Facilitators —General

Act as a senior facilitator. For [insert workshop request], help me define the actual outcome — the decision or artefact the team needs to walk out with. Cover: the outcome, why it can't be reached async, what success looks like by end of session, what's out of scope. Push back if the request is really 'have a workshop' rather than 'reach an outcome'. Present as: Real outcome, Out of scope, Why face-to-face.

Act as an experienced facilitator. Stress-test this workshop brief: [insert]. Identify: ambiguous goals, missing decisions, wrong people in the room, hidden tensions, scope creep risk, time-budget mismatch. Recommend what to clarify with the sponsor before agreeing to run it. Present as: Issue, Why It's a Risk, Question to Ask the Sponsor.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert workshop goal], decide who should be in the room. Cover: decision-makers needed, voices needed (frontline, customer, technical, financial), people who'll block delivery if not involved, people whose presence will distort the conversation. Recommend a 6–10 person guest list with rationale. Present as a guest-list table: Person/Role, Why They're Needed, Risk If Absent.

Act as a facilitator. For this outcome: [insert], recommend the right format: half-day workshop, full-day, multi-day, sprint, async + sync mix, or repeated short sessions. Justify the choice based on the work to be done, the fatigue curve, the decisions to make, and the risk of rushing. Present as a recommendation with reasoning.

Act as a senior facilitator. The sponsor wants to cover [insert overloaded scope] in [insert too-short time]. Help me write a polite-but-firm message proposing what to cut, what to defer to follow-up, what to do async before, so we can do the core work justice. Present as a draft message.

Act as a workshop designer. For [insert outcome and time available], design the session architecture using the diamond model (diverge → converge). Cover: opening, divergent phase activities, convergent phase activities, decision moment, close. For each block: what happens, why, time, energy curve. Present as a session arc.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert session length], plan the energy curve through the day. Identify when we go high-energy vs reflective, when to break, when the natural slumps will hit, what to put there to keep momentum, when we land the heavy decisions. Present as an energy plan.

Act as a workshop designer. For this objective: [insert], propose 3 activity options (e.g. silent brainwriting, 1-2-4-all, dot voting, lightning decision jam, future press release). For each: how it works, what it produces, when it's right, when it'll fall flat. Recommend the best fit with reasoning. Present as a comparison table, then the recommendation.

Act as a facilitator. Convert this agenda: [insert] into a detailed run sheet. For each block: start time, duration, what the facilitator says, what participants do, materials needed, transition into the next block, contingency if we run over. Present as a minute-by-minute run sheet.

Act as a facilitator running [insert session] in hybrid (some in-room, some remote). Adapt the design for hybrid: which activities work, which don't, how remote participants stay equal, the tools used, the rhythm of switching between in-room and remote, the things that always go wrong. Present as a hybrid adaptation plan.

Act as a facilitator. Write a pre-workshop brief for participants of [insert session]. Cover: the outcome we'll reach, why they're invited specifically, what to read/think about beforehand, what to bring, what NOT to do (e.g. don't pre-decide), how to prepare mentally. Keep it to 1 page.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert workshop goal], design pre-work that takes participants 30 minutes max. The pre-work should: surface their current thinking, expose disagreements before the room, give us material to work with on day 1. Specify: 3–5 questions, the format of submission, when it's due, how the answers feed in.

Act as a senior facilitator. The CEO/VP is attending [insert workshop]. Write a separate briefing for them covering: the role we need them to play (decision-maker, not contributor), when to speak, when to hold back, the moments where their authority unblocks things, what would derail the room if they did it. Present as a 1-page exec brief.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert workshop], plan the logistics: room setup, materials list, tech needs, food and breaks, signage, accessibility, recording/photography, what to do if AV fails, who's running ops vs facilitating. Present as a logistics checklist with owners.

Act as a facilitator. Write the opening 10 minutes of [insert workshop]. Cover: warm welcome, why we're here (the outcome), why this group, the rules of engagement, the day's shape, the first thing they'll do. Tone: warm but direct. Avoid corporate speak. Present as a script.

