Facilitation

We consider ourselves to be some pretty darn good facilitators here at The Narrative Lab. The word "facilitation" is a word that is easily understood by our clients and when we use it, we believe they understand what we're saying, and when they use it, we understand what they're saying. 

After reading ­Chris Corriga­n's­ excellent post this morning on the difference between facilitation and hosting, I'm beginning to wonder if we're amidst the evolution of the term facilitation from a philosophical and practical point of view.

One of the metaphors he uses in describing the difference between a facilitator and a host is this:

I recently ran a workshop where I combined two techniques from Peter Senge's 5th Disciple Fieldbook, namely Undiscussable topics, and the Fishbowl. I modified them both slightly to create a really revelatory experience for the participants.

The context was a leadership development workshop, but my main intention was to present a diagnostic case for improving communication, and the way of working.