Facilitation and Presentation Skills

Facilitation Skills

Facilitation as a Teaching Method

• The facilitator is a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage.
• The facilitator encourages active participation among group members.

Effective Facilitators

• Prepare a plan for the small group sessions.
• Listen well and are patient.
• Are supportive of the group, individuals in the group, and the small group process itself.
• Make learning a shared responsibility.
• Are comfortable with silence.
• Are prepared to refocus the discussion.
• Take risks by expressing personal thoughts about a topic or a patient.
• Challenge but do not threaten.
• Are judicious with the use of feedback.
• Summarize progress or decisions when appropriate.

How Do Effective Facilitators Start the Session?

• Do group introductions.
• Have the group agree on the task of the session.
• Have the group agree on ground rules (e.g. all are invited but not forced to talk, it is fine to disagree about an issue but not to be judgmental of a person).
• Open with a problem or case.

How Do Effective Facilitators Facilitate the Session?

Factual Questions

• Used to get information and open discussion:
• Is this patient’s CBC normal?
• What is the most frequently given drug for this condition? 

Broadening Questions

• Used to introduce additional information and encourage analysis:
• What is the relationship between smoking and peptic ulcer disease?
• What additional information would we want to know about this patient? 

Justifying Questions

• Used to challenge ideas and develop new ones:
• Why do you think we should talk to the patient’s wife
• Why do you think this procedure would be helpful?

Hypothetical Questions

• Used to explore unknowns and when necessary, change the course of the discussion:
• What would happen if we placed this patient on Antivert?
• How might this change the way the patient feels about the physician? 

Alternative Questions

• Used to make decisions between alternatives and to get an agreement:
• Which of the treatments proposed would be best for this patient at this particular time?
• What long term management strategy would work with this patient?

"Questioning" as an Effective Tool

• Bloom's Taxonomy Levels of Thinking
  • Recall/Remember - Identify and define the facts.
  • Understand the Meaning of Facts - Discuss/explain ideas or concepts.
  • Apply - Differentiate/compare and contrast information.
  • Evaluate Facts - Justify thought processors and asses the next steps, create new knowledge, and hypothesize "WHAT IF" alternatives.
• 3 Tips for Using Questioning Strategy
  • Use open-ended questions predominantly.
  • Allow time for a response.
  • Follow a poor answer with a clarifying question and not a correction.

How Do Effective Facilitators End the Session?

• Allow time for a summary of what was accomplished.
• Ask for feedback on what worked, what did not work, and what can be done to make future sessions more effective.
• Review the goals for the next session

Presentation Skills

Presentation Skills: 5 Phases (Preparation, Planning, Practice, Delivery, Reflection)

Phase 1: Preparation

• Keep learning principles in mind.
• Learners build on their existing knowledge.
• People learn best when they see the need.
• Physical state affects mental state.
• Repetition enhances retention.
• People have different learning styles.
   

Phase 1: Preparation - ASSURE Model

• Analyze audience.
• Specify and write goals and objectives.
• Select your materials and media.
• Utilize your materials and media.
• Require audience participation.
• Evaluate your presentation.

Phase 2: Planning

• Plan the organization of your presentation.
• Incorporate enhancements (use visuals, include quotes, jokes, stories, analogies, references and statistics, and examples).
• Plan handouts.
• Plan for interaction.
• Analyze support, logistics (determine what support is available and have a backup).
• Know the foreign territory (arrive early, test equipment, and go through visuals).

Phase 3

• Practice, Practice, Practice.

Phase 4: Delivery - Verbal Techniques

• Adequate volume
• Vary pace
• Involve the audience
• Use silence
• Eliminate verbalized pauses

Phase 4: Delivery – Non Verbal Techniques

• Smile
• Show enthusiasm
• Make eye contact
• Gesture naturally
• Move but don’t pace
• Avoid distracting actions and mannerisms

Phase 5: Reflection

• Reflect on how you did, ask feedback, and make changes for improvement.
  • What Makes a Visual Effective?
    • Large font size
    • Appropriate font type – Arial, Helvetica
    • Contrasting colors
    • Simple and clear
  • A PowerPoint Tip
    • Avoid PowerPoint “karaoke” – presenters do not have to read every word from the slides.
    • Bottom line: engage the audience!