facilitator training guidelines and suggestions

8/11/2019 Facilitator Training Guidelines and Suggestions

1/43

SUPPORT

TEAMGUIDELINES &SUGGESTIONS

FACILITATOR TRAININGS

January 6, 2012


2/43

Page 2

Congratulations!

Congratulations for being on the Support Team that will create a successful

Facilitator Training in your area! This document and the attached appendices will

give you some suggestions and guidelines that we have found work. By

necessity, some of the general guidelines discussed below may not apply to

the specific training you are working on--please feel free to adapt them to the

needs of your particular training.

Table of ContentsI. Knowing Your Area Is Ready For A Training 3

II. Selecting a Format and Date; Basic Roles 4

III. Selecting the Venue 6

IV. Budget for the Training 8

V. Registration 13

VI. Production for the Training 17

VII. At the Training 22

VIII. After the Trainings 24

Appendices:

A Training Venue Information 26

BSuggested Timeline for Training 28

CSample Budget for Training 31

DTraining Materials List 33

EChecklist for Training 36

FWhat to Bring E-mail Sample 39

GGuidelines for Personal Calls to Registrants 41


3/43

Page 3

I. Knowing Your Area Is Ready for a Training

First of all, get started planning your training at least three months in advance.

As you will see below, your training planning experience and your sustainability

(including financial sustainability) will be much stronger if you do not rush this.

Really important: get your complete list of potential facilitators in shape

early.Hopefully, Symposium Facilitators in your area have been (a) collecting the

names, e-mails and phone numbers (phone numbers are very important!seebelow) of people in their Symposiums who have said that they wanted to be trained

as facilitators, and (b) entering the information into a common and usable list of

potential facilitators for your geographical area.

If these two things havent been handled on an ongoing basis, getting an up-to-date

potential facilitator list (PF List) for your area is one of the most important things

you can do to create a successful training (and more trainings in the future). If it

hasnt been handled up to now, then you will need a system for contacting

facilitators who have been putting on Symposiums, to collect any data on potentialfacilitators that they have in their possession.

Generally, you want to aim for having about 20-25 people in your training to make it

financially viable (see the Budget section, below). Experience shows that, to have

20-25 people registered, you need to have a PF Listwith at least 60-75 names on

it (or about three times your goal for registration)maybe less if the names are

from Symposiums that have occurred recently, within two-three months of the

training.

Another essential thing to have lined up isa team of at least three (and four is

better) people who are willing to do whatever it takes to make the training a


4/43

Page 4

successmaking follow-up phone calls after the invitation goes out, arranging

catering, doing production, etc.

Another important source of potentials facilitators: Early on, contact trainingleaders or community group leaders in adjacent geographical areasand see if

they would be willing to share with you their own potentials list, so that you could

notify those people about your training. You may have to remind these persons

that they are not losing PFs in their area to your training, but instead gaining

active facilitators who will then generate Symposiums and more PFs for them to

use in a future training in their area!

When you talk with Ruel about scheduling a training, please be ready to tell him

how many names you have on your potential facilitator list (and what shape the listis inwhether it includes phone numbers) and who is committed to be on your

team. These two things are essential for moving forward with a training plan.

II. Selecting a Format and Date; Setting Up Basic Roles

a) The format for your training

The preferred length for a Basic Training is all day on the first day (usually a

Saturday), 9:00 a.m. to about 9:00 p.m., and 9:00 to about 5:00 p.m. on the second

day (usually a Sunday). If you can start the Basic Training on Friday night to begin

to get to know one another, that is even better (the extra time makes the whole

training more spacious)but commute times for participants on a work day evening

may prevent this. If the Basic Training needs to be shorter than the times

suggested above, that is possibleplease discuss this with the training leader for

your training. The more time you have, the better.

In the Basic Training, lunch on Saturday and Sunday can be bag lunch with

people being encouraged to bring some extra things to share, and dinner Saturday

can be a potluck or inexpensive takeout (pizza, with a big salad made by the

production team is one easy possibility) from a local restaurant.


5/43

Page 5

If you are doing an extended training (3 days-plus), that format usually starts with

dinner on the first night and goes to 9:00 or 9:30 p.m., followed by two full days

(9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. or so)--the third and final day is 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

And the training can be residential, if your community group can find a venue that is

inexpensive enough. Residential trainings generally allow a closer community

bonding. But see the section on budget, below, so you are aware how this affects

the budget.

b) Selecting a date & finding a leaders team

Talk to your team about possible local datesdo some research to check on things

like Jewish holidays, school holidays, major competing events in the area (like

Bioneers, etc.).

Once you select several dates, if you have specific training leaders in mind, contact

them to see if they are available. Then e-mail Ruel Walker ([email protected])

with those dates and telling him who is available to lead the training. He will then

confirm that you can move forward on those dates and with those training leaders.

c) Important roles for your support team.

Early on, the Support Team should identify specifically who will take responsibility

for the following (not necessarily do all the work themselves, but see that it is

done):

1) Research possible places to have the training, make reservations with

the site, and communications with the site;

2) Someone responsible for getting PF Lists in a shape that you can use

themincluding phone numbers, if at all possible. This may include calling all

active facilitators locally and perhaps in adjacent states to see if they have any

people who want to be trained as facilitators (from Pathways to Participation Cards


6/43

Page 6

from their Symposiums) but the data has not been transferred to any responsible

person, to make sure these people are contacted about this Training.

3) Someone responsible for a team of people who will send out the

invitation e-mail to all people on the PF Lists as early as possible and making

personal follow-up calls to all potential facilitators.These personal follow-up

calls make an enormous difference in the rate of registration of your potentialsa

simple e-mail will not get many people to register.

3) Production, logistics, and preparation for the training, including having a

team to be responsible for printing and assembling the Training Notebook and the

Presenters Manual ahead of time.

4) Someone who is willing to answer inquiries from prospective participants,

and have their e-mail address and/or phone number posted in the online

registration page for this purpose.

