Lawrence M. Miller - Facilitation Skills: Making Meetings Efficient (Download)

In today’s workplace, whether managing remote teams or in-person groups, the ability to facilitate productive meetings and unite team members toward common goals is no longer optional—it’s essential. Inefficient meetings drain time, energy, and morale, while strong facilitation skills can transform chaos into clarity and create high-performing teams that execute with precision.

About the Course and Instructor

Lawrence M. Miller, founder of Leadership Excellence, LLC, brings four decades of experience developing team leaders across every organizational level. His client roster includes Fortune 500 CEOs, frontline manufacturing teams, and companies like Honda, Toyota, Shell Oil, and American Express. As author of ten books on leadership and lean management and CEO of a consulting firm for 25 years, Miller distills his extensive expertise into this practical course on team facilitation.

“Facilitation Skills: Making Meetings Efficient” is designed for entrepreneurs, managers aspiring to greater responsibility, and anyone who collaborates with others professionally. The course equips learners with proven techniques to lead both virtual and in-person teams effectively.

What You’ll Master

This comprehensive training covers the fundamental behaviors and skills that distinguish exceptional team leaders. You’ll develop critical listening abilities essential for meaningful communication, understand when to employ command, consultative, or consensus decision-making styles, and learn techniques for giving and receiving constructive feedback that drives continuous improvement.

The course emphasizes practical application through assignments that reinforce skill development, ensuring you can immediately implement what you learn.

Course Content Overview

The curriculum begins with foundational concepts of facilitation before diving into eight essential skills: organizing, clarifying, reflecting, motivating, comforting, controlling, concluding discussions, and resolving conflicts. Each skill is explored through video lessons and reinforced with practice assignments.

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You’ll explore decision-making frameworks, understanding how to guide teams toward consensus when appropriate. The course distinguishes between dialogue and debate, teaching you to foster collaborative thinking rather than competitive arguing.

Dedicated modules on effective listening cover body language interpretation, asking open-ended questions, reflective listening, expressing empathy, and using silence strategically. The “Straight Talk” model provides structured approaches for both giving and receiving feedback constructively.

Finally, specialized training on virtual team facilitation addresses the unique challenges of remote meetings, offering pre-work strategies, post-meeting follow-up, and fourteen practical tips for engaging virtual participants.

Who Should Enroll

This course serves current and aspiring team leaders seeking to enhance their facilitation, communication, and decision-making capabilities. Whether you’re managing cross-functional projects, leading department meetings, or coordinating remote teams, these skills will enable you to eliminate waste, harvest collective wisdom, and develop action plans that deliver results.