Managing Common Facilitation Challenges
Key Takeaways
- So many skills are required of a great trainer or facilitator: project management, communication, conflict resolution, storytelling, problem-solving, and others.
- At its heart, great facilitation is about preparation, good listening, and responding to the needs and interests of your learners.
Facilitating for a large group
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Don’t go it alone.
Have multiple facilitators. If online, have a technical producer and someone to monitor the chat. If the session is hybrid, have one facilitator for the in-person group and one for the virtual group.
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Create an online asynchronous space where learners can introduce themselves.
Post a few questions you’d like them to answer, including at least one fun one. For example, for a manager training, ask everyone to share a task they most want to delegate or vote for their most frustrating management task. For an Everything DiSC® training, you might ask everyone to share an animated GIF or an image that represents their style.
Refer back to these introductory polls or sharing spaces during your sessions, if you can. For example: “Five of you shared that your dogs have barked during a Zoom call. So let’s take a few minutes to talk about how your team wants to handle interruptions during meetings.”
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Use the buddy system.
Assign groups of two to four learners to be buddies during the training. Give them time and space to introduce themselves before the training and to meet during or after training. Suggest a few ways they can support each other throughout the session.
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Break into small groups.
Make use of physical and virtual spaces where the large group can break into smaller ones.
Mixed virtual and in-person groups
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Prepare table tents for everyone.
Make name tents for both people physically in the room and those participating virtually. Put the names of off-site learners in front of yourself to remind you to include them and call them by name.
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Get both groups talking to each other right away.
Introduce all participants to each other or do a paired introduction activity.
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Visit all breakout rooms.
You might have virtual folks in their own breakout discussion spaces and in-person folks separate. Make sure to drop in on all discussion groups, both in-person and virtual. Or, you may be able to set up combined virtual/in-person small group, if in-person learners have laptops and are logged in to the virtual space.
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Don’t let technology slow you down.
Test the technology, including microphones, audio, and screens in the physical room. Will all participants be able to see and hear each other?
Ask remote learners to test their technology before joining the session.
Prepare for a technology failure. How will you respond if the worst happens?
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Set and keep break times.
Those participating virtually may tire more quickly than those in the room.
When the group is not engaged
At some point, all facilitators run into silence or low energy from the group. Prepare to use some of these techniques to get people talking.
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Take a short break.
Let people get something to drink, stand up, and return a little refreshed.
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Personalize the material.
Ask for examples or experiences that relate to the discussion.
Ask how the content is or is not relevant to their daily work. You might need to explain the connection or reframe your content.
Thank by name those who do participate.
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Change up the delivery.
Break into smaller groups or pairs for discussion.
Ask learners to respond by voting with stickers, a thumbs up, or through an online poll. Then ask someone why the topic got the response it did. This is helpful if the topic is potentially divisive or very personal.
Ask people to write down their responses first, and then ask someone to share.
Introduce something fun or lighter. For example, run through DiSC Styles and Dr. Seuss Quotes (PPTX) for a DiSC training, or ask participants to give themselves a standing ovation.
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Get feedback.
Ask if you’re moving through the material too quickly or slowly, and adjust accordingly.
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Get comfortable with silence.
Sometimes it’s an indication that people are thinking before responding.
Managing over-participators
There are often one or two people in any group who dominate the discussion, even if they aren’t aware of it. It can be a group leader everyone defers to, a naturally gregarious person, or someone actively trying to steer the group.
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Agree to ground rules.
Ask participants to agree to certain ground rules for the session. The facilitator can suggest these and the group can also add rules.
Will you call on people, or can they jump into the conversation? Will questions be collected throughout the day, or should people ask at will? Remind them about these agreements throughout the meeting as needed.
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Meet with leaders beforehand.
Meet with senior leaders of the group beforehand and ask that they self-regulate during the session, so others will speak up.
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Ask people to speak less or more.
During the meeting, you might encourage someone to step back if they’ve been participating a lot or step forward if they’ve been quiet.
A useful phrase: “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance to weigh in yet.”
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Thank them, then redirect.
Acknowledge their contribution without opening the door to another long response: “Thanks, Sean—that’s a helpful example. Let’s hear what others think.”
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Use structured turn-taking.
Go around the room, use round-robin responses, or invite people by name so participation isn't driven only by the fastest volunteers.
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Try ELMO.
One of our clients uses an ELMO (Enough, Let’s Move On) rule. The learners can agree that anyone can call ELMO if someone is lost in a tangent.
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Ask the over-participator to take notes.
Ask the over-participator if they are willing to take notes on the discussion that you’ll add to and share after the session. You can also give them a different job, such as listening to discussions then summarizing what they heard and identifying themes.
Keeping the learning alive
No facilitator or trainer wants the knowledge, insights, or experiences they delivered to be forgotten. Try some of these tips to remind learners to practice what they learned. See more: Keeping DiSC in learners' minds
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Clarify next steps.
Before the end of training, ask each learner to commit to trying a new skill or act on a new insight. Ask them to write down this commitment. You can also ask them to share it with an accountability partner. Schedule a follow-up call, or have them schedule one with their partner. If you’re working with a team, the follow-up can be scheduled for one of their meetings.
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Summarize what they learned.
Share a synopsis of what was covered and notes or images from their discussions. Give them something to reference so they can remember how a discussion ended or any big team insights.
Remind learners of any shared discussion spaces still available to them. Post a follow-up question there that they can respond to. Example: How will you use what you learned about communication styles in your next meeting?
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Encourage further reflection.
Provide a few questions learners can journal about.
Include a reflection question in your evaluation. Example: What are three ideas, actions, or questions you took away from our session?
Send a short quiz learners can take to check their own progress or understanding.
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Give them ideas for continued learning and practice.
Suggest an action they can take this week to practice what they learned.
Provide resources for where learners can continue their own education or practice.
Check any facilitation materials you have for follow-up reports or suggested follow-up activities.
Facilitator boredom with familiar content
This challenge is experienced more often than it is addressed. If you’re well-prepared and doing your job well, a little boredom is to be expected. But if the boredom isn’t temporary, try some of these tips.
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Experiment with pacing and delivery.
Refresh your content and pacing as if you were a comedian looking for the best delivery and timing. Focus more on audience response than on getting through your slides or other content.
Or maybe you move around more as you deliver your content and try to put out more energy.
If you’re following a facilitation manual or kit, find ways to make the training yours. Edit the script.
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Join forces with another trainer.
Work with a co-facilitator or switch activities with your current co-facilitator.
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Try new icebreakers and activities.
Try something different when greeting learners as they enter the real or virtual room. Ask a new icebreaker. A good one will make you feel more connected with them as much as it will get them engaged with each other.
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Seek and share stories.
Discover, prepare, and share a personal story that’s relevant to your subject.
Or, collect success stories from other groups, then work out the most engaging way to tell that story in future trainings.
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Stay curious.
Think of yourself as a tour guide. What excites you about the subject? What would you like to share?
Ask more questions during training. Listen for answers unique to this group at this time.
Look for opportunities for continued learning. If you use the Catalyst Practitioner Experience, see what new courses have been added recently for facilitators.
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Be part of the facilitator community.
Talk with other facilitators and share your experiences. Try one of their favorite activities or tools.
You are welcome to join our Facebook group DiSC practitioners and fans.
If you use the Catalyst Practitioner Experience, visit the Practitioner Community to chat with other DiSC trainers.
Posted 08/04/2019, Last Updated 08/10/2026
