Facilitator’s Guide: “Four Questions Review”

Jun 15
2 min read

Purpose

To support a shared reflection on a situation, helping the group surface strengths, challenges, uncertainties, and gaps.

Preparation

Prepare and clearly articulate the scenario or situation
Have a flipchart, whiteboard, or shared document ready to capture responses
Allow ~30–40 minutes total

Step 1: Introduce the Exercise

Explain:

This is a reflection and sense-making activity, not problem-solving
The goal is to hear a range of perspectives
Encourage openness—there are no right or wrong answers

Present the scenario and check for basic understanding.

Step 2: Introduce the Four Questions

Write them up clearly:

What’s going well?
What’s not going so well?
What’s confusing?
What is missing?

Explain that you will work through these together as a whole group.

Step 3: Individual Reflection (5 minutes)

Distribute the one page guide (link below) and ask participants to:

Take a few minutes individually
Note down their thoughts for each question

This helps ensure all voices are prepared to contribute.

[an alternative is to have distributed the sheet in advance for people to come to the session with their notes prepared]

Step 4: Group Discussion (20–25 minutes)

Facilitate a whole-group conversation, moving through each question in turn.

For each question:

Invite contributions from across the group
Capture key points visibly
Encourage variety (“What else are people noticing?”)
Gently draw in quieter participants

Keep the group focused on:

Observations, not solutions
Building on each other’s inputs

Step 5: Listen for Themes (Ongoing)

As responses emerge, your role is to:

Notice recurring ideas or patterns
Spot differences in perspective
Highlight connections between comments

You may group similar points as you record them.

Step 6: Synthesis (5–10 minutes)

At the end, summarise what you’ve heard:

Key strengths (“What’s going well…”)
Main challenges or friction points
Areas of confusion or lack of clarity
Gaps or missing elements

Reflect these back neutrally without adding judgement.

Optionally ask:

“What stands out to you from this?”
“What feels most important?”

Outcome

Participants leave with:

A shared understanding of the situation
Visibility of different perspectives
A clear, structured view across the four dimensions

Facilitator Tips

Create space for all voices, not just the most vocal
Be comfortable with pauses—silence often prompts richer input
Keep the group from jumping too quickly into solutions
Stay neutral—your role is to surface themes, not steer conclusions

If you want, I can turn this into a simple one-slide or handout version for easy use in a session.

Dowload slide images (add into your ppt or keynote)

Here is a Canva Template