CORE SKILL - CERTIFIED AGILE FACILITATOR® (CAF)

Live online training course
Rating 5/5: "Exceptional couple of days, jam packed with learning and great content that I will use straight away. I think all leaders at any level, teachers and facilitators need to do this course! So incredibly valuable and it brought a lot of self awareness to how I show up"
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Overview

Start here. Facilitation is a core skill for every Scrum Master, Product Owner and Agile Coach, and is useful in almost any role. The Certified Agile Facilitator® (CAF) course builds your confidence and competence to guide groups to collaborative, meaningful outcomes in workshops and meetings.
Over two highly practical days you'll follow the facilitator's journey from first request to final close: prepare, kick off, manage flow and energy, listen, handle emotions and conflict, facilitate visually and help groups decide. You'll practise in small groups, film yourself twice to see your progress, and use Frankie, our AI facilitator, to help design sessions.
Format: 2 days, live online via Zoom, with group work in Miro. No exam: your certification follows the end-of-course feedback survey.
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What will you learn?

🎯 The facilitator's role and mindset What facilitation is (and isn't), the neutral facilitator stance, and how to build your confidence and self-awareness.
🗺️ Preparing great sessions Ask the right questions up front, plan with the Facilitation Session Planning Canvas, set working agreements, design for psychological safety, and get help from Frankie, our AI facilitator.
🚀 Kick-offs, flow and energy Set up your in-person, virtual or hybrid space, hook people in from the start, keep the flow, energy and inclusion up, and know when to lead from the front, back or side of the room.
👂 Listening, emotions and conflict Active listening, paraphrasing and drawing people out, emotional intelligence, tricky participant personas, and keeping conflict constructive.
✏️ Visual facilitation Posters, not PowerPoint: welcome and agenda posters, icebreakers and retros, with a live drawing demo. No artistic talent needed.
🗳️ Group decision making Divergent and convergent thinking, plus four techniques that work in person and online: dot voting, Roman voting, Fist of Five and Gradients of Agreement.

How the two days run

Day 1 follows the facilitator's journey: setting the stage, preparing, kicking off, and keeping the flow and energy up. Day 2 builds the deeper skills: listening and emotions, the three orientations of the facilitator, visual facilitation and group decision making. Both days are live and interactive on Zoom, with group work in Miro.
1. Set the stage Explore what facilitation is and how you show up as a facilitator, reflect on your confidence, and use polls to engage bigger groups.
2. Prepare Plan a workshop with the Facilitation Session Planning Canvas, run a working agreement, create psychological safety, and use Frankie, our AI facilitator, to help design your session.
3. Kick off, flow and energy Know your in-person, virtual and hybrid space, calm the nerves, hook people in and run icebreakers. Then manage flow, energy and inclusion, and film a 2-minute talk to review that night.
Great facilitation is a skill you can learn. This course gives you the tools, the practice and the confidence to lead any group.
4. Listening, emotions and the three orientations Handle tricky personas and conflict, practise active listening and paraphrasing, read emotions, and learn when to lead from the front, back or side of the room.
5. Visual facilitation and group decisions Draw posters, not PowerPoint, with a live demo. Then help a group decide using divergent and convergent thinking, dot voting, Roman voting, Fist of Five and Gradients of Agreement.
6. Practise and commit Film a second talk to see how far you've come, re-rate your confidence, and leave with a facilitation action plan for the next two weeks. What you'll leave with
  • The Certified Agile Facilitator® (CAF) certification from Scrum Alliance (no exam)
  • A facilitation toolkit for in-person, virtual and hybrid sessions
  • The Facilitation Session Planning Canvas
  • Frankie, our AI facilitator, to help design your workshops
  • Two videos of yourself facilitating, so you can see your progress
  • Your Action Log, Learning Log and facilitation action plan
  • Ongoing support through our WhatsApp learning community

What participants say

  • Rating 5/5: "Lots of new tips and tricks and reminder on other techniques covered in other courses (like Elmo). New resources like the GYA Team Hub - epic, and Frankie the AI Facilitator! Tools I can use right away"

  • Rating 5/5: "Exceptional couple of days, jam packed with learning and great content that I will use straight away. I think all leaders at any level, teachers and facilitators need to do this course! So incredibly valuable and it brought a lot of self awareness to how I show up"

  • Rating 5/5: "Sam is a brilliant facilitator and this course was a great insight into what makes a great facilitator. I came away with new tools and techniques that I can take away and apply in my next workshop or meeting"

  • Rating 5/5: "I loved how engaging Sam was. He really made us feel like we were in the room with each other from the commencement of the virtual training on Thursday morning. I really enjoyed the activity of planning a workshop, understanding the background planning and being able to execute within a very short timeframe. It was a great opportunity to also learn off my peers within the training course. I really liked the training course and have recommended it to family, friends and colleagues"

  • Rating 5/5: "As someone who considers themselves naturally shy, I often have to facilitate sessions with people of different personalities. Sam's class exceeded my expectations. He didn't just provide techniques or tools on how to facilitate during a session; he focused on the importance of preparing before a workshop and ways to connect and engage participants to achieve desired outcomes."

  • Rating 5/5: "Fantastic practical course structured in a logical and really engaging way. It will take you step-by-step in what to do from receiving a request to facilitate through to delivering a successful facilitation session. The tools you learn are applicable in so many other contexts too. Highly recommend!"

  • Rating 5/5: "Really learned valuable insights into facilitation preparation, planning and execution. I have done facilitation before reasonably well, but this will take me to another level. I was wary of the drawing section (I cannot draw a straight line) but I really enjoyed it and surprised myself thanks to Sam's tutelage"
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Who should take this course?

Live online training course
The CAF course is designed for individuals who have a passion for facilitation and want to make a real difference in their careers, industries, and teams. Facilitation is recognised as a crucial skill in today's modern world. The course is suitable for various types of individuals, including those who aspire to become empowering and impactful facilitators, Scrum masters aiming to become Certified Scrum Professional® - ScrumMaster (CSP®-SM), Agilists working towards becoming Certified Agile Coach® (CEC or CTC), individuals who want to enhance their career prospects through facilitation skills, and anyone who believes in creating happier teams and improving meeting experiences.

Questions

  • Do I need facilitation experience?
  • No. The course suits new facilitators as well as experienced ones who want to sharpen their skills. It's a core skill for Scrum Masters, Product Owners, agile coaches and leaders.

  • How do I get certified?
  • There's no exam. Complete a short feedback survey at the end of day 2 and Scrum Alliance will issue your CAF certification.

  • How can I prepare?
  • Bring a real workshop or meeting you need to facilitate. For the visual facilitation session on day 2, you can grab a chisel-tip marker, highlighters and some butcher's paper (optional).

  • What do I need on the day?
  • A computer with Zoom, a reliable internet connection and a webcam. We'll use Miro for group work, and your phone to film two short talks.

  • Can you run this for our team?
  • Yes — we can run CAF in-house for your organisation.

  • Where next? Build on CAF with our Advanced Certified ScrumMaster® (A-CSM), Agile Coaching (ICAgile) or Visual Facilitation courses.
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