Facilitation Skills Workshop

Just back from training at Penang. Tired but happy that I learned a lot from this course. The course is "Facilitation Skills Workshop". The purpose of this course is to generate facilitator in a company. Wao, I was selected to be trained as a facilitator. Do you know that, I am really happy to be selected as one of the 6 participants among IG.

Since the candidates being selected is listed by our trainer, Miss Loh Soh Mei who is powerful enough to facilitate our CEO, we all curious about how she select us to join the course. One of the participants from PAP asked the question, the answer was we have the criteria of willing to talk, thinkable and smart. When I heard of it, gladness surrounding me at that particular moment.

Before start to introduce the course and my feelings, would like to have some out of topic issue to share. Since the course was conducted in a 5 stars hotel - Traders Hotel by Shangri-la at Penang. It was a very wonderful experience in a 5 stars recognized hotel. Everything from food to bed are excellent. I had a wonderful lunch, every employee and staff are so nice and friendly with smile on their face. I like the feeling to be treated as a very importance customer, they are caring, appear when I really need help. If I have money to spend, I definitely shall use money to stay a week holiday at a such lovely hotel to enjoy these comfortable services. The status is different as you stay at such hotel. OMG, can I experience it one more time?

Okay, back to the topic, when first day reached the course room, it is so big, but only 10 set of chairs and tables were arranged in the middle of the room. Only I realized that, the training was really focusing on individual performance and growing. At the beginning, it really made me scare a bit but it gone once the training started. The environment was totally different. You cannot imagine how relax it is to learn and talk in this 1o students course. It is so free and easy to talk to each other, to share something, to learn something.

Another things surprise me that, our humble SVP (Senior Vice President) joined our training too. Oh, how pleasure to have a learning course together with a top top management. He share a lot of opinion, the ways of expanding network, the ways of handling hard issue, his enjoyable life and lot of knowledge.... really gain a lot from him.

So, what is Facilitator? How to differentiate facilitator with lecturer and teacher? Lecturer and teacher is more on tell while facilitator is more on ask. Former would be more on teach in one way direction for student to learn while the facilitator is more on learning together with the learners. A facilitator actually is metaphor as oil in a machine. You can even cannot seen it in the machine but it actually function well to smoothen the machine and make the machine functioning well.

Why we have to learn the facilitation skills, is it need to give lecture in front of an amount of learner? Nop, we learn and apply it when your daily work, communication, way of building relation with subordinate or manager. I found it applicable to my work. Hopefully it helps me at workplace practically.

At first, I was wondering if I disappointed Soh Mei, then how.... she said, there is no pass and fail in this course. If it is really suit you, then you will do it well, else, just you are not suitable to do it but definitely not a failure. So, no worry... I was wondering is she comfort us with this reason? then we query her, finally she gave a very supporting example. If you really do not suit, but force yourself to do it, then it would end up with loss and failure when u really deal with learners. You cannot facilitate well in the room then for sure you are losing your face. So, if it really not suit you better don't do it as it will protect your weakness from being exposed. So, no fail or pass, just suit or not.

Anyway, here I really sincerely thank you Miss Loh who gave me this opportunity to learn this very useful skill for my workplace and for my life. Thank you so much, I will appreciate your effort to grow us.