These roles are discussed below.

By the way, the Support Team can include people who will be in the Training as

participantssometimes this is essential, if the Training is in a new area.

III. Selecting the VenueHere are some guidelines for choosing a venue:

! Easy for participants to reachnot too long a drive (and public

transportation available, if possible), more or less central for the persons

you expect to attend.

! Price in the range that your budget can afford

! Avoid the extremes of /shabby or luxurious

! If possible, natural beauty should be easily available or visible, including a

meeting room that is not sterile and hopefully has some natural light and

view of nature.

! Make sure the administration and staff are basically supportive and flexible.

! We strongly recommend that someone visit the site in person and check it,

to see if it has the right vibes.


7/43

Page 7

Find out about the deposit and cancellation policies to make sure they are

reasonable, and that your group can handle the requirements.

Appendix Ato this document is a Venue Information Sheetthat gives you

some suggestions of things to ask about and be clear about before signing a

contract.

Possibilities: schools, universities, community meeting rooms in condo

developments, synagogues, retreat centers. Churches are a problem for weekend

trainings, because they are often fully used on Sunday morning. But this can be

worked around, with creativity.

Note on Insurance: Some venues (but not all) require a certificate of insurance

from the insurance carrier for the host of the event that specifies, in contract form,

that if anyone using the venue is injured, they are covered by some insurance other

thanthe insurance carried by the venuethis greatly lowers the cost of purchasing

insurance for the venue. If the venue you are using requires this certificate of

insurance, they will let you know. If you need to provide it, you will need to see if

someone on the hosting team can get one from the provider for their homeowners

insurance. This is an uncharted area, and we will all have to figure it out as we gothe Pachamama Alliance can no longer provide insurance for all trainings. If we are

underwriting a training financially, it might still be possible.

Once you have a date set, you may want to start filling in and using a timeline for all

of the actions that you want to complete for this training. A Draft Timelineis

attached asAppendix B. The suggested timings of actions, and the actions listed,

should be modified to suit the needs of your training.


8/43

Page 8

IV. Budget for the Training

The Support Team leader should prepare a budget for the training and have it

approved by the lead training leader before any publicity or information about

the cost of the training is sent out.

A sample budgetis attached as Appendix C (note: this is only a sampleyou

should set your tuition and approve your expenses so that your unique

budget balances).

Computing your income in relation to scholarships can be tricky. We strongly

recommend that you compute the income side of your budget by determining areliable minimum number of participants and multiplying that number by the tuition

you will be charging (ignoring scholarships at this point).You are free to set your

tuition at whatever level will be most successful for your training. In the

United States, a suggested tuition for the Basic Training is $150 (the two-day

format)plus any extra charge for meals, and the tuition for the extended training (3-

1/2 days) is $250 plus any extra charge for meals. Experience has shown that this

is an affordable tuition for the majority of potential facilitators, and that it also will

allow payments of scholarships to about 1/3 of the participants (see the sample

budget to see how this works out).

Note:It is tempting to want to set the tuition as low as possible, so that no one is

excluded for financial reasons. But a more financially sustainable model is to set

tuition at a mid-level range of affordability, and then offer scholarships to those for

whom that level of tuition is not affordablesee discussion below on scholarships.

And, just like for a Symposium, you probably should set tuition at a level that will

allow a significant cushion for unexpected expenses, or allows your community

group to accumulate a surplus that will support a possible loss on a subsequent

training.


9/43

Page 9

Pachamama provides the training design & content, material content, and the time

of Pachamama online support and staff support. Following are the additional

training expenses that need to be covered out of the trainings budget:

Meeting room charge, if any

AV equipment rental, if any

Materials costs (mostly Manuals, DVDs & Training Notebooksallow about

$50 per person for these materials)

Miscellaneous supplies for training such as tissues, paper, pens, flip charts,

tape, etc. (see Materials List in Appendix D):

Expenses for two training leaders:

o Travel costs (if they are coming from a distance)

o Room & board (if any)

o Car rental or in-country transportation if necessary

o Ability to offer an honorarium for training leaders, if you choose to

offer that to them (see Notes on Honorarium, below).

Generally, the room and board of any necessary production team members

Snacks (not lavish), including coffee, tea & beveragesallow about $2 per

person per day for snacks.

Any meals that you plan to include as part of the training

If you plan to use Eventbrite/Paypal for people to register, about 7-1/2% of

any money that comes in by this meansthe processing fees they charge.

Scholarships, as needed. Normally these should not surpass 20-25% of the

full revenue amount of the training (the amount that would be received in

theory if all projected participants paid full tuition).

Once youve looked at all this you can see how financially viable the training is, at

what numbers of registrants. In general, most trainings get on solid financialground when they have 20-25 participantsless if you have lower expenses than

described above.


10/43

Page 10

Note: The person planning the training should consult with the training

leader about the budget to make sure it is financially viable, and get their

approval of the budget, before any publicity is released about the tuition or

other costs of the training.

Although many community groups prefer residential trainings, keep in mind that

they involve significantly greater financial risk, because most overnight facilities

require guaranteed minimums, non-refundable deposits, and a financial deadline

when the full amount becomes payable, even if the event were cancelled (and this

deadline can often be 30 days in advancebefore many participants have made

up their minds to register!).

In contrast, non-residential trainings usually involve a much smaller financial risk,since they can be held in schools, universities, synagogues, churches, private

homes, etc.

Generally speaking, your community group must be able to take financial

responsibility for the training, whether it has a surplus or a loss. As the number of

trainings has grown, and as the management of their details (tuition, scholarships,

costs, etc.) has shifted to local community groups, Pachamama can no longer

assume the risk of a training losing money, except in special circumstances (see

below).

