Key role: facilitator

The facilitator is very important on the day of your focus group. A skilled facilitator is needed to support each conversation.

The facilitator is responsible for leading the conversations, asking questions and making sure everyone has the chance to speak. They need to be supportive and encourage people to share their stories.

The facilitator also needs to help discover information that will be useful to the project.

Responsibilities

The facilitator should: 

• set the tone
• keep the group focused on the correct topics
• monitor the time
• maintain interest and momentum
• ensure all participants have a say 
• strike a balance between prompting for further learning (ensuring the desired outcomes for the session are met) and respecting people’s desire to disclose information about their experiences
• set the ground rules and ensure everyone agrees, understands and adheres to them
• manage the dynamics to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to speak and
• remain impartial

Tips for facilitators

Starting the conversation

Introductions can help relax people but keep them brief – this will help you know how people wish to be addressed (it’s better not to assume first name familiarity and check people’s preferred pronouns).

Use a simple ‘warm-up’ question that is open (not requiring a ‘yes/no’ response), general and concrete – for example, ‘How long ago did you or someone you support/care for access this service?’. 

Try to adopt an ‘open and expectant’ facial expression. This may seem obvious but always try to look as if you’re interested in what people have to say!

Keeping everyone on topic

Listen actively – ask yourself:

• Is this point relevant?
• Do I want to learn more about this by asking some follow up questions?
• Offer a summary of points made so far.
• Have an ‘other issues’ board or post-it notes set to record matters that are not of direct relevance but that nevertheless should not be lost.

Bringing new people into the conversation

• Look around the group, when there is a pause in the conversation, indicating you are interested in what others think of what has been said.
• Notice who is nodding, shaking their head or in other, non-verbal ways indicating they either agree or disagree with what is being said.
• Encourage all participants to share their experiences. Ask ‘how do others see this?’ as a conversation starter.

Stopping a participant from speaking

• Address the issue head on, but politely, by saying ‘I’m sorry I’m going to have to stop you there, as I need to give others a chance to contribute on this point, too’.
• Only interrupt someone or be firm if the comments/ behaviour are offensive or inappropriate e.g. racist comments, shouting and becoming aggressive.

Encouraging participants to keep talking

• Be aware of participants’ communication needs. If someone has speech difficulties, neurological difficulties, or is speaking in a second language, they may need time to articulate what they want to say.
• Be patient and avoid helping participants complete their sentences, unless they have indicated that type of support is helpful.
• Try to maintain eye contact and use non-verbal cues such as smiling or hand gestures to encourage engagement. Visual cues can help facilitate communication and bridge any barriers.

Drawing the discussion to a close

• Summarise points or range of opinions on issues discussed.
• Explain what will happen with what they’ve said, where they can get feedback and how they can be informed of developments.
• Thank people for taking part.
• Ask if there are any questions.