EA - What we learned from training EA community members in facilitation skills by AlexanderSaeri

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: What we learned from training EA community members in facilitation skills, published by AlexanderSaeri on July 24, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.SummaryWe designed and delivered online facilitator training to engaged EAs in Australia and New Zealand. Participants included community leaders and staff at EA organisations.The training course covered key elements of facilitation, including asking questions, active listening, planning and preparation, reading the room, and managing participants.We conducted an evaluation of the course, which found that participants were very confident the course was very helpful for their facilitation practice, and identified the practical exercises with rapid reflection and feedback as key components that made the course valuable for them.We believe that facilitation training, implemented effectively, could assist community building in Effective Altruism by improving learning, group discussions, and successful events.We were motivated to develop and deliver facilitation training because it's an important 'soft skill' in community buildingOur motivationWe are two academics with extensive experience in teaching, training, and facilitation, who also are engaged in the Effective Altruism community in Australia. After working with the team at BlueDot Impact early in 2023 to revise their training for course facilitators, we thought that a similar approach could be useful for community leaders and community-facing staff at EA organisations.We think that facilitation in particular is an important "soft skill" in supporting learning, productive group interactions, and successful events. Facilitation is distinct from instructing, managing, or event planning.While lecturing is "sage on the stage", facilitation is "guide by the side". We think that a lot of EA community building involves being a 'guide by the side', consistent with valuing autonomy, critical thinking, and supporting the development of intrinsic motivations to act in alignment with EA values.Some of the specific skills involved in being this 'guide' include asking good questions, helping people feel like their contributions were heard, navigating group dynamics and energy, adapting to unexpected situations, and managing participant disagreement or conflict. A good facilitator clarifies and advances the shared purpose of the group.Participants' motivationWe sought interest from prospective participants in Australia and New Zealand with an identified need for improving their facilitation practice. 14 people expressed interest and we invited 11 to participate. We asked participants to complete a pre-survey to help us understand their specific needs for facilitation practice. Some of the needs that participants expressed:Improving skills in leading engaging discussions. For example, they wanted to be able to draw people into conversations, ask the right questions to encourage reflection (e.g., in a reading group, or in an EA introductory fellowship), and guiding discussions towards topics of interest to participants (e.g., managing vocal or dominant members, or recurring but unproductive topics of discussion).Developing empathy and a better understanding of group dynamics. For example, they wanted to be able to pick up on emotional states and discomfort (so it could be addressed), identify and resolve blocks for discussion or decision-making, or encourage participants to be active learners or otherwise promote practical action from attendees.Improving enjoyment, inclusion, and engagement at planned events. For example, they held frequent networking events, community meetups, workshops, working bees, or other meetings with community members.We developed and delivered an online facilitation training course using Miro, Zoom, and Google DocsDevelopment ProcessWe pre...