Your groups financial risk can usually be managed wellvery few trainings have

ever incurred a significant financial loss. The main keys to lowering financial risk

(and making the experience more pleasant!) are the following:

a) have a list of potential facilitators (with phone numbers) that is at

least three times the number of people you need to break evenand the more

recently they attended their Symposium, the better,

b) send out the invitation to the training at least 6-8 weeks in advance

(and four weeks is a minimum),


11/43


12/43

Page 12

it, but the offer should be made. And, if you do not want to include this in your

budget, you are free to recruit training leaders who do not require itbut you

should be clear about this at the time when you invite the training leaders to

participate.

Note that when training leaders are Pachamama staff, the honorarium should go to

Pachamama (it doesnt go to the staff member) to partially defray the staff salary

paid to this person during their participation in the training.

Some people believe that no one should receive any honorarium for a training, and

others believe that other roles in the training should also receive honoraria. Other

people believe that the honorarium should be large enough to make leading

trainings financially sustainable, as part of ones professional work.Yourcommunity group is free to experiment with these possibilities.One thing to

consider is that the lead training leader is often coming from outside the

community, and that they often need to lead a significant number of trainings a

year, in various locationsso the sacrifice being made often is on a different scale.

Another thing to consider in finding this balance is that introducing significant

compensation into a larger number of roles will raise the cost of trainings

considerably. Finally, experience so far indicates that offering compensation to

team members other than the lead training leader can generate discord among the

teamsetting the levels of compensation and drawing lines becomes difficult.

On financial liability for cancelled trainings, especially regarding air tickets:

Because your local community group will usually be financially responsible for the

training, this includes financial responsibility for any cancellation costs. This creates

some questions regarding air tickets.Any training leader coming to the training

on air tickets should not purchase their tickets until the host of the training

has authorized this purchase. Then, if the training has to be cancelled, the

training budget is responsible for any cancellation fees for the ticket (this is a good

reason not to use a ticket broker [like Travelocity.com] if the same price ticket can

be purchased directly from the airlineusing the ticket broker greatly increases thecancellation charges). If any credit from the ticket is usable for a future airplane

ticket on the same airline, the training leader will make their best effort to use the

credit within a year (or whatever the time deadline is for the ticket). The best way to


13/43

Page 13

do this, of course, is to simply re-schedule the training, with the same training

leader, at a later date. But, if the credit cannot be used within the applicable time,

the community group will be liable for the unused balance, as well as the

cancellation charges.

V. Registration

There are two levels of getting your training publicized on the Pachamama website.

The first level is just listing the bare details of your training and listing a contact

person for further information and/or registration by check. The second level is

where the listing also provides a hyper-link to online registration and payment.

a) Getting your training listed on the Pachamama Website

In order to get the simplest listing of your training on the awakeningthedreamer.org

website, you need to send an e-mail to ([email protected]) and

specify the following minimum information:

a) dates,

b) location (minimum: city and stateand if it is not a well-known location, nearest

large city), and

c) name, phone number and/or e-mail of the person for potential registrants to

contact for more information and/or to register.

With this minimal information, the Pachamama staff can post a training on the

Awakening the Dreamer website that simply lists this bare-bones information and

says, For further information or to register, please contact ____________. That

will allow you to start collecting interested persons and publicizing the training.

b) Allowing participants to register and pay for the training


14/43

Page 14

But, if you want potential participants to have full information and complete their

registration online, you need to have the above information PLUS the following

additional information:

a) the name and address of the venue, and a website or google maps link

for directions/map;

b) the full cost of the tuition and materials component;

c) the full cost of the room & board component (we separate these items

from tuition costs so that participants understand what they are paying for); and

d) instructions on how to complete registration (and if you are using an

online registration system, you need that to be completely set up so that the

Pachamama staff can install the registration link on the Pachamama trainings

page);

e) the name and mailing address of someone to send registration checks to,

if participants are unable to register online for any reason.

You also can provide for registrations just the old-fashioned wayhave them mail a

check to someone on your team. Or you can set up online registration, using one of

several web sites. The one we have previously used (although you can use others)

is eventbrite.com in combination with paypal.com. There are instructions for

creating a Paypal and Eventbrite account on the Symposium Wikiunder Training

Guide. Also on the Wiki is a template of essential information about yourtraining that you should includein your Eventbrite listing. Another online

registration web site that some trainings have used

is . On the Facilitators Network is a group called

Eventbrite-Paypal Registration Support Group, made up of people who are willing

to coach you in using Paypal, Eventbrite, and other online tools related to

registration for trainings. You can contact them for assistance.

Note on handling checks & money:Your community group will be handling the

finances for your training, which means that you need to think about theorganization or person who is able to cash the checks or handle the cash. This

raises the same issues as the income from a Symposium, but on a larger scale

total income from a training can easily reach several thousand dollars. Your group

will have to be creative about this. Often there is a small non-profit that is


15/43

Page 15

associated with someone in your local community group who will handle the money

through its normal channelsthat is probably the simplest way.

In our culture, it is probably best to assume that potential participants are notdefinite about attending the training until they have put money on the lineso we

recommend getting people to make payment as soon as they are committed, and

not counting on them until they have made payment.

If someone is considering the training, they can download the Reading Materials on

the opening web page for Facilitator Training at www.awakeningthedreamer.org

(go to the Get Involved menu and scroll down to Facilitator Trainings). This

gives them a good feeling for what the Training is like.

Whatever system you use, it should provide for the new registrants to receive an e-

mail confirming their registration and giving them access to download

1) the Background Information Sheet that, once they have filled it in and

returned it to the training host, gives the training leaders some idea of who the

participants are (and also gives participants the opportunity for some valuable self-

reflection),

2) the Preparation Assignment, and

3) the Reading Materials.

The URL for the web page where these materials are located is

________________. If you set up registration on Eventbrite, it allows you to create

a letter that automatically goes out to registrants

As for scholarships, the scholarship application is on the training materials web

page. Your online listing should include the person from whom they should request

the scholarship form. The scholarship applications should be returned to thetraining host, along with the Background Information Statement. The training host

(or whoever your community group chooses) makes scholarship decisions.

