FACILITATION SKILLS

1. FACILITATION SKILLS Facilitation skills can also be called ‘Inter-personal’ skills It means the ability to work well with people Q: How do you work “well” with other people? By understanding them Q: How do you “understand” people? Smile when you meet them; Introduce yourself; try to remember his/ her name; when they speak to you LISTEN to them Q: How do you listen to people? Be patient, let them finish what they have to say, ask for clarifications, nod your head, look them in the eye WHEN YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE YOU WILL BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THEM and they will talk more to you

2. FACILITATION SKILLS PROBLEMS: LANGUAGE USED ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE HOW QUESTIONS ARE ASKED? RESPONSE: Have you listened & understood the Q? HANDLING FEEDBACK / ANSWERS – if the Boss answers first, it will influence less senior participants. Reverse the order. “The better you listen, the more you learn how little you know” (Murphy, 1987)

3. FACILITATION SKILLS LANGUAGE USE: The problem with language is that when talking to local people, especially women, we tend to use Hindi. While most people in HP understand Hindi, among villagers its comprehension may be difficult. For example, foresters use words like HECTARE, KM or ‘mahatvapooran’, ‘scheme’, ‘pariyojna’, budget and so forth, but these may not be fully understood. You will notice that women tend to ask many more questions during a meeting that is conducted in the local dialect. Many of the older men also have difficulty in fully understanding Hindi. First Preference should be LOCAL DIALECT Forest Guards in JFM must try to learn local expressions or speak in the local language / dialect since many are from the same district.

4. FACILITATION SKILLS ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE: MAKE EYE CONTACT: very important while talking or listening; eye contact conveys interest in the conversation and encourages the other person to be interested too. USE GESTURES: These include HANDS and FACE. Make your whole body talk. Smaller gestures for individuals and small groups. Larger gestures as the Group get larger. BE AWARE OF YOUR BODY LANGUAGE: An open stance with arms relaxed at your sides conveys that you are open to hearing what they have to say. Arms crossed and hunched back indicate disinterest or unwillingness to communicate.

5. FACILITATION SKILLS ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE – 2: DEVELOP EFFECTIVE LISTENING SKILLS: One must listen to the other person’s WORDS and engage in communication with what is being SAID. Don’t be in a hurry to reply or answer. SPEAK CLEARLY and SLOWLY: Open your mouth and raise your volume as required; don’t mumble. Speak in a measured and SLOW manner; talking fast conveys ‘nervousness’. SHOW CONSTRUCTIVE ATTITUDES: Your ATTITUDES have a huge impact on the effectiveness of your communication style. Be honest, patient, sincere, respectful and accepting of others.

6. FACILITATION SKILLS UNDERSTANDING QUESTIONS: Asking Questions is the MOST IMPORTANT part of LEARNING. It is by asking questions that you begin to understand and learn something. You can learn a lot about any individual or a group by asking questions and LISTENING to the answers. But first, we must learn how to ask QUESTIONS and how not to ask questions. Ask questions beginning with “WHAT”, “HOW”, “WHEN”, “WHERE”. Such questions give you more information. Avoid questions that are answered simply by “Yes” or “No” Avoid questions beginning with “WHY”, it makes people uncomfortable and defensive.

7. FACILITATION SKILLS RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS: MAKE SURE YOU’VE LISTENED PROPERLY & UNDERSTOOD THE QUESTION DON’T ANSWER ATONCE; PAUSE, its good manners TELL THE TRUTH when it is not expected. For example in “How are you?” Be candid. To avoid answering, you can answer by asking another question. Ask for more detail. Ignore the question and say what you want anyway…… this is done a lot by politicians If you don’t know the answer (information), say so. Don’t fudge. You may lose people’s trust.

8. What is ATTITUDE? 1. a settled way of thinking or feeling about something. "he was questioned on his attitude to South Africa" synonyms: view, viewpoint, vantage point, frame of mind, way of thinking, way of looking at things, school of thought, outlook, angle, slant, perspective, reaction, stance, standpoint, position, inclination, orientation, approach; opinion, ideas, belief, convictions, feelings, sentiments, persuasion, thoughts, thinking, interpretation 2. NORTH AMERICAN informal: truculent or uncooperative behaviour. "I asked the waiter for a clean fork and all I got was attitude”.

9. ATTITUDE - 2 “The roots spread inward and are anchored in past experiences, and the fruit branch outward exposed for all to see. Attitude is both our best friend and our worst enemy. It is more honest and more consistent than our words”. “How do you react to failure? Do you walk away discouraged and complain about it or do you take control, stay focused, accept a lesson learned, and go on with your life? Success is based on good judgment and good judgment is founded on experience. The only way one can gain experience is through failure. We have to fail often to succeed once. This, and the way you react, is a reflection of attitude”.Bob Urichuck

10. ATTITUDE - 3 Things to know about ATTITUDE: YOUR ATTITUDE IS FULLY WITHIN YOUR CONTROL YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER HOW other PEOPLE REACT TO YOU BUT YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER HOW YOU REACT TO THEM Example: ARE YOU POSITIVE, HOPEFUL, MOTIVATED when faced with REJECTION or CRITICISM as you are when you are PRAISED and APPRECIATED? How you react, how you think, what do you say to yourself or what you believe about yourself is within your CONTROL and is REFLECTED in your ATTITUDE.

11. FACILITATION SKILLS The facilitator must ensure that the process encourages learners to use as many of their senses as possible to maximise their potential for learning. Research in the field of educational psychology shows that we remember: · 10% of what we read; · 20% of what we hear; · 30% of what we see; · 50% of what we see and hear together; · 80% of what we say; · 90% of what we say whilst we do it.

12. FACILITATION SKILLS FEEDBACK: WHY IT IS MOST IMPORTANT? IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME; every time we speak to another person, in our TONE, in the WORDS we use, in the way we LISTEN, in the SILENCE we allow – we communicate FEEDBACK Giving FEEDBACK means you have understood what was said and also convey appreciation of what was said POSITIVE FEEDBACK is another word for PRAISE. Use it whenever you get a chance FEEDBACK is not criticism. The language we use is important FEEDBACK is a way to ENSURE that you do not keep REPEATING MISTAKES

13. FACILITATION SKILLS THERE IS NO FAILURE……………….. ……………………………….ONLY FEEDBACK