Good facilitation skills are essential for many content strategy tasks and projects. Guiding internal colleagues as well as external groups to shared, successful outcomes serves essential project needs, including: team and stakeholder consensus, a clear strategic vision, and the ability to see content in context. An effective facilitator does this by considering and balancing multiple individual perspectives and priorities within over-arching business goals--while also keeping user needs and goals at the forefront. Design for Context’s Duane Degler discusses techniques and approaches to channel the passions and personal goals of each participant, effectively guiding the group towards successful outcomes.

1. 1The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
The Delicate Art of
Facilitating a Content Strategy
Duane Degler
duane@designforcontext.com ! @ddegler
Content Strategy Meetup DC
Clarendon, VA – Aug 29, 2019
1
http://bit.ly/CS2019facilitation
Content prepared in collaboration with Karen Bachmann
! @design4context

2. 2The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Introduction
Facilitation . . .
Successful navigation of a group to an outcome,
ideally with some consensus, and preferably with
a positive view of the experience.
Degler and Bachmann, 2018
“Everyone has a stake in the
outcome and is equally
responsible for successes
and failures.” *
* Doyle & Straus (1976).
How to Make Meetings Work! The New Interaction Method.

3. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Types of facilitated sessions?
● Workshop
● Visioning, design, content
assessment, planning
● Kickoff / team-building
● Analysis / requirements gathering
● Users, stakeholders, SMEs, content
owners, writers, developers, etc.
● Problem-solving
● Collaborative creation
● Review and feedback
33
● Others?

4. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Facilitating: What’s the focus ?
TASK
PROCESS RELATIONSHIPS
44

5. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Facilitating: What’s the focus ?
55
Ingredients of an effective meeting:
• There must be a common focus on content.
• There must be a common focus on process.
• Someone must be responsible for
maintaining an open and balanced
conversational flow.
• Someone must be responsible for protecting
individuals from personal attack.
• And, in general, for the duration of the
meeting everyone’s role must be clearly
defined and agreed upon.
Doyle & Straus (1976). How to Make Meetings Work! The New Interaction Method.
Penguin. Amazon. University of La Verne PDF learning summary.

6. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Facilitation lessons from D&D
● A game is only as
good as its
Dungeon Master
● Epic challenges
require an
epically
diverse team
● Make the
mission explicit
● A sense of closure
● Culture is critical
● Rules are meant
to be broken
MANY PARALLELS
Jim Babb, “Everything I know about worksessions, I learned from Dungeons & Dragons
(https://medium.com/part-and-sum/dungeons-and-dragons-for-worksessions-d695af1b285e)
6

7. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Roles
Group
Facilitator
Recorder /
Co-Facilitator
“Everyone has a stake in the
outcome and is equally responsible
for successes and failures.”
77

8. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Keep the focus on the group and its goals
● Catalyze creativity, problem-solving, collaboration
● Encourage positive participation by everyone
● Create safe space
● Capture what the group says and decides, for use during
and after the meeting (with a partner as a Recorder)
Role and function of a facilitator
8

9. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Help create a group out of a collection of individuals
Strive for any encounter to leave the participants with something of value
Recognize that meetings (and interviews) are an implicit promise
that the organization is listening, and some action will be taken
● Set expectations
● Mind what you say
● You often encounter people who have been disappointed and don’t trust
My responsibilities
9

10. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● When you have a vested interest (inside),
when you don’t have a vested interest (outside)
● Myth of neutrality
● Acknowledge and manage your barriers to listening
● Be open and encouraging to all participants
● Filter out extra “situational” barriers
● Know when to stop listening and lead
Listening as a facilitator
10
Should I be neutral?
Can I be neutral?
Neutral
is not the same as
unknowledgeable

11. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Subject knowledge and neutrality
11
My focus and actions My knowledge and experience
help me recognize the group’s
dynamics
Task, process, relationships – group dynamics and effectiveness
Recognize digressions, going off task
Recognize getting stuck
Interject – with acknowledgement and permission
Capture effective notes (with recorder role)
Synthesize – note: this is not the same as summarize

12. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● It's about language – language use and language interpretation
● Important skills that Content Strategists can bring to the work
● Honest capture: You are a mirror of the group’s ideas and decisions
● Builds trust
● Synthesis: You are a channel that distills what is discussed, not arbitrates
Be sensitive to language
12

13. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Group Memory
Foster shared
ownership
Sense of progress
Your
aides memoire
1313

