Facilitation in Action: Finding Your Authentic Training Style

Improve the Impact of Your Facilitation

Facilitation is about mastering how to deliver an engaging learning experience, all in the effort of improving workplace performance. It’s also about developing your unique approach and building confidence in it so you can achieve your facilitation goals. In Facilitation in Action, four master ATD facilitators open your eyes to the range of facilitation methods and techniques and help you find your authentic training style.

Authors Carrie Addington, Jared Douglas, Nikki O’Keeffe, and Darryl Wyles provide tips, lessons, and stories rooted in hands-on application, from experiences leading ATD’s education programs and delivering training in industries from government and healthcare to marketing and beauty. Learn how to develop a facilitation mindset that identifies what learners need to be successful before, during, and after training. Explore how to adapt your facilitation across various modalities and how to be prepared when you must pivot in the moment. And, dive into the importance of empathy, inclusion, feedback, and performance to facilitation.

This guide takes both new and established facilitators on a journey of honing training delivery skills, and demonstrating agility for the benefit of the learners, the organization, and themselves. The chapters are structured around actual questions the authors have received over the years from learners in ATD Education’s train-the-trainer sessions. Each chapter concludes with invitations and moments of reflection for the reader as they consider their own development as a facilitator.

Carrie Addington is senior manager of learning experience and facilitator development at ATD, where she leads the strategy for the facilitation and learning experience of ATD education courses. She is a master facilitator and strengths-based people development coach with a passion for delivering practical learning experiences with a spirited energy. As an education consultant and facilitator for more than 12 years, Carrie has worked with a variety of business segments including retail, beauty, education, and nonprofits, and has worked with C-level executives, directors, managers, and high potentials.

Nikki O’Keeffe is program manager of facilitator development at ATD. As a certified ATD Master Trainer, ATD Master Instructional Designer, and APTD credential holder, she understands the value of solid training plans and strong facilitation. Having served many years as a facilitator for ATD’s face-to-face, online, and asynchronous learning in addition to her facilitation, she now supports ATD’s global facilitator network with performance support to ensure each delivery for ATD participants is impactful.

Darryl Wyles is a facilitator for ATD with more than 20 years of experience in talent development. He has played major roles in transforming learning programs as a leader for large and small organizations in government and the financial services industry. Darryl enjoys the challenge of building organizational end-to-end training solutions from the ground up and is passionate about providing a fun and interactive learning environment in his workshops.

Jared Douglas is an internal ATD facilitator. He uses a learner-centric approach to create an engaging, inclusive environment in his sessions. As a consultant, Jared has worked with organizations across various industries, including advertising, transportation, finance, technology, and consumer goods to help clients develop and execute in-person, digital, and blended learning initiatives.