On October 8, 2018, oikos LEAP hosted the very first webinar for its new 2018/2019 cohort. This open webinar focused on the art of facilitation and featured Hanna Meirelles, an international trainer, and development facilitator. She talked about the role and responsibilities of a facilitator and discussed the essential skills and tools required for facilitation.
“The word facilitate comes from a Latin facilis, meaning “easy”, hence the key function of the facilitator is determined by the word itself, and that is to make things easy for his or her audience.” – explained Hanna to the group of intrigued oikees. She pointed out that every good facilitator needs to have 3 key skills:
– leadership – it is a willingness to guide people through the journey, give directions and orientation.
– ability to listen – it is a readiness to listen to what is said in the room
– ability to summarize – it is to understand what is said and give back to the audience, ensure that everybody can relate and comprehend
Hanna also shared some of the facilitation tools and techniques. She emphasized the importance of posing questions to the participants in order to engage them in the conversation or activity. “Suspense helps us engage people” – she noted – “if you need to write, then write first and only afterwards talk about it, otherwise you might lose people’s attention”.
One more thing to keep in mind is preparation. According to Hanna, every facilitator needs to prepare beforehand in 4 areas: mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual.
The facilitator does not need to have answers to all the questions, she or he should merely be willing to shine the light on those persons who might have or show a right road to the answer.
“Leadership is to inspire people to do things that they themselves want” – remarked Hanna. That is what LEAP stands for and what we as a community want to achieve.
About the facilitator
Hanna Meirelle – International Trainer and Development Facilitator
Daughter of a teacher and an entrepreneur, Hanna understood the importance of education and business since she was very young. At the age of 11 she started to teach and with 12 years old she created her first company.
She studied Business and specialized in Strategic Planning and Management Development, as well as in Leadership, Culture and Diversity.
During the last 19 years, she has worked around the world in large organizations in Leadership Development, Education, Consulting, Oil & Gas, Engineering and Mining, as a Human Resources Leader, helping thousands of leaders in all 5 continents to develop themselves and improve their management skills and business performance.
Currently, a Trainer, Development Facilitator, Investor and Entrepreneur in the Education Business, Hanna is one of the most energetic speakers nowadays that travels the world fulfilling her mission: inspire and empower people to be free, so they can develop their own potential and have freedom of choice, while respect diversity.
She is passionate about leadership, cultural differences, women empowerment, people development and education.
She also leads a non-profit project that supports children to create a better future for themselves, their families and the world.
