Facilitation Stages

Congratulations on hosting a successful event! You’re now at the stage of the facilitation journey where you’ll gather learnings and improve your practices for next time. This section is designed to help you close your event out with respect to the participants, your supporting team, and your starting success criteria and goals in mind.

How To Use

Pre-Event

In-Event

Post-Event

Appendix

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General Tips

Debrief

Your debrief is an opportunity for you to sharpen and hone in on your facilitation skills. Take time to regroup with your team and learn from this experience.

Try this out:

Reviewing Team Success

How does everyone feel after the event?
What were our goals, and do we feel we reached them?
Were there any particular moments that stood out to you?

Some suggested frameworks for debriefing:

Plus, Minus, Deltas

PLUS - What worked well?
MINUS - What could be improved?
DELTAS - What are reasonable changes for next time?

Ask, Add, Affirm

Ask - What questions do you have?
Add - What else would you have added?
Affirm - What worked well that you can repeat for next time?

Learnings & Feedback

What did we discover among the participants during the event that will help to inform what we might do next?, e.g., Feedback showed that all participants were excited about a continued space for discussion.

Identifying and Assigning Next Steps

What are all of the follow-up tasks?
Who will take on the tasks?
When will these tasks ideally be completed?

Take a look at this example in action:

KQTx Sample Debrief Slides

KQTx Grassroots Hxstory Workshop Debrief Slides (July 2020)

‍^ Link to debrief slides from a KQTx volunteer team-produced event

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Follow Up

Send a thank you note and follow up with participants after the event to offer more ways to continue and connect.

Will there be a future event to attend? Are there resources you compiled during the event that you’d like to share? Can attendees follow up with you if they have additional questions?

The final stage of the facilitation journey is the follow-up, and we encourage you to send a message that matches the room's energy as it was left. KQT virtual events and spaces can often generate positive energy, and many community members are excited to take the momentum forward. Here are some recommendations for follow-up prompts and ways to continue:

Thank all participants

Offer gratitude for everyone’s time, attention, and participation.

Share resources and links

Recap any resources you’d like to share out, including contact directories and event materials.

Announce upcoming events and opportunities

If you have another event in the works, offer a way for participants to register or stay updated.

Invite ways to continue

Take the opportunity to offer participants who are especially eager to get involved a way to contribute their time, talent, feedback, or more.

Take a look at this example in action:

KQTx Sample Follow-Up Email

Sample KQTx Follow-Up Email to Attendees‍

^ Link to example email copy sent to attendees of a KQTx virtual event

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Crisis Handling

Recovering from Crisis Experiences

The aftercare of crisis experiences is just as crucial as the crisis handling itself. If a crisis has occurred during your event, create an intentional space for facilitators and event organizers to identify personal, emotional, and health needs after the event. This also invites people to request or suggest additional support and resources.

Why is this important?

After a stressful or crisis incident, recovery can be challenging for anyone and especially for marginalized people who may lack access to/abundance of resources.

Triggers can include stressful moments during the event, support interactions with an attendee (or intervening with a crasher), or even conflicts among organizers.

Having a time of reflection, debriefing, and peer support can aid in the recovery process. It can also help identify anyone who may need further support.

Reflection Prompts

Prompts for individual self-reflection and to include in a debrief session among Facilitators and Organizers

Determining Priorities

What issues are most important to me?
What do I think about the most?
What is causing me the most stress?
What needs my attention right now?

Getting Proper Self-Care and Support

What can I do to be kind to myself today?
How can I take care of my needs right now?
How do I really feel?
What kind of support do I need from others?
What kind of support do I need to provide for myself?
What kind of self-care or support will help me achieve my goals?

‍Source: “How to Move Forward After Going Through a Crisis” by Becky Brasfield

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Checklists

Post-Event Checklist

Logistics & Tech - Have you closed all applications and saved your data?

In some instances, you may be in the position of recording an event or sharing the contents of the event with attendees who may not have been able to join on the exact date and time.

If you planned to record the event or had intentions to share some content, remember to save the chat and closed captioning transcript
If you recorded the event, make sure all recordings have stopped and have been appropriately downloaded to the cloud or your hard drive
Plan to be the last person to leave and close the virtual space to ensure all attendees and supporting roles have exited

Accessibility & Support Team - Have all supporting roles closed their responsibilities?

Check-in with your team members and ensure all tasks and responsibilities are completed.

Check-in with your Accessibility team and make sure they have also closed out all applications on their end and exited the virtual space
Check-in with your Support team and make sure all members have completed their final tasks
Share your gratitude and congratulations! You just completed an event together, and it would not have been possible without one another’s support.

Debrief & Reflection - How do you feel about the event?

While the information is fresh in your mind, take some time to reflect on how you feel and make sure to note what information you feel will help you improve for next time.

Facilitation can take a lot of energy. Take a moment for yourself to rest and recuperate.
Take down any notes for yourself while things are fresh in your mind from the event, e.g., What went well? What did not go so well? What would you have done differently?
After the event, take time to schedule a meeting to sync back up with your support team members and gain their feedback on the event procedures; TIP: Try using the Debrief Template in the Resources tab

Follow-up - What is next for attendees?

Thank your attendees for coming to your event. Solicit feedback, and offer more opportunities to continue the conversation and/or take action!

Prepare your follow-up communications to participants; TIP: See the Follow-Up Examples in the Post-Event General Tips
Include resources and links that were covered during the event
Include contact information and ways to continue connecting
Invite participants to take action at the close of your event

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Facilitation Stages

How To Use

Pre-Event

In-Event

Post-Event

Appendix

View as Individual Pages:

Checklists

Pre-Event Checklist

In-Event Checklist

Post-Event Checklist

Crisis Handling

Preparing for the Unexpected

Crisis Response

Recovering from Crisis Experiences

General Tips

Read First

Toolkit Values

Naming Success

Know Your Audience

Understanding Participant Needs

Communicating With Participants

Increasing Visual Accessibility

Organize Your Internal Team

Opening the Call

During the Call

Closing the Call

Debrief

Follow Up

Summary of Recommendations

Resources

Post-Event

General Tips

Debrief

Follow Up

Crisis Handling

Recovering from Crisis Experiences

Checklists

Post-Event Checklist