Act as a facilitator. For this group of [insert participants] who [insert their relationship — strangers, colleagues, etc.], propose 3 check-in options that aren't 'one word that describes how you're feeling'. For each: how it works, what it surfaces, when to use it, why it's right for this group. Recommend one. Present each option as a short card: How It Works, What It Surfaces, When to Use It.

Act as a facilitator. Propose 5 working agreements for [insert session — e.g. a strategic alignment workshop with senior leaders]. Make them specific to the work (not generic 'be respectful'). Cover: how disagreement is handled, how we make decisions, how we use phones, how we handle dominant voices. Present as a draft to negotiate with the room.

Act as a facilitator. Help me set up psychological safety in the first 30 minutes of [insert workshop]. Cover: what I model first (vulnerability, admitting unknowns), the small permission moves, how to handle the first risky thing someone says, the signals I watch for to know it's working. Present as an opening psychological-safety play.

Act as a facilitator running Crazy 8s for [insert challenge]. Cover: the brief, the framing prompt, the timer, the silence, what to say if people freeze, what to do with the output, how to pivot if it falls flat. Present as a step-by-step running guide.

Act as a facilitator running 1-2-4-All on [insert question]. Cover: the framing question, the timing for each phase, what to do during the silent solo phase, how pairs and quads land their answers, how to surface the few from the many at the All phase. Avoid letting it become a discussion free-for-all. Present as a run sheet with timings.

Act as a facilitator running a Lightning Decision Jam for [insert problem]. Cover: the problem framing, surfacing challenges, generating solutions, dot-voting, prioritising on impact/effort, defining experiments. Specify timings, materials, decision rules. Present as a step-by-step run sheet.

Act as a facilitator. Help me run dot voting for [insert decision] without it turning into a popularity contest. Cover: how many dots, what people are voting for (not just 'best'), whether to vote in silence, whether the seniors vote, what to do if it's a tie, how to interpret the result vs override it. Present as a run sheet with a decision rule at the end.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert moment in the session — e.g. after a heated debate, after a presentation], run a reflection activity that lands the learning. Cover: the prompt, the format (silent journal, pair share, group), the time, how to surface insights. Present as a reflection play.

Act as a facilitator. [Insert participant] is dominating the room — interrupting, going long, shutting down others. Help me defuse without humiliating them. Cover: the in-the-moment moves, the structural moves (silent activities, written-first methods), the private 1:1 conversation if needed. Present as 3 escalating responses.

Act as a facilitator. The room is too quiet during [insert session and topic] — I sense disagreement but no one's speaking. Help me surface it without forcing it. Cover: 3 techniques (silent vote, anonymous post-its, written exit ticket, naming the elephant), when to use each, how to handle what comes up. Present as a 3-option play.

Act as a senior facilitator. [Insert stakeholder] is openly hostile to the process — sceptical, dismissive, undermining. Help me handle them. Cover: the pre-conversation, the opening moves (acknowledging their concerns publicly), the structural protections, what to do if they walk, when to call a break. Present as a hostility playbook.

Act as a facilitator. The session is going off the rails — [insert what's happening, e.g. wrong energy, off-topic, falling behind]. Help me recover. Cover: the diagnostic (what's actually wrong?), the move (call a break, change activity, name it directly, restart), how to get the room back without panic. Present as a recovery playbook.

Act as a facilitator. We're 45 minutes behind on [insert session]. Help me decide what to cut. Cover: what to compress (transitions, breaks), what to cut (an activity, a deep-dive), what to defer to follow-up, what's non-negotiable. Present as a time-recovery decision tree.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert decision], recommend the decision method: consent, consensus, majority vote, decider (one named person decides after input), advice process. Justify based on: the decision's reversibility, the cost of getting it wrong, the importance of buy-in, the time available. Present as a recommendation.