Generally speaking, it is not unusual for about 20-25% of the full revenue amount


16/43

Page 16

(total number of participants times full tuition amount) to be paid out in

scholarships. But your area may have special financial considerations.

You may have to respond to participants who have the expectation that the trainingshould not cost them anythingthis comes up occasionally, if some people have

the belief that any non-profit should not charge for anything. As a general

principle, we recommend that everyone should contribute something to be in

the training (the scholarship application suggests a sliding scale that has

seemed to work so far).

Important: The participants should also be called within a week of their

registration, to make sure that they have successfully downloaded the Preparation

Assignment and Reading Material. This call also lets them know who to call if theyhave any questions before the Training. The Support Team might choose to

repeat this check-in call once or twice before the training (definitely about

ten days before the training), so that participants feel fully supported and

engaged.This call might also inquire whether that person has transportation to the

training taken care of, or needs to be connected with other participants so that

transportation can be shared.

At the time of registrations, invariably some requested exceptions come up, things

like Ill have to miss the first two hours, but I can arrive by mid-morning on the firstdayis that OK? Generally speaking, it is OK to miss some of the Training if that

is essential, but not to the point where they will be part-time participants or will drain

energy from the rest of the group. And they will need to take responsibility for

catching up on what they missed by talking with other participants. If you have

any doubts, call the training leader to discuss whether you should say it is OK. Too

many comings and goings can drain energy from the training and create a

container for the training that does not feel safe.

When you talk to participants, be sensitive to indications that the person may have

emotional needs of a kind or scope that cannot be met by the training, and speak to

the training leader if you have any concerns about this. This is also a reason for

sending the Background Information Statements to the training leaders and have


17/43

Page 17

them review them as they come in, so that any BIS that raises a red flag can be

responded to early, rather than just a day before the training.

Someone on the Support Team needs to have specific responsibility for theTraining List(the list of participants) to be clear on the following details:

! Who is registered: name and contact information

! Are there any people who are indefinite for any reason, and what needs to

be done to clear that up.

! Are there any late arrivals or early departures, and have the leaders been

informed of these ahead of time?

! Is everyone paid in full and, if not, what have they been told about

paymentand this person should be ready to collect payment in full at the

beginning of the Training, from anyone not paid in full yet.

! Who do we not have a Background Information Sheet from? (It will need to

be completed when they check in, before they enter the training room).

VI. Production of the Training

The Support Team leader needs to enroll at least one person to be the head of

the production team for the training. That person is not a participant (althoughoften the production person gets so excited about the work that they join the next

training!). Their job is to provide all the logistical and production support for the

training, and their room and board is covered as part of the budget of the training.

This person begins their work prior to the training by organizing the materials

needed. It is best if this person not be one of the participantsbut if there is no

alternative, that is acceptable. If there are more than 15 people in the training, you

might consider having two people on the production team (and definitely when you

reach about 20 people). If you get above 30, you might consider a third person,

though the leadership team may be willing to be extras when another production

person is needed, too.


18/43

Page 18

A Materials Listfor the Basic Training is attached as Appendix D. If the

Production person is inexperienced, someone on the Support Team should work

with them, beginning about two-three weeks in advance, to go over this list and

make sure every element is taken care of (or that anything that will not be provided

is cleared with the training leaders). It works to add the initials of the personresponsible for each item, and to arrange the details of how to transport everything

to the training location. The Support Team person responsible for the production

materials should also talk with one of the training leaders ahead of time, to

identify ahead of time what will actually be needed for this particular

trainingthis Materials List is a everything we could possibly want list!

Also the production person needs to keep in mind, if the venue still needs partial

payment:

! Is anything needed for payment of the venue? Check? Credit card? What

is the amount owing to the venue? Whom do I need to collect payment

from right at the beginning?

ORDERING DVDs & BRACELETS: Please order the number of Symposium DVDs

and bracelets that you need for the training in plenty of time to have them shipped

to you from the ATD Online Store (through the ATD Wiki). The DVD cost is $20 per

two-DVD set plus shipping costs (and they can also be purchased in bundles of 10

for $150). This is very close to TPAs fixed costs of making the DVD copies.

Shipping to locations inside the U.S. and Canada can usually be completed within

one week of placing your orderbut allow more time if you want the least

expensive methods of shipping.

If you are hosting a training outside the U.S., the cost of sending the DVDs

outside the U.S. is usually quite highand thus we recommend that you

download the DVD files (or buy one DVD and have it shipped to you for

copying) and produce copies of it in the host countryallow plenty of time

for this.

It is also perfectly OK to buy one or a few DVDs and have them copied locallythe

labels used for the DVD are also available on the Wiki, so that they can be added.


19/43

Page 19

And you can also conduct a survey of your participants and see which of them

would prefer to use either Keynote (on a Mac laptop) or Powerpoint (on a PC

laptop) to present the Symposium. If they do prefer to use one of these rather than

the DVD, tell them to bring their laptop to the training. Then, you can order just one

DVD with the Symposium files for either of these programs, and have it available at

the training for those participants to download into their laptop. This will save you

the cost of a normal DVD for that participant. Note: the participants have to have

the operating software for these two programs already loaded onto their

computersthe DVDs purchased from the ATD store will simply have the

files that are used by the software.

PRINTING: At least ten days before the Training, the Production Team should

download the PDF for the Symposium Presenters Manualfrom the ATD Wiki

and have them printed (since it is to be printed in color, research the least

expensive printing service well in advancein the U.S., it is usually possible to find

places that will print color at about 30-35 cents per page, for a larger order).

Printing Instructions for the Presenters Manual are on the Symposium Wiki,

in the Guide section for Trainings. It is highly recommended that you

send the printers a PDF file (and check it carefully before you send it out, to

make sure it looks exactly like what you want!) rather than an MS Word file,

since sending files in MS Work makes them subject to changes you did not intend.

