Powerful Questions Archives

Collaboration & Questions: Remember Facilitating Reliability is a Long Game

Asking questions as a technical facilitator is a nuanced and deliberate process. All facilitators guide participants through solutions that are created, understood, and accepted by all. The “by all” part makes the role especially challenging and one that transcends a single session. Asking questions as a reliability facilitator contrasts with persuasion or manipulation, where narratives and emotions carry the day. The long game approach requires empathy, patience, consistency, and an in-depth understanding of context.

“Being a great facilitator requires commitment to your participants.”

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by JD Solomon 4 Comments

How Technical Facilitators Can Avoid Provoking Others When Asking Questions

Technical facilitators should avoid provoking others when asking questions to maintain respect, productive effective communication, and create professional relationships. However, there are situations where provocative questions can be effective. For technically trained professionals, the balance lies in knowing when to use respectful inquiry to foster collaboration and when to employ pointed questions to drive necessary change and innovation. The bottom line is to ask powerful questions. This article discusses how to avoid provoking others when asking questions.

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