Virtual Facilitation

2Going Virtual with Your Session

We are entering a new space – a space with new opportunities and limitations. In fact, as we write this book, many more people are starting to use technology and the virtual space as a result of increased home working during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people may find themselves getting new competencies, yet feeling a little uncomfortable, as this new virtual space takes them out of their comfort zone and brings them to an area where they are likely to need a bit of guidance to understand what can be achieved here. We want to help people understand this new space and how to transition from a physical world into a virtual world.

Many of the thoughts around facilitation in a physical setting, in terms of how we engage people and proceed, still apply, although some things are different. However, we often notice that when people are put in a virtual environment, they think that what they know about how to engage and run meetings in person doesn't apply here. Our experience and the perspective of this chapter is that a lot of what you already know can and does still apply. Having said that, there are also new opportunities to create value in a virtual setting.

The definition of virtual that we use is ‘not physically existing as such, but made by software to appear to do so’. Our bodies are bound by the physical space, but we can create a virtual space where we meet, work and create impact together.

We believe that the discipline of virtual facilitation ...