Trainer-Led Materials That Help Facilitate Discussion

I am someone who both facilitates a class and does instructional design. To me, this is not a design problem, it is a scared trainer. When we ask the class a question, we hand them control. "They could say anything!" and that scares someone who is not prepared, does not know the content well enough to led a discussion, is new to facilitating a proper engaged class, or perhaps is just plain lazy.

Notice when I use the word 'facilitator' vs. 'trainer.' Those are two different things in my book. A trainer walk them through steps and teaches a process. A facilitator facilitates learning. The word facilitate breaks down to Greek roots of "to make easy." We break down concepts and lead the learners through their own journey of discovery.

So, I have questions...

1. How many times do they teach the same content for them to get familiar with it and get their own flow going? It takes time to find your stride with new content. The first time we teach, we will lean heavily on the facilitation guide to make sure we hit all the points or don't miss anything. After 3 - 5 times teaching it in a short time frame (can't be months between sessions or we will forget stuff in between), we will find our own rhythm and step away from the facilitation guide. I personally have my own transitions between slides and have it all memorized after several repetitions. If your trainers are teaching it once than it is shelved, they will never find that stride and will only follow the guide.
   
   
2. Are they trained professional facilitators? or Have they been taught how to properly ask questions and hold discussions with the learners? I ask because so many of us stumble into L&D. On my team, I have two ladies that came directly from the Customer Service desk in to our team. They had no previous classes or instruction on how to actually be a facilitator. They may simply not know a better way to do it. I was doing 'training' in other positions before I got a change to be on an actual L&D team. For my interview, they gave me a subject and I was to prepare a 45 minute class. I lectured for 45 minutes. Didn't get the job. (go figure) I asked my contact what I could improve on and was told I needed to facilitate the class and I did not. I had to scratch my head for a while to try to decipher that code. Most of us are not born with the skills to effectively facilitate a course. We need to be shown and taught before we can do.
   
   
3. Do you have Train the Trainer sessions for them to practice the content before they are in front of a class of learners? These are vital if you have time. If you don't have time, then make time anyhow. :) T3s, as they are called, give the facilitator a safe space with their peers and the designer to try things out, see what works, what falls flat, where is the boring section of content that we HAVE to cover so I know I need to pump energy into it or have activities that will teach the point, and so on. T3s are an important part of the process.

So for me, I would blame nerves or lack of knowledge for them to just skip a discussion.