It is also recommended that you have the printer make one copy and then

you go by and check it and approve it, before all other copies are printed.

The Training Notebook also needs to be printed, which is a different document

(please get the names of these two documents straightit is easy to cause

confusion when you call one by the name of the other!), and is put into a 3-ring

binder that will eventually have the Presenters Manual added to it (try to get eco-

sensitive binders, at the least recycled plastic).

Best practice: The Production Team should assemble the Training Notebook and

Symposium Presenters Manual before the training, if at all possible. People often

register or cancel at the last minute, so delay the actual printing as late as

you conveniently can so that you do not have too few or too many, to allow


20/43

Page 20

assembly before the Trainingand print a few extras of both the Symposium

Manual and the Training Notebook.

NOTE: the pages that make up the Presenters Manual should not be inserted intothe binder that holds the Training Notebook, but should be reserved for being

passed out by themselves on the afternoon of the first day of the Trainingthe

participants have a short ceremony in which they receive these pages and then

insert them into the binder themselves, next to the Training Notebook, which they

received in the early part of the Training.

The person who manages Eventbrite (or whatever registation system you use) can

set up registrations so that they are closed a few days in advance. But it is usually

a good idea to set up registrations so that someone who REALLY wants to be partof it can call the Support Team and perhaps convince you to let them in. Some

wonderful people have joined Trainings this way, so we like to provide some outlet

for passion and commitment!

Attached as Appendix E is a document entitled Checklist for Facilitator

Training. Please feel free to adapt it to the needs of your particular Training, after

talking with the training leadernot everything will apply to your training. This is

designed to cover what you need to make sure is handled in the time period. This

checklist will provide some details not included in the text of this section, so pleaseread it now, as well.

You should send out some version of the What to Bring e-mail(attached as

Appendix F) about six or seven days before the Training, to remind participants

about the training and about the Preparation Assignments, to give them directions,

etc. Please confirm the accuracy and completeness of what you send out

with the training leader beforehandnote that one or more items in the letter

depend upon decisions made by the training leader.

Important: Remember to make personal phone calls to the participants at least

four days before the Training to check in with something like, Im just calling to see


21/43

Page 21

how youre doing and if you have any final questions about the Training. Even

leaving a voicemail messages with a number to call back if theyd like to talk makes

a huge difference in terms of the personal connection that participants feeland

they are also essential to confirm participation and identify any last-minute

problems. Please check on these calls to see if there are any registrants who havenot yet taken the Symposium, and let the training leaders know about this.

Suggestions and guidelines for the personal calls to the participants are

attached as Appendix G.

ImportantPlanning for Mentors and Symposium Run-Through: Experience

shows that a newly minted Facilitator often fails to fully engage, even though

he/she is very committed, if they do not have any personal support, but are just

kind of left to figure it out on their own and be self-motivating. So it is essential

that your Training Support Team and/or Community Group set up an effectivepost-training support networksome combination of assigned mentors,

designated resource persons, and a formal Symposium run-through for new

facilitators, where they present the Symposium to an audience consisting of other

new facilitators and receive helpful hints on how to do a Symposium from an

experienced Facilitator(s).

Before the Training, enroll a sufficient number of mentors for the local trainees

(most mentors are willing to take two or more trainees). The mentor agrees to be

responsible for four thingsit is not a huge role:

1) encourage the trainee to complete their living room Symposium within 4-

5 weeks, maybe with both trainees for that mentor doing one togetherand the

mentor should attend it, if at all possible;

2) facilitate the trainee becoming active in the local community groupinvite

them to go with you to a meeting, etc.; and

3) answer any questions and help them with problems.

4) if the mentor is putting on a Symposium, invite their trainees to be part of the

team, to learn production and presentation skills;


22/43

Page 22

It is best to have the actual names of the mentors at the training, so that you can

tell the trainees who their mentors are at the training (the production team and

leaders may be some of them). Even better if the mentors could actually come to

the last hour or two of the training, to meet with their trainees.

If you cannot have the actual mentors identified, then one person at the

training should agree to be the person who will follow-through and connect all

trainees with a mentor, so that the trainees know who to contact about this for

completion.

Out-of-the-area trainees will need to be connected with the closest

community group leader, and the training leaders need to call the responsible

community group leaders to see that community group leaders agree, and that this

connection is completed. It is best to set this up ahead of timeand have a

specific person who agrees to be accountable for it.

If any community group cannot provide mentors, then please set up

something similarmaybe 2-3 people who agree to be community resources for

the new trainees. And do whatever you can to see that this relationship functions as

closely to the mentor ideal as possible.

Best Practice: The ideal is that you also offer the trainees a half-day (or

maybe 2/3 of a day) Symposium run-through within 3-5 weeks of the training

(where they put on the Symposium for themselves). Please set this up in advance

also, so that you can tell trainees about this option and give them a date. Local

community group members often enjoy putting on these run-throughs a great

dealand they provide new team members to be part of Symposium production!

If your training is in a new area or new country where there are no current

Facilitators, then the mentors will have to be long-distance, or the additional training

will come through the run-through alone. Please discuss this with the training

leader in advance.

VII. At The Training

If any money is due to the training venue on the first day of the event, pleasemake sure you are prepared to pay this as they require.


23/43

Page 23

On the day that the training starts, the Leadership Team (the Trainers and the key

members of the Support Team) will want to meet at the venue at least two-three

hours before dinner, to go over details, and connect with the production manager.

Inquire whether someone from the venue wishes speak to address the group at

dinner or at the first meeting to orient the group to the site and maybe tell thehistory of the place.

The Production Team may need to collate and assemble the Training Notebooks

and Symposium Manuals at the site, though its best to do it ahead of time (as

mentioned above). Be sure to allow enough time for the assembly. For Basic

Trainings, the Training Notebooks are needed within an hour or so of the start of

the first day (or if there is a first night gathering, maybe thencheck with training

leaders), and the pages that constitute the Presenters Manuals are distributed after

lunch (and then inserted into the binder by the participants).

