1. PM as Facilitator Six Essential Facilitation Techniques for Project Managers February 9, 2010

2. Page 2 of 11 “Facilitate” means to make it easy or easier.

3. Page 3 of 11 The Project Manager role as a Facilitator The role of the project manager is to facilitate and manage the flow of thoughts, emotions and interactions in a way that achieves a valued outcome.

4. Page 4 of 11 Six Facilitation Techniques 1.Gate Keeping 2.Flip Charting and Post-it Notes 3.Brainstorming 4.Clustering 5.The “T” 6.Weighted Voting Technique

5. Page 5 of 11 1. Gate Keeping  Gate Opening  Gate Closing

6. Page 6 of 11 2. Flip Charting and Post-it Notes  This is better than having a laptop and projector.  You want to engage their minds and body.  Leads to greater ownership when it comes time to implement.

7. Page 7 of 11 Quick Tips for Flipcharting  Have enough easels. 2 for facilitator 1 for every three participants.  Use large Post-its: 4x6 inches.  Abundant supply of multi-color markers.  No editing  Put the masking tape on the two upper corners of the flip chart page before tearing it off the easel.  Minimize your manual labor.

8. Page 8 of 11 3. Brainstorming Announce the following: No idea is a bad idea Get as many ideas out as possible Don't stop to discuss any idea until all ideas are out

9. Page 9 of 11 4. Clustering –Involves clustering sticky notes into categories. –Have a subset of meeting participants quickly place the stickies into groups.

10. Page 10 of 11 5. The “T” This technique ends endless unstructured debates and produces a better quality decision. Set up a "T" for each item under debate. Then have the group brainstorm the pros and cons.

11. Page 11 of 11 6. Weighted Voting Technique Purpose: To rank order a list of options based on the number of points each option earns. Tip: If you have a list of 10 or more items, give voters a proportional number of more votes and points to use. For a list of 18 items, give them six votes having them give six points for their first choice down to one point for their last choice. Tally the vote (the points) for each of the items. That's it.