being placed on your students (or indeed yourself!) then take things down a notch or two.
Giving a little less than maximum will, after all, breed a happier, healthier human, and your scolding words, overly-persuasive ways or stubborn convictions won’t gain you the kind of respect you’ll ideally want from your students.
Heuristic 3: Never Underestimate How Wrong You Can Be
It’s a thin line, when in the role of facilitator / leader / teacher, between confidence and arrogance. Or we might say: between rightful confidence and it’s naive, unqualified cousin. There are very few things we can honestly say with any level of certainty. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try… but it DOES mean that we should reflect on, and question, ourselves every step of the way.
Ample time away from the leader’s role itself, with a good ole fashioned paper and pen, will help. Choosing our words carefully will also, especially if we want our students to trust us as fellow curious, self-reflective beings. Words like ‘could’, ‘might’, ‘may, ‘perhaps’ etc go a long way and immediately allow our transfer of words to remain examined and indefinite. They provide the ‘pinch of salt’ that should be taken with any piece of knowledge, wisdom or advice.
Recognise what is TRUE, and what isn’t true but may still be USEFUL. Chances are that 99% of what you’ll pass on is not true per se, so pick your words (and semi-lies) wisely.
Humans are able to pick up on even small amounts of nonsense much better than you might think; especially children, and especially if you’re dishing it out daily. So if you’re not 100% sure about something, then don’t be afraid to doubt… and don’t be afraid to let your students doubt along with you…
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