The Art of Facilitation | online (Australasian and European Time Zones)

At its core, this course addresses a very real and widely felt gap: many people are asked to run meetings, workshops and group sessions — but very few are ever taught what to do with what's actually happening in the room while it's happening. Most of us rely on the agenda, the tools, or our own personality — and when things go off track, as they inevitably do, we don't know what to do in the moment.

People who come to this course recognise a combination of the following:

• They can build a solid agenda, but the moment energy drops, someone dominates, or the group goes quiet, they sense something is wrong and don't know what it is, let alone what to do about it
• They feel personally exposed when a group doesn't respond the way they'd hoped — without a framework for understanding why, or what's really going on beneath the surface.
• They default to safe habits under pressure: pushing through the agenda, overtalking, or ending the session early, rather than working with what the group actually needs.
• They want to create sessions that are engaging, meaningful and real — but end up managing logistics instead of shaping what happens between people.
• In short, the gap isn't a lack of tools. It's a lack of presence, awareness and in-the-moment capability — the difference between running a workshop and facilitating one.

This course builds the foundation for those changes. You'll move from being the "workshop chair" — the person managing the clock, the slides and the plan — to becoming an integrated, whole-person facilitator: someone who is present to themselves, to others, and to the group as a whole, and who can work with whatever a group brings, not just what the agenda predicted.

The Art of Facilitation has been developed for people with varying levels of facilitation experience, working across government, community and business, including:

• Facilitators — new, emerging or experienced — who want a stronger foundation
• Senior leaders and project managers who run meetings and need real engagement, not just attendance
• Coaches, trainers and consultants who want more presence and skill in every group they work with
• Team leaders and community facilitators navigating groups with competing needs

The course is adapted to meet the group where it is. Class size is limited to twelve participants, so everyone gets room to practise and be seen.

Our training is transformational, learn-by-doing training: participants practise leading real sessions with coach support throughout, not just theory.

Across eight weekly sessions, you will:

• Practise facilitating real group processes, not just discuss them
• Receive coaching and feedback from your trainer and peers as you go
• Explore the whole-person approach — presence to self, others and the group
• Build confidence in the safety of a supportive group

The result is a capability and new habits you've practised and developed, not just concepts you've read about.

By the end of the programme, you'll be able to:

• Understand the true role of a facilitator, and the natural cycles every group moves through
• Clarify and hold an empowering group purpose, and create a safe, trust-based culture
• Be present to self, others and the group — the whole-person foundation of good facilitation
• Recognise and work with different energy levels, so sessions never run flat or run away from you
• Practise a range of facilitation processes, techniques and interventions with real groups
• Become comfortable with a wide range of behaviours, and manage conflict effectively
• Understand Co-operacy and a new way of being in groups
• Facilitate confidently online, using collaboration tools like Miro and Google Drive alongside Zoom
• Learn alongside other facilitation professionals and build genuine connections, even online

Online Format:  eight 4-hour sessions over eight weeks (mornings/afternoons/evenings depending on your time zone) plus practical work

The Art of Facilitation (40 hours) will run over eight weekly 4-hour sessions starting Tuesday, 18 August and ending Tuesday, 6 October 2026.   Online session times are 4 - 8 pm  (AEST - Australia, Melbourne).  The training will include 30 minutes per week of independent practical work, along with essential offline content to be completed between sessions.  The training is based on The Art of Facilitation (Hunter, 2007).  This format enhances online facilitation capabilities while also increasing accessibility for participants across different time zones. Our delivery approach maximises online engagement and minimises 'Zoom fatigue'.

This is Stage 1 of the Zenergy Diploma Pathway.

The online course covers the same content as the in-person course: Creating the Programme, Facilitating Self and Others, Making Interventions, Facilitating Challenges, Integration and Assessment.

Session Dates

• 18 Aug      Session 1:  Creating the programme
• 25 Aug      Session 2:  Programme Frames
• 01 Sep      Session 3:  Facilitating Self and Others
• 08 Sep     Session 4:   Making Interventions (Halfway review)
• 15 Sep      Session 5:  Making Interventions 2
• 22 Sep     Session 6:   Facilitating Challenges
• 29 Sep     Session 7:  Personal Facilitation Practice
• 06 Oct     Session 8:  Reflection, Integration and Assessment

Session Times

• 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm   (Melbourne, Australia)
• 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm  (New Zealand)
• 8:00 am - 12:00 pm   (Central Europe)
• 7:00 am - 11:00 am  (England)
• 9:00 am - 1:00 pm (Finnland)
• 11:30 am - 3:30 pm (New Delhi, India)

Online platform

The course will be delivered via Zoom Videoconferencing (participants do not require a paid account). We will use online collaboration tools, including Google Drive, Miro Boards, and WhatsApp, to connect as a group between sessions. We may also explore other collaboration platforms of interest to participants.

Simone is our Zenergy Trainer in Melbourne, Australia, and has been a trainer with Zenergy Global since 2013. She was born in Leipzig, Germany, in the land of the Saxon people. In 2015, she relocated from New Zealand to Australia and brought the Zenergy work to Australia. Simone is active with the Victorian Facilitators Network (VFN) and delivers Zenergy programs in Australia, Europe, Asia, the USA and the UK. Since its establishment in Australia, Zenergy Global Australia has been growing and had several programs delivered worldwide. Simone is an experienced facilitator, coach and trainer working in government, corporate business and community sectors. She is passionate about helping leaders embed the spirit of collaborative leadership and sees whole-person facilitation skills as essential to effective collaboration.

Full Price*: 2,450 AUD ex. GST / 1,350GBP / 1,500 EUR / 1,750 USD 

For Reviewers, people who have done the course before: 50% discount: 1,225 AUD

Cost includes:

• Soft copy of Participant Course Manual
• 40 hours of experiential training, including weekly coaching
• Certificate of Attendance

Super Early Bird Discount 20%, if paid in full by 12 June 2026

Early Bird Discount 10%, if paid in full by 18 July 2026

*Payment Plans are available. We want to help; if money is a barrier, please talk to us.