Online facilitation is HARD.

There’s so much to think about – platforms, wifi, links, devices, backgrounds, silences, online exhaustion...

This International Facilitation Week, #FacWeek, I’d encourage you to consider one essential thing that might not even be on your list - how do we make sure our facilitation is inclusive? Is sending a link enough?

With events (meetings, awards ceremonies, hen parties, life drawing classes) being remote, it can be even harder to factor in barriers that are unseen, or not proactively considered.

As with everything in equalities, our key guiding principles to making facilitation inclusive are proportionality and reasonableness.

My approach for inclusive online facilitation?

We won’t be able to make things inclusive for everyone all the time – but we can make things better for most, and account for specific needs.  (If you are facilitating in group with specific needs, please adopt suitable adjustments for their barriers. Health Improvement Scotland has shared information about the barriers of certain audiences.)

In this virtual world, we need to keep asking, ‘Who would have barriers to participation? And how can we address these?’

Here are five ways to make online facilitation more inclusive:

1)      Inclusive facilitation starts before the virtual get-together.

a.       Ask yourself, ‘Do we really need this get-together?! Is there another way people can participate?’

b.       Co-produce the content with the target audience.

c.       Ask about access or communication needs in advance – and be prepared to adapt your content.

d.       Manage expectations by saying what adjustments you can/can’t provide and provide materials/information in advance.

 2)      During the meeting, create a supportive space and lead by example.

a.       Set ground rules at the start which encourages people to engage in a way that they feel comfortable.

b.      Live these ground rules yourself – as a facilitator, you can take a break too!

c.       Adopt inclusive presentation skills, which Microsoft has training on.

d.      Be flexible to the mood and needs of the room.

3)      Use accessible information principles.

Apply Scottish Accessible Information Forum guidance to all content and communications.

4)      Embrace inclusive language.

Swot up on the key principles of inclusive language, NICE has some great guidance, to create an engaging, safe and non-exclusionary space.

5)      And the most important one of all….

People want to know that they are being considered and feel safe to articulate any needs that they have. A little will and understanding from a facilitator empowers others to talk about what works for them.

Need someone to support your inclusive journey?

Don’t despair - I’ve just launched training on this, ‘Inclusive Online Engagement Express’. These are inhouse participatory workshops that empower participants with key principles on inclusive and accessible events, meetings, communications and language.

Get in touch to ensure your online facilitation and engagement gets an essential inclusion boost.