The Facilitator’s Playbook: Tips, Tricks, and Takeaways

_{The author of this blog: Anna Hiraoka. After joining Mitsui, she was involved in healthcare business investment projects in the Wellness Division, and was seconded to Moon Creative Lab (Moon) for two years from October 2018 to September 2020. After working on a healthcare startup at Moon, Anna returned to the Mitsui Wellness Division, then transferred to HR & General Affairs Division promoting D&I. Anna returned to Moon in 2023 and is currently a Senior L&D specialist. She is a facilitator at many workshops held by Moon as part of their business creation program.}

Have you ever facilitated a meeting, seminar or workshop?

For me, facilitation is the art of guiding and empowering participants to unleash their creativity.

I have facilitated over 30 workshops in the past year and worked with over 500 participants from more than 10 different countries. Through this, I have learned tips for successful workshops and “key facilitation elements” that enhance the participant experience.

1.Be the compass, not the captain

As a facilitator, your role is not to give solutions every step of the way, but to help participants navigate in the right direction. Think of it as you being the compass—the participant is the captain, making the decisions, while you offer guidance and food for thought. By letting them take the wheel, you empower them to own their journey and build confidence in their ability to embark on the journey without you being there to hold hands.

Failure: The instinct to jump in and solve a problem can backfire

In a recent workshop, a participant was stuck figuring out who to interview to validate their problem statement. I gave them a list of potential people to talk to, and off they went. But when they came back, their insights didn’t hit the mark. While I had better candidates in mind, I decided to shift gears.

Instead of handing them answers, I asked:

“What kind of people do you think would have experience solving similar problems?”

“What questions would help them share their stories?”

Suddenly, the participant transformed from feeling stuck to leading the charge. They brainstormed personas, crafted thoughtful questions, and fully owned the process.

The takeaway? Helping isn’t always about giving the answers. Sometimes, it’s about asking the right questions so participants can take the wheel and steer their own way to meaningful insights.

Success: How an empathetic question sparked a transformation 

Given the importance of these questions, I believe that the key to facilitation lies in empathy and dialogue. In order to connect more deeply with participants, I first value a space where everyone can feel comfortable speaking up. To this end, it is extremely important to create an environment where people feel that there are no fixed answers.

If participants feel that they are being listened to and being considered, it will open the door to their hearts and minds, and they will naturally feel the courage to take the next step forward.

In Moon’s educational program, I once asked a participant who was at a loss to define his challenge:

“What feelings are you experiencing now that you have participated in the program?”

“How do you feel now about the issues you set?”

I tried to empathize with him and asked him questions that appealed to his emotions. He was surprised that I asked him questions about his feelings rather than the results, but this seemed to open him up to actively seeking new directions, including setting up a mentoring session with me.

Then, when we had finished defining the issues and had progressed about 70% of the way through the workshop, he approached me with this concern:

“I am sorry. I just can't get passionate about the issue I'm facing right now, and I want to start over from the beginning.”

I answered, “Thank you for your honesty. Please don't apologize. Let's explore together a problem you can be passionate about!”

This switch sparked his mind again. He then redid his assignment selection from scratch at great speed, and ran all the way to the end of the program with confidence, eventually achieving results that made him one of the top performers.

The fact that people felt they could turn back, even in the second half of the workshop, was the result of sharing a safe space where everyone is encouraged to speak up, knowing that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers.

He thanked me for having an emotional dialogue with him. I still keep in touch with him, and each time I am reminded of the power of empathy.

I believe that every word spoken in empathy, whether through question or dialog, has the power to light up a participant’s eyes with a kind of magic.

2.Playful staging and props create an extraordinary experience

So far, we have introduced the role of the facilitator in a workshop and how the power of empathy and questioning can affect the motivation of participants. But of course, the specific content of the workshop also has a significant impact on the outcome.

One of the most important things we want to emphasize is the need for a playful twist. We want to include playful elements to relax participants and allow their creativity to flourish.

Tactile and creative activities are sure to stimulate a brain that is exhausted from the daily grind. Toy blocks, storyboards with rough drawings, and prototypes made with sticky notes and stickers are just a few effective examples. Playful work is more than just fun; it can be relaxing and create a psychological state in which participants' creativity can flourish. It is all about creating an environment for thinking outside the box.

Especially in workshops that require long hours of program work, playful direction and methods are very important as a motivational agent to keep the participants engaged until the end of the workshop. 

Handmade checks make the final pitch

I recently led a workshop designed to build a business pitch, starting with defining a problem, including solutions and market-entry strategies. The workshop involved several days of learning programs to flesh out the ideas, and ended with a pitch on the last day to present the business idea.

As the workshop, which had been running for two full days, was nearing its end and the participants were approaching their physical limits, I decided to incorporate a simple activity to liven up the event for the final conclusion.

I created a handmade “check” to print out and give to the participants, asking them to play the role of “angel investors.” In this new role, they had to decide which team deserved the investment.

From that moment on, the atmosphere brightened dramatically. Participants leaned forward to ask questions of the presenters, and a heated discussion began about which ideas had the most potential. At the end of the event, a mini-awards ceremony was held based on the tally results, and the winner was presented with a giant “check.”

The scene-stealing performance with simple props transformed participants’ tired faces into enthusiastic smiles, making the pitch the highlight of the day.

The reversal of positions made the workshop an extraordinary experience

The reason why this performance drastically changed the atmosphere of the event might be because it reversed the participants' positions from “evaluation recipients” to “evaluation givers” by giving them new roles. Perhaps that was the magic factor that made the workshop an extraordinary experience.

In any case, it is obvious that there is a huge difference in experience between understanding an idea in your mind and actually being able to see and touch it. Imagine yourself standing at an award presentation with a large check in your hand. Wouldn't you feel uplifted by that?

Try to create an extraordinary experience by using props that you can actually touch. If possible, include a reversal of positions. Such small changes may create unexpected results in the participants' workshop experience.

For me, facilitation is more than a skill. It is an art, including its mindset. I hope, through learning from my own failures and successes, these facilitation techniques help you provide a memorable, impactful participant experience.

Text・Anna Hiraoka
Senior L&D Specialist at Moon

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