Have someone be a host to greet the participants as they arrive at the site,

to tell them when we will be meeting, what to bring to the first meeting, etc. It is best

not to count on the Production Manager for this role, since there are usually

production details to be worked out that will keep him/her from giving complete and

spacious attention to this hosting role.

Important: Have a list of the participants and all their relevant contact informationprinted out, and distribute it to the participants early in the training so they can

correct and add information. Then correct/update it and print it out so that you can

give the final updated participant list to all participants at the end of the Training.

At the very least, give them a hard copy of the hand-corrected participant list on the

last day of their training, with a corrected digital copy to follow. Please follow the

template given on the Wiki in the Follow Up section under Trainers for the

participant list template that is sent to the Pachamama Office.

Also, have someone on the Production Team keep track of promises made, like

Well send you that document to you right after the training . . . .


24/43

Page 24

Important: Agree on who has responsibility to complete all the After the Training

steps (see below).

VIII. After the Training

There are a number of things to complete after the Training:

1) Send out to the participants in digital form:

a) the final corrected training participant list

b) the Feedback Form, unless everyone was able to complete one at the

Training, and

c) any group photos that were taken.

2) Send the final training participant list to [email protected] so

that the Pachamama staff can add it to the online list of all facilitators. Important:

Please use the template for this roster that is on the Symposium Wiki in the Follow

Up sectionotherwise, the data is not usable for where it is needed.

3) Confirm to ____________ that Pachamama has been reimbursed for all

sums necessary (e.g., travel costs of training leaders).

4) Complete all steps necessary for mentor assignment and notify allmentors and mentees of their assignments.

5) Follow through on scheduling a Symposium Run-Through, if that was

offered.

6) The Leadership Team files at least one Training Completion Report

(available at ________________).

7) Confirm that all persons needing reimbursement (production team,

training leaders) have been reimbursed, and complete any final budget report for

your community group.

8) Check with the person who kept a list of all promises made to see that

they were fulfilled.


25/43

Page 25


26/43

Page 26

APPENDIX A

Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium

Facilitator Training Venue Information

Name:

Mailing Address:

Phone:

Fax:

Primary Contact person:

Web site URL:

Drive from major city (and compass direction):

Public transportation available? What?______________________

Facilities

Meeting room: Maximum seating ______

Breakout rooms or spaces available?_____

What kind of chairs provided?

Facility shared with other groups that weekend?

If so, probable number of people in other groups?

AV equipment: _______ supplied (what?) _______ available for rent (price?)

How accessible is a natural environment (e.g., hikes)?

Any possible outside meeting areas?

Is it possible for participants to commute to the location?


27/43

Page 27

Meals

If meals are available, what is the cost?

____ Vegetarian available?____ Vegan available? _____

Financial Arrangements

Does the venue have a written contract for reservations?

What deposit required to hold the reservation?

When is it due?

What are the conditions under which it is, or is not, refundable?

When is the balance due, and in what installments?

Is there a date when the sponsor (meaning us!) becomes liable for a guaranteed

number of participants? Can the number still be adjusted upwards beyond that

date? If so, how long can it be updated?

Is the date for financial guaranteed minimum numbers an acceptable risk for us as

hosts of the event?


28/43

Page 28

APPENDIX B

LOCATION OF TRAINING: _________________________

Dates: _______________________

Note: This checklist is not complete, and not all items shown are essentialit

is intended as a checklist or reminder list. You can adjust it to the needs of

your particular training.

For details about any of the checklist items listed below, see Training

Support Team Guidelines, available on the Symposium Wiki.

INITIAL ARRANGEMENTS (prior to any enrollments):

" Assemble Support Team for Training

" Assemble potential facilitators list with contact info (people from prior

Symposiums in area who said they wanted to be trained to present)

" Decide on dates

" Secure venue

" Engage the team of training leaders

" Create draft balanced budget for the training & have approved by PTL

" If you are requesting financial support from Pachamama, contact

[email protected] to budget finalization or publicity

" Send information to [email protected] be posted on ATD

website

Logistics Before Basic Training Weekend


29/43

Page 29

" Once someone has completed registration, they should receive a personal

follow-up call within a week, to make sure they successfully downloaded the

Prep Assignment and Reading Materials, and that they understand that.

" Order supplies needed for Manuals (binders) 14-21 days in advance

" Materials List received by production person & responsibilities agreed on-

14 days in advance

" Order Symposium DVDs to be mailed to training location (14 days in

advance for trainings in the U.S. and Canada)(For trainings outside the

U.S., arrange download and/or local copying)

" PDFs for Manual and Notebook printing received and delivered to printers-

7 days in advance

"

What to Bring e-mail sent out - 5-7 days in advance

" Agree on time for team meeting on first afternoon of event

" Final Manual printed, collated, delivery to venue arranged flexible

according to needs.

" Materials (from the Materials List) for weekend compiled and delivery

arrangements confirmed- 2 days before

" Nametags Printed (include nametags for facilitators & guests) - 2 days

before

" Print Participant list - 1 day before

" For Leadership Team: 1) Identify mentors needed and contact to get their

agreement, 2) Invite mentors to attend the relevant part of Sunday morning,

and 3) arrange for someone to lead a run-through of the Symposium about

3-5 weeks after the training.

Post-Training

" Send out to the participants in digital form:

a) the final corrected training participant list,

b) the Feedback Form, unless everyone was able to complete one, and


30/43

Page 30

c) any group photos that were taken.

" Send the final training participant list to [email protected] so that

she can add it to the online list of all facilitators.

" Confirm to the Pachamama accounting office that Pachamama has beenreimbursed for all sums necessary (e.g., travel costs of training leaders).

" Complete all steps necessary for mentor assignment and notify all mentors

and mentees of their assignments.

" Follow through on scheduling a Symposium Run-through, if that was

offered.