14. 14The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
THE ART OF FACILITATION: CHANGING THE WAY THE WORLD MEETS
“When I facilitate meetings, I’m designing a temporary
environment in which work gets done for people, so I’m really
thinking like an architect.”
Jay Vogt, TEDx Hampshire College, Nov 2011
Jay Vogt, ”The Art of Facilitation: Changing the Way the World Meets”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfZOvSU8PJE)

15. 15The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
The Process
● Preparing for facilitation
● Running a session
● Outcomes

16. 16The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Preparing for facilitation
● Define the desired outcome
● Plan the framework agenda
● Plan for recording
● Ground rules and ethical considerations
“The way you design a
meeting shapes the behavior
of the participants.” *
* Jay Vogt, ”The Art of Facilitation: Changing the Way the World Meets”
at 9:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfZOvSU8PJE

17. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Start with stakeholder conversations: shared context and goals
● Understand where this gathering fits with the larger goals
● Yes, this will also be a facilitation effort
● Ensure that you have clarity and inclusion across stakeholders
● These can still be modified in the session by the participants
Desired outcomes
1717

18. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Their basic structure
scales for larger
and smaller needs
Agendas are fractal
18
Housekeeping
timing, logistics, expectations
Set the stage
get the group centered in the topic
Focus on a primary topic
activity(ies), then reflection/sharing
Iterate & extend
Small additional topic
easily moved if time is tight
Working Session
Morning
Session
Afternoon
Session
Evening reflection
and team bonding
Workshop
Longer duration
Brief Meeting
18

19. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Agenda example: Cross-functional website kickoff
1919
Housekeeping
Set the stage
Focus on a primary topic
Iterate & extend

20. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Agenda example: Multi-institution, multi-day meeting
2020
Final meeting of partners nearing completion of 2.5 year project. 3-day meeting with 28 attendees.
The agenda was structured in half-day increments (one per page) to create a flexible detailed flow.
Day 1
• Orient
• Set goals
• All participants
report progress
and activities
Deep tech dive:
• Data issues,
responsibilities
• Looking forward:
Helping partners
understand
ongoing use and
maintenance
Day 2
• Reflect
• Look forward
toward use
• Keeping sync
across partners
• Application
feedback and
refinements
• Addition: Guest
speaker
• Looking forward:
promotion
Day 3
• Reflect
• Lessons learned
• Planning the
remaining
months and the
roll-out
• Completing the
planning for
remaining time
• The future
• Final reflections
on the past years

21. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Planning for recording
Group
Facilitator
21
● Focused on the
task of recording
● Whether notes
are visible to the
group – may
require sharing
recording role
with Facilitator
● Sufficient
familiarity with
context and
language to be
effective
21
Recorder /
Co-Facilitator

22. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Create a safe place for everyone
● Make clear the expected norms of behavior
● Reflect ethical considerations
● Consider and acknowledge your own ethical considerations
● Allow participants to shape the culture of the event
● Establish a clear reference to correct harmful behaviors
● Clarify exact consequences if needed
Plan your Ground Rules
22

23. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Understand and declare relevant biases and perspectives
● Understand that facilitation is about managing the power of the group, not
taking power that isn’t yours
● Listen genuinely and openly
● Be humble
● Take care of participants and their well being
Understanding ethical considerations
23

24. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
IAF Code of Ethics
● Client Service: We are in service to our
clients, using our group facilitation
competencies to add value to their
work.
● Conflict of Interest: We openly
acknowledge any potential conflict of
interest.
● Group Autonomy: We respect the
culture, rights, and autonomy of the
group.
● Processes, Methods, and Tools: We use
processes, methods and tools
responsibly.
● Respect, Safety, Equity, and Trust: We
strive to engender an environment of
respect and safety where all
participants trust that they can speak
freely and where individual boundaries
are honoured. We use our skills,
knowledge, tools, and wisdom to elicit
and honour the perspectives of all.
● Stewardship of Process: We practice
stewardship of process and impartiality
toward content.
● Confidentiality: We maintain
confidentiality of information.
● Professional Development: We are
responsible for continuous
improvement of our facilitation skills
and knowledge.IAF Code of Ethics (https://iaf.sg/about-us/code-of-ethics/)
Dale Hunter, The Art of Facilitation: The Essentials for Leading Great
Meetings and Creating Group Synergy (https://amzn.to/2F9bZqX)
24

25. 25The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Running a session
● Flow
● Encouraging (effective) participation
● Navigating disruptions
● Recording
● The art and craft of summarizing
“Facilitation is like dancing. If
you go unconscious, you miss
the rhythm and trip.”
* Participant quote.
In Dale Hunter & Anne Bailey, ”The Facilitation of Groups”
Taylor & Francis, 2017.

26. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Declare ground rules: to establish expected conduct within the meeting and
gain agreement, to create a safe space
● Set the stage: draw participants in, build shared context
● Open up: problem solving, ideation, team building, group cohesion
● Hone in: as you grow a shared perspective, begin to focus down via
synthesis, prioritization, and consolidation of outcomes
● Come to closure: wrap up, focusing on achievement and relationships,
so that everyone is confident with outcomes and goals
● Give everyone an opportunity to express (round robin)
Moving focus throughout a session
26

27. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● One main activity in each block, secondary items round out / tee up
● Pace
Rhythm
Reflect
Synthesis
Crescendo
Absorb
Activity
27
Reflect

28. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context 28
Listen
& Watch
Select &
Guide
(toward/away)
Synthesize
Task
focus
Drifting or
cycling?
Process
focus
Relationship
focus
Negativity /
attack?
Power evenly
balanced?
They think
they’re done?
Do they
have one?
Guide /
suggest
Get them
moving
Engaged and
on a roll?
Contributions
shut down?
Change the
process
Manage the
disruptor
Check on the
process
Encourage
the flow
Reset role
expectations
Wrap it up!

29. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
“Clocks”
iPad app
Respect people’s time and comfort
29

30. 30The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Encouraging (Effective) Participation

31. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Roles
Group
Facilitator
Recorder /
Co-Facilitator
3131

32. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Techniques
SET THE TONE OF THE MEETING
● Credit and Build
● Start with the positive
● Magic wand
GIVE EVERYONE AGENCY
● Encourage silent participants –
help everyone contribute
● Watch for non-verbal cues
● Use round-robin where comfortable
● Mix individual, breakout, and full
group activities
● Individual list-making, sketching
● Breakout groups – similar topics,
different topics
● Full group shared discussions,
common understanding, belonging
32

33. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Techniques (cont’d)
FOSTER COLLABORATION AND INTERACTION
● Active engagement with physical
things – sorting, manipulating
● Parallel Design sketching, drafting
● Explore what someone else has
thought/written
● Write and then pass to others
ELABORATING WHAT IS KNOWN
● Semantic Differentials
● Particularly with Now < > Future scores
● Prepare these after interviews, for the
meeting: key drivers and goals
● Supply / Demand exploration
● “Supply” to left – inbound
● “Demand” to right – outbound
33

34. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Techniques (cont’d)
BRING IN AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE
● External example mining – for
ideation
● Integrate other research results
● Usability testing
● Voice-of-the-customer
● Survey data, analytics, etc.
EVALUATE AND CRITIQUE IDEAS GENERATED
● Worst case scenario
● Impact assessment
● K-J Analysis / Affinity Diagrams
34

35. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
“Innovation” is expected everywhere, and we are often called on to lead
● Visioning
● Analogy
● Non-domain solving activity
● Similar type of activity
● Totally outside the domain/task
● Decomposition
Managing a creative problem-solving session
35

36. 36The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Navigating disruption and drama

37. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Boss
Roles
Group
Facilitator
Recorder /
Co-Facilitator
3737
“The Interaction Method
takes the ‘boss’out of the
manager.”

38. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Identify the emotions, empathize, support – but don’t take ownership
● Empower the group toward the goals
● Capture the grievances
● Turn them into an activity
● Your focus = the group’s focus
Techniques for group dynamics
38
“Remember, you’re in a powerful
position when you facilitate – you
command the attention of the group.
You should become a lens through
which the members of the group
become focused on the problem.”

39. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Continually refocus on the whole group – not individuals
● Parking lot digressions
● Proximity
● Focus on someone else
● Block sightlines
● Hover nearby
● Loom over
● Call a break, then take someone aside
Techniques for distractors
39
Concerns
Parking Lot

40. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● If the group is…
● Going in different directions
● Shutting down ideas
“we can’t do this”
● Stonewalling
● Having a dominant
participant in a scoping/
decision-making role
● One approach: use your
artifacts to help structure the
individual responsibilities
● Activities diagrams have been
useful for this
Re-focus responsibilities
40
Get signed
dealer stock
inventory
Locate item
and set
receipt status
Save status
change
Damaged
Item?
Present list
of items not
delivered
Check for
undelivered
items
Set flag in
audit archive
Staff and
dealer sign
delivery note
File agreed
dealer
delivery note
BEFE Other
Receive Stock
Visual check
item labels &
condition
Select dealer
inventory
record
Retrieve
inventory
records
Set status
of undelivered
items
Maintain
damaged
items record
Additional
Item?
Go to:
Enter Inventory Line Item
Locate item
and set
damage status
Save status
change

