Your Young Facilitator – Communication Tips for Your Child in Facilitation Settings
Communication settings appear in various forms. Beyond stage settings or common speech scenarios, our young communicators are likely to encounter challenging communication settings that will require them to engage, inform, and guide a varied group. For us, facilitation is one such setting. While these scenarios may be more common for an adult communicator, we have seen more of our young students taking up such facilitation roles in their school or CCA.
What is facilitation? This communication setting focuses on the objective of guiding the audience through a specific activity or task at hand. For kids, the scenario can range from project-work discussion to leadership settings (e.g., a student leader moderating and guiding a student discussion). Such settings require confidence and clarity in the communicator – audience engagement is also a compulsory element that your child needs to manage.
We will share some general tips and techniques on how our young communicators can effectively play such a facilitation role!
Structure is Key – Know the Direction
In a facilitation setting, the communicator plays the role of a leader to the audience. The latter takes guidance (or even inspiration!) from the facilitator. This setting requires your child to have the event or session format internalised. Imagine waiting while a facilitator struggles with the next event or activity for the audience! For young communicators, that can be quite a stressful setting to navigate.
From that starting point, your child can start with a special focus on structure. Unlike a typical speech setting (where the starting point is content), facilitators may want to ensure that they have the skeleton or broad overview of the proceedings at their fingertips. This does not require pure memorisation! Rather, your child can prepare simple tools (e.g., a script, cue cards, props) that will help them bring the audience through the various aspects of the session.
Vocal Clarity for Success
Beyond structure and content, no communication setting is complete without the delivery aspects. While common body language aspects (e.g., eye contact, hand gestures, stage positioning) would still apply, certain aspects can be heightened to fit a specific communication setting. For facilitation scenarios, the priority is on clarity and confidence – your child needs to engage the audience while ensuring the longevity of their message/instructions.
One body language aspect that helps in this setting is vocal variety, specifically vocal power/volume and pacing. Your child should aim for a slower pace in speaking, combined with a higher volume. This can help to give the impression of leadership and confidence, especially if the facilitator needs to guide the audience through a set of complex instructions. Your child can combine other body language elements from that neutral starting point to heighten engagement!
The Important Thing Is …
Different speeches call for different conclusion types. For example, a persuasive speech will benefit from a clear, specific call to action, while an informative speech will have a guiding conclusion (e.g., summary, quote). In a facilitation scenario, your child may not be the primary content provider (e.g., someone else may be responsible for sharing the content while your child guides certain aspects of the session).
In this context, our young communicators will also need to double up as strong listeners during the session for information that should be emphasised. This can come in key messages, discussion points, or even significant deliverables/follow-ups. By reminding our young facilitators to dedicate a portion of their conclusion to this goal, they can continue to provide learning points/values to the audience!
Guide the Group to Success!
We believe that our young communicators should be prepared for speaking scenarios that extend beyond the stage. Be it in school or social settings, your child may be required or called upon to play the role of facilitator in guiding the audience through a session or discussion. We hope that with the sharing above, your child can take those sessions with strength and confidence!
Additional Tips on Faciliation – Briefings/ Meetings
WATCH: [#SpeakingTips] How To Give Briefings/ Meetings Effectively & Naturally
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