Many workshop facilitators have their own style of facilitating, including using their own words or phrases to convey key concepts across to workshop participants. Or sometimes, you may have been in a workshop and have heard terms that you weren’t familiar with and may not have been comfortable asking about them.
Here are some terms I’ve either used for a long time or recently came across that made a lot of sense for me, and resonated with the participants I’ve used them with. Feel free to use the terminology that resonates most with you, or try all of them and see how they resonate with your participants:
Download
I discovered this term from one of my clients. To “download” means to share information you’ve learned. For example, if one goes to a training or workshop or decides to do more research on a topic on their own to share with others, they share what they’ve learned in the hopes that others will absorb the information. Think of downloading a new program on your laptop or desktop and saving it for future use.
Parking Lot/Bike Rack
Sometimes a participant will ask a question that you’re unsure how to answer. Or maybe you and the participants are so engrossed in an activity that asking a question might disrupt the flow of engagement. Saving the question for later in a “parking lot” or “bike rack” allows the facilitator to come back to the question or comment at a later time. You can create a parking lot/bike rack by dedicating a section of the room for participants to write questions or comments on post-it notes to place in that area. Towards the end of the workshop or if there’s a break in activity, go back read some of the questions or comments to share with the rest of the participants.
Modeling
“Modeling” is demonstrating something to your participants. If there is an activity that may be very intricate that it may take participants some time to understand, you show them what to do. Whether it’s showing a movement or performing a writing activity, modeling allows participants to see what they need to do.
Unpack
Sometimes a participant may make a comment or ask a question that receives a level of reaction from participants, and it may be something you’re interested in exploring further. So you’ll respond, “Let’s unpack this.” Unpacking means to take a deeper dive into a topic as a means to uncover more information. It’s important to do this in a way that doesn’t make a participant feel put on the spot, so do this in a way that honors the perspective of the participant while also allowing everyone to add their own insights.
One Mic
Sometimes participants can get rowdy. Saying “one mic” allows you to gain control back over the participants. This term can also be used for when a participant is speaking to the group and there may be outside chatter. “One mic” informs participants of the importance of being respectful of who is speaking.
Does This Make Sense?
“Does this make sense?” is hopefully self explanatory. You’re asking participants if they understand what you’re saying, especially if you’re giving out instructions. If something  doesn’t make sense, take some time and explain as fully as possible.
Land This Plane
“Let’s land this plane” is used when you find yourself rambling or going on much longer than intended. If you find a participant rambling, you can say, “Let’s land this plane by sharing the key point you want to make.” Using this term let’s you and the participant get to the point, and is much nicer than “Can you get to the point already?”
Hopefully these terms are made clearer for you, and inspire you to either use them in your next workshop or at least understand what they mean. Try them out and let me know if they resonate with you and your participants.
