I don’t know anything. How can I help you?

When looking for the ideal facilitator for a workshop, many businesses bring in an outsider and do something that seems totally sensible.

They choose a subject matter expert. Someone that knows their industry inside out. Someone with a qualification in (insert topic here).

Seems fair enough. A safe bet.

But I think it’s the wrong choice.

This person will turn up, invariably in a suit, and start consulting instead of facilitating.

They won’t ask the stupid questions because this would make them look silly.

They won’t be able to stop trying to impress you with what they know – because you hired them because of what they know.

They may occasionally use an expression beginning with the words ‘in my experience’ before giving you some great advice.

And that’s the problem.

This is not what they are there for.

A facilitator’s job is to show up with techniques and methods (I call them ‘recipes’ that enable people in workshops to solve problems, make decisions or generate new ideas.

The facilitator is the guide, not the hero. The client is the subject matter expert and the answers are in the room, not in the facilitator’s head.

A good one will create an environment and an invisible structure that keeps energy levels high and promotes the joy of working productively in a limited time.

They have the ability to think on the fly and change their workshop recipe with no notice, just because something happened that meant plans needed to change.

They spend more time listening than talking.

They show the people in the room what they have come up with and what choices they have to make.

In short, the best facilitator is someone who’s expert at what they do, not what you do.