The Ability to Facilitate Online

What do you consider as a skill set that is needed from now on? One of the most important ones, I feel, is facilitation. I had an opportunity to be a part of an online meeting where someone else was presenting, and felt this even more strongly.

First of all, the presentation itself and the answers to people’s questions weren’t an issue at all. However, it was disappointing because the presenter’s ability to facilitate and involve the participants was lacking.

As a result, the information from the presentation itself wasn’t very memorable, and even though people were present, there was no lively discussion.

More specifically, there were moments of awkward silence, and yet there was not enough time in the end because only a few people out of the group were speaking up.

So how do we solve these issues?

I think the first step is in the preparation. The very first thing the presenter said was, “I didn’t think there would be this many people.” So it was clear that there was a lack of preparation and maybe some nervousness.

It’s not always possible to know how many people are going to show up for an online meeting, however, I think you can have a rough estimate, and be able to plan out the rough timeline of the meeting. You can also do a practice run on your own, and practicing would ease any nervousness that may arise.

I also think it’s very important to observe everyone’s facial expressions while you’re presenting, which would be difficult if you’re only focused on the details of the presentation itself.

Even if you’re not presenting anything and it’s a regular meeting, the facilitator can do some preparations to plan for what may happen.

Online facilitation is an important skill, as more and more meetings and presentations are happening online.

I hope I can also continue to improve my facilitation skills through my various events and workshops.

Last week was Obon in Japan, a holiday during which we remember our ancestors. 

There are so many things happening all over the world, but I’m being conscious of staying as positive as possible!

I hope your week is filled with smiles!