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The 5Ps Online Facilitation Framework

Lack of results. Inability to focus. Online Meeting Burnout. Apply this framework to your online meeting facilitation.

How to get unstuck when online meetings failing to deliver results?

Firstly, Facilitation is the art of making group processes easy. Facilitation helps people to collaborate effectively and to get to an outcome that works for the people that are involved.

Since COVID 19, the world has changed towards working predominantly remotely and online.As an experienced trainer for facilitators, I have been working hard the last two months to bring a programme online that helps people to become more efficient in facilitating online meetings.

Our Art of Facilitation Online Training workshop is now in week two and the framework that I am about to share with you came out of this training workshop. Our participants are experienced and emerging facilitators in government, communities, cultural diversity facilitators and consultants.

Our profession has gone online and we are working together to discover how we can facilitate online meetings in a way that draws on the group's wisdom in a whole-person and effective way. Secondly, working remotely with a high number of online meetings comes with its challenges.

Our clients talk about meeting burnouts, lack of focus, tired eyes, lack of participation, lack of results. So we were sitting with this question on how can we make online meetings fun, nourishing, engaging, energising and productive?Surely, we all can see the positive impact our reduction in travel and us all staying and working from home has on the planet, so I am determined to help the world to find efficient and enjoyable ways of meeting online.

Finally, here is the framework that we came up with. Should you get stuck in an online meeting or you are about to prepare for one, here is an easy framework to follow that will help your process.

1) Presence

Are you present or are you still stuck in the last meeting, the last task, an issue at home etc? What are you being? Are you stressed, relaxed, expanded, curious, closed? Be mindful of what you are being as this is the energy that will reflect to the group. Even online, people are relating to your energy. What can you do to be fully present and available for the meeting?

Here are some examples:

Go for a walk. Take a meeting outside on the phone. Close your eyes and take a breath. Draw an agenda in your notebook instead of the computer. Go for a walk and look for something that you have not noticed before. Meditate. Exercise.

2) People

Are the right people attending? How are they feeling? How are they coping working from home? What are they learning? Are they present? How are their energy levels? Can I do something to help shift the energy? Are they connected?

3) Purpose

What is our purpose for our meeting? What is the purpose of this exercise? Are we still on track? What do we want to achieve? Where do we want to get to? Why are we meeting and are the right people in the room to achieve this? What is important here?4) ProcessWhat process would help us in the time we have to achieve our purpose? Could we split up and work in small groups and use break out rooms? How can we get everyone’s voice heard in the time we have? How can we get our ideas out fast? Where can we capture our ideas?

5) Platform

Which online collaboration or video platform could we use to help us to achieve our purpose? Do we need a video or could we talk on the phone and be outside? Could someone scribe on a Flipchart at home and take a photo? Is there an online collaboration tool that would make our process easier? Do we have enough time for people to get on to the platform? How can we stay connected and present and use an online platform? What is most important here? How can we keep things simple?

My last blog on online meeting burnouts had a list of useful online collaboration platforms.

About the AuthorSimone Maus is an experienced facilitator and trainer of facilitators. She has worked with experienced and emerging facilitators all over the world in government, business and community sectors. Simone helps with workshop design, coaching programmes and training programmes for workshop and meeting facilitators with any level of experience.To meet her and have a chat about how she could help, book a time here on her online calendar:https://calendly.com/simone-4/discovery-session

Connect with the Author

Simone Maus is an experienced facilitator and trainer of facilitators. She has worked with experienced and emerging facilitators all over the world in government, business and community sectors. Her expertise lie within workshop design, coaching programmes and training programmes for workshop and meeting facilitators with any level of experience.

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