Facilitating Effective Discussions Self-Checklist

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Evaluate personal facilitation preparation and delivery habits against concrete indicators to select one specific behavior change for a future session.

Use it when: Use in facilitator workshops, teaching seminars, or peer-coaching circles when participants have led or are about to lead group discussions.

Skip it when: Skip when participants do not facilitate discussions, when they have no specific past or future session to evaluate, or when the group needs live conflict resolution.

Group arrangement: Individual audit, pairs (or one trio if an odd number), then whole-room debrief

Timing: UWT suggested 15-minute sequence based on the Sheridan Center self-checklist resource.

Materials and tools

• One printed Discussion Facilitator Checklist per participant (or digital document link)
• One pen or pencil per participant

Before participants arrive

1. Print or provide digital links to the Discussion Facilitator Checklist for every participant.
2. Arrange seating to allow quiet pair conversations without crowding.

Say this to open

Take a copy of the checklist. We will spend five minutes evaluating our actual habits against these questions, based on a recent session or an upcoming plan. Mark each prompt honestly. Then choose exactly one behavior you want to change. Your checklist stays private; you share only what you decide to test.

How to run it

1. Individual audit 5 minutes

   Distribute the checklist. Participants independently review both sections: Preparation and In-Session Facilitation. For each question, mark whether you did it consistently, partially, or skipped it. Stop by choosing one specific practice to adjust in your next session. For example, if you checked 'allow sufficient wait-time', write a target pause of four seconds after asking an open prompt.

2. Pair consultation round one 3 minutes

   Form pairs. If the group has an odd number of people, form one trio. Person A takes three minutes to describe the practice they chose and their exact plan to apply it. Person B listens and asks one clarifying question to make the action concrete. In a trio, Person A shares while Persons B and C listen and ask one question.

3. Pair consultation round two 3 minutes

   Signal pairs to switch roles. Person B shares their selected behavior and implementation plan for three minutes while Person A listens and clarifies. In a trio, split the remaining time evenly so Persons B and C each describe their planned adjustment.

4. Whole-room reflection 4 minutes

   Call the room back together. Ask one question from the debrief list and collect brief answers from three volunteers. Give participants thirty seconds to write their final commitment at the bottom of their checklist.

Debrief questions

• Which checklist item was easiest to overlook during your planning or delivery?
• What specific adjustment did your partner help clarify?
• How will you remind yourself to practice this behavior in the moment?

Finished output: Each participant holds a completed diagnostic checklist and records one specific, actionable facilitation behavior for their next session.

Remote

Distribute the checklist text via shared document or chat. Keep participants on mute with cameras on or off for the 5-minute individual audit. Assign pairs (and one trio if odd) into breakout rooms for 6 minutes. Return to the main room and invite three volunteer responses using chat or raised hands.

Hybrid

In-person participants partner with each other; remote participants work in video breakout rooms. If remote numbers are odd, add one remote participant to a remote trio. For the final reflection, call alternately on one remote speaker and one in-person speaker.

Access and participation choices

• Provide a screen-reader-accessible digital copy of the checklist as an alternative to print.
• Participants may keep all checklist ratings private and choose to discuss an abstract scenario or observe during partner work without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

Participants evaluate their general philosophy instead of concrete behavior.

Ask them to pick one specific calendar event from the past two weeks or next two weeks and evaluate only that session.

One participant in a pair takes all the time.

Give an audible call at the 3-minute mark to enforce the role switch between partner A and partner B.

Terms used here

• Wait-time: The intentional silence of three to five seconds allowed after asking a question before speaking again or calling on someone.