" Leadership Team files at least one Training Completion Report.

" Confirm that all persons needing reimbursement (production team, training

leaders) have been reimbursed, and complete any final budget report for

your community group.

" Check with the person who kept a list of all promises made to see that

they were fulfilled.

!Check who will handle remaining materials after the training (where will they be

returned?)

!Keep leftover training materials in a place known to the local training host.


31/43

Page 31

APPENDIX C

Sample Budget For Basic Facilitator Training (Not Residential)

(These figures are just for examplesinsert your own figures and adjust

them to make your particular budget balance)

INCOME: 25 participants with tuition @ $150 each1 +

$3750

EXPENSES:

1) Training Leaders Travel:

a) One airfare @ $400 each $400+

b) Misc. expenses $100

d) Car rental

e) meals during training $50

TOTAL $550 $550+

2) Meeting room charge, if any $----

5) AV rental, if any $----

6) Materials costs

$50 per person X 25 persons $1250

7) Miscellaneous supplies for training $75

8) Snacks $75

9) Processing fees for Eventbrite/Paypal @ 7-1/2% $245

1It is highly recommended that you compute the income side of your


32/43

Page 32

10) Scholarships $700-$800

11) Honorarium(s) for training leader(s)2 $600

TOTAL EXPENSES $3600+

NET PROFIT

$150+/-

Note: any registrants above 25 will add almost entirely to the income

side of the budget, since most other costs are fixed and covered.

2 Honorariums will vary with different locations and training leadersto be

negotiated.


33/43

Page 33

APPENDIX D

Facilitator Training Materials List

! Indicate the number needed, where necessary

! Not all materials on this list are essentialit is an optimum list, and

can be modified by agreement with the Training Leaders.

Printed Materials & Materials to be Handed Out, to be provided by ATD:

! Symposium Materials: One copy of Symposium Background References

! Other printed Materials (as applicable):

o Symposium Presenters Manual contents

o Training Notebook contents

o Binders for combined Manuals and Notebook (combined into one

binder for each participant)

o Inserts for covers of Binders

o Bracelets for all participants

! Binder of a hard copy of all filled-in Background Information Sheets

! Hard copies of blank Background Information Sheets for those who havent

filled out

! Binder of all the written materials sent to trainees (especially Prep

Assignment)

! 3-hole punched & lined paper for Notebooks, about 10pp/participant

! Feedback Forms for Training, hard copies

! Copies of Symposium DVDs to hand out to participants


34/43

Page 34

Supplies:

o 2 Flip Charts & flip chart stands

o Re-usable Name Tags with pre-printed inserts (including for leaders &

prod.)

o One roll Scotch tape

o One Stapler

o One Three-hole punch

o 4-5 Non-smelly markers for flip charts, including colors

o Extra pens and paper for participants (plenty of it)

o 2 boxes Tissues

o 2-3 Highlighters

o Blank white paper (about 2-3 pp/participant)

o Masking tape to post things

o Snacks (as decided by production person)

Matches

Additional equipment and supplies:

o DVD player (or computer), projector & screen (or television and

connected DVD player or computer)

o Timer with seconds display (should be a SILENT timer)

o Extension cords as needed

o AV Connection cords as needed

o Sound system for music (as needed) (incl speakers?), and CDs or iPod

of good break/ dance music

o Digital camera for photos of participants for web site (if you use these on

a local level)

o Table cloths for back of room tables (if possible, colorful or ethnic)


35/43

Page 35

o 2 extra table cloths for small table between facilitator and other

unexpected uses

o Two music stands (if possible, not flimsy chrome-plated metal folding

ones)

o Small table for between Trainer chairs

o Tibetan bells, bowl or some kind of chime for timing

o Table for altar

o Altar supplies: cloth, candle, palo santo or sage for smudging,flowers,

vase

OPTIONAL:

Colored pencils, colored markersenough for each participant to have 4-5 colors(if you are planning any art exercises or processes)

Also

Confirm printer availability (from computer or flash drive) at site, for materials

modification

Check on availability of photo copier during the entire training

Confirm whether wi-fi or other internet connection is available at venue

Information & Lists Training Leaders Need to Have:

List of participants, noting any exceptions (late arrivals, early departures,

etc.)

Chart of persons coming & going (if needed because of complexity)

All materials in soft copy form, on computer or flash drive, for modification

Participant list in e-mail or on flash drive, for modification & printing at site


36/43

Page 36

APPENDIX E

Checklist for Facilitator TrainingRight Before the Event

This checklist covers the time period approximately ten days before the

event (or earlier) and the day of the event.

I. Communication with Participants

#Anyone who has not been to a Symposium? Make a note& tell leaders.

#All money paid or arranged? Ready to collect checks from those not paid?

#All Background Information Statements turned in or exceptions noted?

# What to Bring e-mail sent out about 5-7 days ahead.

#All special transportation needs for participants handled

#Know scheduled arrival time and exceptions, late arrivals, etc.

#Final personal call by their primary contact person (best if about five daysbefore the training, but even two days is very importantit gives an element

of personal contact that supports their experience)

II. Venue Communications

#Final payment to venue arrangements clear; check or charge available

#If needed, certificate of insurance provided?

#Arrival times agreed upon

#Arrange for orientation talk by venue rep at first meeting?


37/43

Page 37

#Who will be contact person during event?

#Where to go/who to call for medical emergencies.

#Is wi-fi or other internet access available at venue?

#Possible to make copies on-site? Possible to print from computer?

#Room setup reviewed with venue (including AV equipment)

#Is there a person who can/will train us on their AV equipment?

III. Trainer Team & Production Team Communication

#All communications about agenda and Flow completed

#All mentors called ahead of time, or a person has agreed to be responsiblefor finding and communicating related to mentors or resource persons

#Someone to be responsible for Symposium run-through locally, within about3-5 weeks of training.

