Virtual Facilitation

14Be On Top

Figure 14.1

To facilitate a good session, you as the facilitator need to be on top. ‘Be on top of what?’ you might be asking. There are many things you need to be on top of: the plan of the process, the tech, your participants, the content and the other elements that you bring to the session. When we talk about content in this context, we’re not saying you need to be an expert in the content, but that you know the flow and what is happening.

When you are on top of all of this, you will have the capacity needed to run your session with a nice flow, and if something doesn't go quite according to your playbook, it's much easier to adjust.

Be on top of the process

Getting ready to go live

Everyone will do their final preparations for facilitating and running meetings slightly differently, but our advice would be to find some time on the morning of the session to read through your playbook and mentally run through what's going to happen during the session. It's also a good idea to check in with a potential co-facilitator or tech assistant, or your client if you're facilitating the meeting for someone else.

Even though you won't be going to a physical event, it's still important to allow plenty of time to set up your gear in the room from where you'll be hosting. Make sure that all the windows that you'll need for your session are open on your computer, not only ...