The Human Touch

12 FACILITATION

INTRODUCTION

The dictionary (OED, 1999) definition of the term ‘facilitate’ is ‘to make easy or easier’. The term is derived from the Latin word ‘facile’, meaning ‘easily done’ or ‘doing something easily’. So, we could define facilitation as:

A process through which a person makes it easier for others to do something.

In our professional world, we need facilitation to ease the path towards decisions and consensus. In other words, facilitation is used to ensure that a group of people remain focused on what they are trying to achieve and move in the desired direction towards agreement.

A facilitated event can take many forms, for example:

• a meeting to discuss business problems and opportunities;
• a workshop to define requirements ...