#Agreement about who produces/brings final participant list

#First meeting time scheduled for trainers & production persons

#Hosts arranged (someone to greet participants while set-up is going on)

#Who brings all documents (including participant list) on a flash drive forpossible modification?

#Agreed on roles during Training? (See end of Flow Document)

#Train production person in how to keep time and ring bell

IV. Materials & Equipment


38/43

Page 38

#Materials List reviewed with Production Person to confirm who to bring andnote initials of that person by the item

#Computer printout capability available at venue? Communicate with

trainers.

#Normal copying available at venue? Communicate with trainers.

#Major materials arranged for (all others, consult Materials List):

o Nametags

o Training Notebooks & binders

o Presenter Manuals

o V-2 DVD or Keynote or Powerpoint available

o Projector, DVD player, remote control, backups checked

o Sound system checked

o Altar supplies (esp. flowers, bell, sage/palo santo, candle)

o Flip chart & pens

o Copy of Symposium purpose to post

o Clock, watch, or timer for time-keeping

o The Symposium DVDs to give to participants

2/20/10


39/43

Page 39

APPENDIX F

Sample What to Bring E-mail

(NOTE: confirm the text you use with the training leaders before sending it

out)

November 3, 2008

Dear Friend,

The Facilitator Training in Seattle, WA is coming up this next weekend and we are

looking forward to being with you there. Our time together will begin at 9:00 a.m.

(please be on time!) on Saturday, November 8 and will go until approximately 9:00

p.m. that evening; on Sunday the 9th, we will go from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The

training will take place at the Northwest Environmental Education Council located at

650 S. Orcas Street, Suite 220 in Seattle, Washington 98108. Click herefor

directions to the Northwest Environmental Education Council.

[CHECK WITH THE TRAINING LEADER ABOUT WHETHER TO INCLUDE THISPARAGRAPH:]

In this training, connecting with and being known by the community of your fellow

trainees will be important. Please prepare a presentation (no longer than two

minutesand please time it beforehand) that will give them a sense of who you are

(!) This could be a talk, poem, essay, picture, collage, song, limerick, dance, rap

song, magic trick, or whatever expresses you best. One option is to read the letter

to yourself from the Preparation Assignment explaining why you are choosing to

do this training, and read that letter as your presentation (please limit this to two

minutes, as well). Play with this; have fun with it!

Following is a checklist of what to bring with you to the Training.


40/43

Page 40

Your preparation work, which includes:

Your letter to yourself, about why you are choosing to do this training, as

described in the Preparation Assignment.

Your current list of ten or so organizations in your community that are

doing work in environmental, social justice, or spiritual areas.

You do not need to bring a copy of the Symposium Manual because you will be

given a nicely-printed copy of the main part of the Manual during the Training.

For the altar and community activities:

A not-too-large objectto represent yourself on the community altar.

Optional: a favorite poem and/or quotation that relates to a topic of the

Symposium that you might want to share or read during the weekend.

In addition:

As part of your Daily Practices if possible please bring your own cloth

napkin and coffee mug, so that we use as few disposables as possible.

And most importantly: bring yourself! Your Self!

If you have any questions, please call Peggi Jones at ____________

We look forward to being and working with you. See you soon!

The Facilitator Training Team


41/43

Page 41

P.S. If you find yourself struggling to get all the Preparation material finished in

time, dont stress. Do your very best, but dont drive yourself crazy trying to get it all

done.

APPENDIX G

Guidelines for Personal Calls to Facilitator Training Registrants

Once someone has registered for a Facilitator Training, it will really support their

personal experience to receive a personal follow-up call from some member of the

Support Team. And many of these people will be your partners in the community

group that you probably both share, so it is good to establish personal contact

early.

The Support Team leader will be responsible for being aware of who has registered

(with the Training Program Coordinator) and seeing that someone on the SupportTeam calls them.

Before you start making any calls, you should download and be familiar with all of

the information in the following documents:

1) the information about the specific training for which they registered (go to

http://www.awakeningthedreamer.org/content/view/6/8/and click on the link for the

specific training involved);

2) the Preparation Assignment for that training (get this from the person

coordinating your calls).


42/43

Page 42

The purposes of the call you are makingis 1) to make some personal

contact with each registrant, so that they feel personal interest, 2) see if they have

any questions you can answer or direct them to where they can get an answer, 3)

create a sense of possibility, that we will work with them to make their intention

come about, and 4) give them someone to call if they have any questions.

What youll find is that about 2/3 of the people you call will not be home or

available, no matter what time of day you call. So it is fine to leave a voicemail

messageidentifying yourself, why you are calling, telling them about downloading

the Preparation Assignment and Reading Materials (some registrants may have

missed this) and asking them to call you back if they would like to.

After completing the call, please report back to the Support Team Leader

and tell them about completing your call. And please arrange for a similar call to

be made even to late registrants, in the last few days.

Suggested Talking Points:

Here are some suggested talking pointsand please leave most of this

information on the message if all you get is a voicemail. Please put these into

your own words--these are just general suggestions:

1) Introduce self, that you're a Facilitator of the Symposium.

2) Im calling to welcome you to the upcoming Facilitator Training at

_______(location), and to see if you have any questions.

3) Were you able to download the Preparation Assignment and Reading

Materials successfully? If you don't know the URL for those training documents,

here it is: http://www.awakeningthedreamer.org/atd/trainingmaterials.htm


43/43

4) Any questions about the Preparation Assignment? (So caller needs to

have it available and have read it through it).

5) On the same page that you downloaded the Preparation Assignment andthe Reading Materials, there was a document called Background

Information Sheetdid you download that? Have you filled it in and sent it

to _______________ yet? If not, please do that before __________ (two

weeks before training, or ASAP). This gives the people leading the training

an idea of your particular interests and life experience, so they know you

better and can speak to your concerns and experience.

6) Please contact me if you have any questions--and give phone number

and/or e-mail address.

facilitator training guidelines and suggestions

Documents