When you are a facilitator running an activity, it’s tempting to front-load: to explain, clarify and contextualise. You want to prepare participants for what’s about to happen. Yet the magic often lies in doing the opposite.
How little do they need to know before getting into the action? Probably only enough to trust it’ll be worthwhile and the minimum of guidance to get started.
As long as you know your selected game – its purpose, mechanics and likely outcomes – you can give instructions fluently and confidently. It works best to keep it simple: one instruction at a time, and only the next one once the first has been fulfilled.
This incremental briefing style allows players to learn through action, rather than through your words. It also creates space for side-coaching – brief interventions that guide, nudge or encourage participants as they go, without interrupting their flow.
The result? A smoother experience, more engagement and more creative interpretation of the activity. You let go of any need to remember everything all at once. And you receive fewer questions or puzzled faces.
If you’d like to sharpen your facilitation style, reducing front-loading in your workshops along with dozens of other neat practices, remember you can now get the Inspirational Facilitator package to download here.
