General Facilitation and Goal-Setting

“For interactive sessions to be impactful, they need to be well organized—not only with a clear activity in mind—but also with report-outs & follow through.” —Cathy Aster

“Make sure tasks have deadlines (reasonable ones), and set up regular conference calls to keep things rolling.” —Jody DeRidder

We recommend the following set of general guidelines for group leaders.

Past and present coordinators of our existing groups are also a great resource, and in our experience they are always eager to share. Do you admire what an existing DLF group has accomplished? Get in touch with leadership and ask how! (We're happy to connect you if it's not obvious who to ask.)

General Guidelines

• Facilitator Tool Kit: A Guide for Helping Groups Get Results - University of Wisconsin Madison (PDF)
• Group Facilitation and Problem-Solving - Community Toolbox - University of Kansas
• Facilitating Effective Group Discussions - Brown University
• Seeds for Change (guides to consensus-based decision-making, virtual meeting facilitation, working in groups, making meetings more accessible, and more)

“You will lose people along the way – don’t fret it.  Focus on where the energy is, and keep the ball rolling by engaging the ones with the energy.” —Jody DeRidder

Table of Contents

1. About DLF and the Organizers' Toolkit
2. Working with Team DLF
3. Starting a New Initiative or Working Group
4. General Facilitation and Goal-Setting
5. Facilitating for Diversity and Inclusion
6. Preventing and Managing Burnout
7. Gathering Info/Building Enthusiasm
8. Planning an In-Person Meetup
9. Setting Up Year-Round Meetings
10. Talking and Writing
11. Organizing and Sharing Your Work
12. In a Nutshell