Facilitators don’t need the right answers—just the right questions.
This list is organized into categories for easy access during live facilitation.
1. Opening & Setting the Stage
- “What does success look like for us today?”
- “Let’s start with: What brought you here today?”
- “What are you hoping to walk away with by the end of this session?”
- “If you had to describe your current mindset in one word, what would it be?”
- “Is there anything that might get in the way of being fully present today?”
2. Exploration & Discovery
- “Tell me more about what’s behind that idea.”
- "What else might be true here?”
- “What patterns are we starting to see?”
- “Where might there be blind spots in our current thinking?”
- “If this idea had a voice, what would it say back to us?”
3. Diverging Perspectives
- “What’s a completely different perspective on this?”
- “Who might see this differently?”
- “Can anyone challenge that idea—in a constructive way?”
- “What voices or angles haven’t we heard from yet?”
- “How might someone from [team/customer group] react to this?”
4. Navigating Tension or Disagreement
- “I’m hearing a few different views—let’s slow down and surface them.”
- “It seems like there’s energy around this—can we unpack it together?”
- “Can we take a pause and revisit our shared goal for this conversation?”
- “What are the key assumptions we might be making?”
- “What would make this feel like a win-win?”
5. Re-engaging Silence or Quiet Voices
- “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t spoken yet—no pressure, just invitation.”
- “If you’re more of a thinker than a talker, feel free to use the chat or write it down first.”
- “Would anyone like to share a reaction that’s been bubbling up?”
- “I noticed we’ve heard from some folks—who else might want to build on that?”
- “If you were going to say something but held back, what would it be?”
6. Reframing & Redirection
- “Can we reframe this as a challenge we’re trying to solve together?”
- “Let’s return to the core purpose—what are we trying to accomplish?”
- “Is this taking us closer to or farther from our goal?”
- “Can we place that in the parking lot and come back to it later?”
- “What’s the bigger picture we might be missing?”
7. Prioritizing & Decision Making
- “Which of these feels most urgent to act on?”
- “If we had to make progress on one thing today, what would it be?”
- “What’s the smallest step we could take forward?”
- “How will we know this decision is the right one?”
- “What would be a ‘good enough for now’ option?”
8. Closure & Reflection
- “What’s one word or insight you’re leaving with?”
- “What was your biggest ‘aha’ from today?”
- “Is there anything we should continue, stop, or start doing as a group?”
- “What’s one thing you’ll take into your next meeting?”
- “On a scale of 1 to 5, how aligned do you feel right now?”
This checklist was originally published by AgileWoW, download it for FREE - Facilitator Prompts & Phrases Bank
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