Act as a facilitator. Run a decider process for [insert decision] where input is gathered, options are debated, and one named person decides. Cover: how to set expectations up front, how to surface dissent before the decision, the moment of the call, how to close the loop with people who disagreed. Present as a decider run-through.

Act as a facilitator. After [insert decision], some participants disagreed. Help me run a disagree-and-commit conversation: acknowledge the disagreement, confirm everyone's heard, get explicit commitment to the decision, agree how we'd revisit if evidence changes. Present as a script.

Act as a senior facilitator. The room is about to lock in [insert decision]. Run a 5-minute stress test before closing: pre-mortem ('what could go wrong?'), reverse engineering ('would we still pick this if X were true?'), accountability ('who owns delivery?'). Present as a decision stress-test play.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert session outcome], close with clear next steps. Cover: what was decided, what wasn't, who owns each next step, the deadline, how the team stays aligned post-session, when we reconvene. Present as a closing play with a captured action board.

Act as a facilitator. Run a 10-minute closing reflection for [insert session]. Cover: a question that surfaces what changed in their thinking, a way to land learning beyond just 'what we decided', a personal commitment moment, a clean ending. Present as a closing reflection script.

Act as a facilitator. For [insert workshop], plan how to capture the output: live capture during the session, post-session synthesis, the format (deck, doc, page), who writes it, when it goes out, what level of detail vs decision summary. Present as a capture plan.

Act as a facilitator. Draft the post-workshop recap email for [insert session]. Cover: thanks, the outcome reached, the decisions made, the disagreements held, the actions and owners, the next checkpoint, how to give feedback. Tone: warm, specific, actionable. Present as a draft email.

Act as a facilitator. Plan a 30-minute debrief with the workshop sponsor of [insert session]. Cover: what we got, what surprised us, what's at risk in delivery, what the sponsor needs to do next, what to commit to follow-up on. Present as a debrief agenda + key questions to ask.

Act as a facilitator. After [insert workshop], help me track action items without inheriting project management. Cover: the system (a single page, owners, dates, status), the cadence of nudges, when to escalate to the sponsor, when to let it go. Present as a lightweight follow-through plan.

Act as a facilitator. Run a 30-minute follow-up 2 weeks after [insert workshop]. Cover: what's progressed, what's stuck, what's changed since the room, what needs another decision. Make it a working session, not a status meeting. Present as a follow-up agenda.

Act as a facilitator. After [insert workshop], capture lessons for my own practice. Cover: what worked, what didn't, what I'd do differently, what surprised me about the group, what new tool/technique I'd reach for again, what to retire. Present as a personal facilitator retro.

Act as a senior facilitator coaching yourself. Given these strengths: [insert] and these gaps: [insert], propose 3 skill investments for the next 6 months. For each: what to learn, how to learn it (book, course, observation, deliberate practice), how you'll know it's working. Present as a 6-month dev plan.

Act as a facilitator. Help me build a personal toolkit of go-to activities I can deploy quickly, suited to [insert your context, e.g. remote product teams, exec strategy days, community workshops]. Cover: 3 openers, 3 divergent activities, 3 convergent activities, 3 reflection methods, 3 closers. For each: what it does, when I'd reach for it, the 'feels right when' signal. Present as a personal toolkit.

Act as a facilitator coach. Help me practise the skill of naming what I see in the room ('I notice we're avoiding X', 'There's tension here we're not addressing'). Cover: when to use it, how to phrase it, how to land it without making it weird, what to do once it's named. Tailor the phrasings to [insert your typical sessions]. Present as 5 example phrasings I can adapt.

Act as a senior facilitator. Help me avoid burnout from running too many sessions — currently [insert your load, e.g. 3 workshops a week plus delivery work]. Cover: the signs (mine and the room's), the recovery rituals between sessions, the workshops to say no to, the way to hand off when I'm depleted, the long-term sustainability practices. Present as a burnout-avoidance plan.