When asked to do a presentation for a group of people, we generally think of PowerPoint. What would you do if you could not use that product? What would you do if you did not have projection capabilities? 

These are two questions that I never used to think about until one of the people on my team came to me and said that she needed to cancel her session. When I inquired about the reason (thinking that she was ill), she explained that the projection device was broken and she could not display her PowerPoint slide deck. I realized then that we rely too much on technology, and place too much of our focus on these tools. 

In reality, the star of the show is the information. Our goal is for people to retain that information and put it to use by doing their jobs more effectively. The Facilitating for Excellence Certificate program is all about presenting and focusing on facilitating learning for our participants. We discuss ways in which to engage these participants and help to increase the knowledge about these skills. Understanding that we don’t have all the answers, but that the answers are in the room speaks to facilitating and not lecturing. 

By learning about adult learning principles and ways to apply them, you come away with the confidence to become a facilitator where lecturing is a last resort. Each person will be able to demonstrate the skills gained in the session by doing a presentation for a small group of people within the same session. 

And yes, we use PowerPoint as a guide. However, it is not about the PowerPoint deck, but about the discussion and demonstrations that surround it. I promise there will be no "death by PowerPoint."

Register now for the next Facilitating for Excellence Certificate program taking place June 13 in San Francisco.