ToP Facilitation Methods, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

ToP® Facilitation Methods (TFM)

Build the skill set underneath everything else you do.

Two days. Two proven methods. A skill set that enhances every meeting you’ll ever lead.

Register for this cohort

Registration and payment are handled on ToP-Training.net.

Why This Course

Every leader runs meetings. Most of those meetings don’t reach their aims. The difference between a meeting that produces something and a meeting that produces another meeting isn’t luck — it’s skilled facilitation.

ToP® Facilitation Methods is the foundational course for becoming that skilled facilitator. You’ll learn two methods — the Focused Conversation Method and the Consensus Workshop Method — that form the backbone of participatory practice worldwide. These are the same methods used with client organizations across the Great Plains and nationally.

What You’ll Leave Able to Do

• Lead focused conversations that reach insight, not just opinions. The ORID method (Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional) gives you a repeatable structure for any conversation that needs to move a group from data to decision.
• Design and facilitate consensus workshops that help groups develop shared understanding and commit to action — even when they came in with very different views.
• Design meetings that reach their aims — whether the aim is alignment, problem-solving, planning, or conflict resolution.
• Apply these methods immediately to the meetings you’re already leading.

Who This Is For

Leaders, consultants, planners, nonprofit staff, HR professionals, project managers, educators — anyone who regularly works with groups and wants to build the capability that makes everything else they do land better.

No prior facilitation experience required.

The Format

Two full days, in person. Small cohort size. You’ll practice both methods on real content from your own work, get feedback, and walk out the second day with methods you can use the following Monday.

This is a working course, not a lecture. Come with a meeting, a group, or a conversation you’re currently wrestling with — you’ll have chances to apply what you’re learning to it.

What’s Included

Your registration includes everything you need to build the skill — during the course and after it.

• The official ToP® Facilitation Methods manual. A comprehensive reference you’ll use long after the course ends. The methods, the designs, the templates, the examples — all in one place.
• One hour of coaching with one of your course trainers. Scheduled within 90 days of course completion. Bring a real facilitation challenge you’re working on — a meeting you need to design, a group dynamic you’re navigating, a planning session you’re leading — and you’ll work through it together.
• Access to the Great Plains ToP Community of Practice. Quarterly gatherings of ToP® practitioners across the region. Keep your skills sharp, learn from others, stay connected to the work.

Credentials and Continuing Education

ToP® Facilitation Methods is the foundational course on the path to the Certified ToP® Facilitator (CTF) credential — the international professional standard for ToP® practitioners.

The course qualifies for continuing education credits with four credentialing bodies:

• CHES/MCHES (Certified Health Education Specialist) — 13.5 hours
• AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) — 14.5 hours
• ICF (International Coaching Federation) — 12 hours
• PDU (Project Management Institute) — 14 hours

Prerequisites

None. This is the entry point to the ToP® course sequence. ToP® Strategic Planning and Approaches to Environmental Scanning both list this course as a prerequisite, so most people start here.

Tiered Pricing

Every cohort uses tiered pricing based on organization type and budget. Choose the tier that fits your organization when you register.

Student rate requires a valid student ID. All tiers include the manual, the coaching hour, and Community of Practice access.

What Participants Say

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need prior facilitation experience?

No. TFM is the foundational course and assumes no background. People arrive having led hundreds of meetings and having led none.

What is the ORID method?

ORID stands for Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional — the four levels of the Focused Conversation Method. It’s a question structure that moves a group from the facts of a situation, through their reactions to it, into what it means, and finally to what they’ll do. It’s the single most portable thing you’ll take out of the course, and most participants use it the following week.

How is this different from DISC, Working Genius, or personality-based training?

Those tools describe how people are wired. ToP® methods are process tools — structures for running a conversation or a decision. They answer a different question: not “who is in the room” but “how do we get this group from where they are to a decision they’ll actually own.” Many participants use both. They don’t compete.

Does this qualify for continuing education credits?

Yes — CHES/MCHES (13.5 hours), AICP (14.5 hours), ICF (12 hours), and PDU (14 hours). Certificates are issued after the course.

Is this offered virtually or only in person?

Public cohorts are delivered in person over two full days. In-house courses can be arranged for organizations training a group together — contact us to discuss.

Do I need this course before ToP® Strategic Planning?

Yes. TSP requires TFM, because Strategic Planning weaves the Focused Conversation and Consensus Workshop methods into a full planning process. You need fluency in both before starting. Approaches to Environmental Scanning also requires TFM (or Focused Conversation / Focused Conversation Online).

Does this lead to a credential?

TFM is the foundational course on the path to Certified ToP® Facilitator (CTF), the international professional standard for ToP® practitioners. The course itself doesn’t confer the credential, but it’s where the pathway starts.

What’s included in the price?

The official ToP® Facilitation Methods manual, one hour of coaching with one of your course trainers within 90 days, and ongoing access to the Great Plains ToP Community of Practice. Every pricing tier includes all three.

What if my organization wants to send several people?

An in-house course delivered at your site is usually the better value once you’re sending more than a handful of people, and it lets the group practice on your actual work. Get in touch and we’ll talk through the options.

Register for this cohort

Registration and payment are handled on ToP-Training.net.