Facilitation in Practice
15/07/2025
Written by Sarah König, Senior Facilitator with the Centre's Education & Learning team.
Thanks Shari and Sarah for providing us with an excellent professional development day on small group facilitation. I feel we have all come away with many new and improved ideas as well as a sense of pride in what we already do well. Thanks for facilitating such an amazing day, we learned a lot just from watching both of your skills in action.
- Participant
In June, Shari and I ran our first full-day Small Group Facilitation workshop together – an absolute delight!
Throughout the day, we explored what it means to facilitate, and what good group facilitation looks like in practice.
These Maternal and Child Health nurses generously shared their own strategies for trickier moments and some of the practical gems included:
- fostering psychological safety by demonstrating permission to overshare or to say "Pass"
- harnessing our "repertoire of interesting calamities” to demonstrate realness
- using Socratic questioning to respond when somebody shares misinformation
- enlisting the help of more social group members to assist with fast-tracking group connections.
What impressed me most was how quickly this group moved beyond abstract theory into rich, applied reflection. They were so game to learn and grow!
It wasn’t just “How do I run a group?”, it was “How do I show up in the hard moments, stay warm but clear, and keep the group connected even when things get complex ?”. I walked away inspired by the wisdom in the room; we’ve been raving ever since about Belinda / Bec, and the calibre of leadership we witnessed - seriously so authentic and solid.
Finally, it continues to be such a treat to co-facilitate with Shari. She's seriously a masterclass in authoritative presence mixed with vulnerability and playfulness. This time, a hilarious interaction with a gardener and an alarmed door had us in stitches.
So proud to be a part of this important, fulfilling work!
Upcoming workshop
Keen to build facilitation skills that actually land in real-world settings? Our Small Group Facilitation workshop will equip you to identify and use strategies that support a partnership approach within and across family services.
Dates: 17 and 18 September
Time: 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Location: Treacy Centre, Parkville
For further information or to enquire about co-designing a workshop to meet the needs of your organisation, please email us at [email protected]
