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Informative Articles

How to Use Graphs and Charts in Your Business Plan
I often hear the question, “how many graphs or charts should I have in my business plan?” As with most other business planning questions, the answer is “it depends.” This article discusses the key factors influencing the number of graphs and charts...
Managers: Should Your PR Budget Stress Tactics or Strategy?
If public relations tactics like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and press releases dominate your answer, you’re missing the best PR has to offer. Such a budget would tell us that you believe tactics ARE public relations. And that...
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Try, Try, Again
This article relates to the Career Opportunities competency and explores issues such as internal growth opportunities, potential for advancement, career development importance, and the relationship between job performance and career advancement....
The Art of Succession Planning
Succession planning, like any business acumen, is both an art and a science. That is to say, there are many proven strategies that can and must be followed so that successful transition can occur. Too often organizations address the ...
What Your Home Based Business Plan Can Do For You
You have put in the time and research to develop your home based business plan, but now you need to know what to do with it. The business plan does more than just attract potential investors to help you raise capital, it also can be used as a...
 
What is a Trainer? What is a Facilitator?

What is a Trainer? What is a Facilitator?

Recently, I've noticed that some corporations call their trainers "facilitators." I can only assume this is meant to be shorthand for "facilitator of learning." However, is "facilitator" really an appropriate term when the "facilitator" uses only lecture and Power Point? Are facilitating a strategic planning session and teaching someone how to do that really the same thing?

Even the roots of the two words interplay. "Educe," the root of "educate," literally means "to bring out." That is what the best trainers do...but isn't it also what facilitators do? The root of "facilitate," of course, is "facile," or to make a process "easy." The best trainers seem to make learning easy, don't they?

It's no wonder confusion exists. The greatest trainers and facilitators do share many characteristics and behaviors. However, I believe the role of trainer and facilitator are ineluctably different and that it's important to distinguish between them. This will not only help reduce confusion about the terms, but (more importantly, to me-) ensure they retain real meaning.

Let's Talk Terms

Even though the term "training" is broadly accepted for the field of adult education, some in our field argue that "training" itself is an unacceptable word. They argue that the word conjures up "dog training" or other potentially de-humanizing acts.

Others in the field of adult education differentiate between terms training, instruction and education, but conclude that all are necessary to help people learn. (Stolovitch and Keeps, 2002.) Most adult educators use "train" as an umbrella term for what they do.

4 Major Differences Between Facilitator and Trainer Roles

Great Facilitator

-Is not necessarily a content expert.

-Is an expert in many forms of group process (including inter-and-intra-group conflict resolution, strategic planning, team building, etc.)

-Often helps the group to define and verbalize its own outcomes (e.g. to solve a specific problem or develop a new procedure.)

-When outcomes are externally prescribed, helps the group develop, implement and "own" action steps to achieve the outcomes.

-Sees facilitation as a process to help achieve specific "bits" of


broad organizational goals.

Great Adult Educator (Trainer)

-Is a content expert.

-Is not necessarily expert in many forms of group process. Instead, continually develops new methods to help participants achieve specific learning outcomes.

-Most often in corporate, organizational or higher education settings, the trainer does not help each learner group establish its own learning outcomes. (That's a whole other approach, called Popular Education.) However, the trainer may be involved in implementing and/or analyzing the results of training needs assessments.

-Often focuses on training's impact on actual, discrete job performance or tasks. Trainer may evaluate training's effectiveness long after the training event takes place.

Elements the Two Roles Share

Both great facilitators and the best trainers...

-Help the group achieve specific outcomes through the use of active, participatory, participant-centered methods.

-Regularly evaluate the process in real time, and can measure how well the participants achieved the stated outcomes at the end of the process.

-Have made themselves familiar with the organizational culture and context in which they are working, and ensure the processes "fit" that culture.

-Stimulate dialogue and interaction between participants, not just between themselves and the participants.

In this article, I've tried to scratch the surface of similarities and differences between facilitation and training. I believe passionately in the value of each. Both can help us understand ourselves, each other, our work, and the world better. Beyond that, they play different roles in the workplace and community.

Do you think it's important to make distinctions between facilitation and training? As usual, I look forward to your input and comments about these issues. Please contact me at guila@guilamuir.com with your arguments and insights!

About the author:

Guila Muir pumps up your facilitation and training skills! Helping people to facilitate and present since 1989, Guila provides tools, tips, and techniques to master any situation. Sign up for her free e-newsletter, full of strategies to improve your facilitation and training skills, at

 

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Basic Description of Strategic Planning (including key terms to know)
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Strategic planning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Strategic Planning Society: Strategy Development and Implementation
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Guide 7
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STRATEGIC PLANNING MANUAL
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BPubs.com: Strategic Planning & Business Planning Articles
Business Publications related to Corporate Strategic Planning.
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Strategic Planning Tools
Strategic Planning is a method for positioning an organization to take ... A strategic planning process incorporates an in-depth planning model that takes ...
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Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc.
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LEADERSHIP: Strategic Planning and Strategic Management
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The CEO Refresher Archives - Strategic Planning
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The Association for Strategic Planning
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