41. 41The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Recording

42. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Parking Lot
Group Memory
Foster shared
ownership
Sense of progress
Your
aides memoire
Minimize
digressions
4242

43. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Group Memory
Positive
comments
Concerns
Action
items
Revisit
e.g. Feedback Sessions
Information Questions
Tasks Rules /
Decisions
e.g. Task Analysis
Keep myself oriented – Signal the Recorder – Simplify later reporting/documentation
4343

44. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Lightweight – stay focused on what is said
● Check the integrity of what you’ve captured
● “Does this summarize what you are thinking?”
● “Did I get this right?”
● Keep similar things together – signpost relationships
● Have a sheet with major topics to return to
● Add to it when new things arise
● Prioritize, check off
Recording
44

45. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Sketchnote style recording
can sometimes increase
participant investment and
later use of notes.
Recording as Art
45

46. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Example: Task analysis recording
46

47. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Example: Task analysis recording
47
The most important part of
multi-week recording was
tracking what was, and
needed to be, captured

48. 48The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
The art and craft of summarizing

49. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Do you need it?
● Can individuals articulate it?
● Will it last when they leave the room?
● People need to act on their understanding and agreements
Carrying common ground out of the room
Consensus
49

50. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Synthesis
● Link to outcomes
● Check-off meeting goal achievement
Summarizing: It’s participatory, not meeting minutes
50

51. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Use flipcharts to capture synthesis
● Walk through the room, reviewing
all the sets of PostIt notes to spot
additional items for summary
● Involve the group
● Ask them to summarize
● Confirm and clarify each point
with the group – they own the
meeting outcomes
Quick summarizations
51

52. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Get input from all individuals, not just the
loudest voices
● Make it explicit and anonymous
● Physical activity encourages discussion and
consensus-building
● Seeing value judgements and decisions
graphically is powerful
Example: Voting and ranking
52

53. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
● Project the document so everyone can
see it and participate in the process –
they are the owners
● At the same time, keep additional
comments, concerns, and parking lot
items separately on PostIt notes
● Recognize that this takes more time
than you may expect – it’s a negotiation
Example: Capturing action items
53
Actions captured in meeting
for participants

54. 54The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Consolidating the results
Closing the loop between
your users, your participants,
and those who contracted you

55. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
In addition to the usual reporting of findings, observations, and conclusions:
● Avoid forcing alignment to pre-conceived ideas
● Give credit to participants appropriately – acknowledge their power
● Bring insights up to an approachable, shareable level
● Select modes of sharing by audience
● Informal or formal
● Presentation (or series of presentations)
● Standalone to support distribution and use over time
Outcomes
55

56. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Example: Model concepts that emerge from workshops
CONTEXT
DISCOVERY INTERPRETATION
INTERNAL & SOCIAL
PROCESSES
InfluencesInfluences
May Challenge
Updates Catalyzes
Is a Source for
LIFE CYCLE
PROGRESSION
Provides Feedback forUnderlies
EXTERNAL SHOCKS
EXPLICIT DATA
ACTIONABLE
INFORMATION
IMPLICIT
KNOWLEDGE
Catalyzes
Enables
56

57. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Example: Translate to appropriate modes of sharing
57
Actions captured in meeting
for participants
Actions translated
for external stakeholders

58. The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
Example: Report
58
Topical organization
Incorporate models
and solutions that
encapsulate concepts
and ideas

59. 59The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
And finally . . . a haiku
Let go of control
Step away from everyday
Discover the new
Viv McWaters, in Discovering the Definition of Facilitation
International Association of Facilitators, 6.2017
https://www.iaf-world.org/site/global-flipchart/8/definition

60. 60The Delicate Art of Facilitation Content Strategy Meetup DC, 8.29.2019@ddegler @design4context
The Delicate Art of
Facilitating a Content Strategy
Duane Degler
duane@designforcontext.com ! @ddegler
Content Strategy Meetup DC
Clarendon, VA – Aug 29, 2019
60
http://bit.ly/CS2019facilitation
Content prepared in collaboration with Karen Bachmann
! @design4context