General Principles of Transcultural Workshop Facilitation
- Emotional safety of participants is imperative
- Cultural humility
- Awareness of power dynamics in the room
In addition to the sections of this guide that refer to best practices in workshop facilitation, we would like to offer the three principles mentioned above to guide the essence of the workshop’s facilitation. We recommend that you consider each of these principles as you prepare to create a safe environment for all participants.
If possible, we encourage you to inquire about participants’ backgrounds before the training (e.g., demographics, area of study, roles/relationships in the group). This information will provide you with the opportunity to prepare and adjust the content, materials, and resources to be shared with participants. This will also give you the opportunity to examine your role in relation to the participants.
As a facilitator, it is imperative to model honesty, openness/lack of judgment, and humility when delivering a Transcultural Communications workshop, that will examine personal and societal values. We encourage you to see this as an opportunity to facilitate a space that welcomes vulnerability and supports diverse experiences. During the workshop, we encourage you to name the challenges present in some discussions or information and to celebrate this as a learning opportunity and make yourself available for direct check-ins with participants.
Resources for facilitators to learn about Transcultural Communication workshop facilitation:
See Open Educational Resources – Section 1