--- title: Check Out This Awesome, Simple Facilitation Tool description: Fatherhood programs are hard to facilitate, which is why you should look for resources to help you. NFI President, Christopher Brown, shares more. image: https://www.fatherhood.org/hubfs/Images/Blog/awesome-simple-facilitation-tool.png --- [Skip to main content](https://www.fatherhood.org/championing-fatherhood/check-out-this-awesome-simple-facilitation-tool#main) - [![NFI mark](https://www.fatherhood.org/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI%20mark.svg)FATHERHOOD.ORG](https://www.fatherhood.org/) - [STORE.FATHERHOOD.ORG](https://store.fatherhood.org/) [![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=149&height=82&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=119&height=65&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=119&height=66&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ![NFI_logo_blue_left (1) 1](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/NFI-Assets/images/NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png?width=89&height=49&name=NFI_logo_blue_left%20(1)%201.png) ](https://www.fatherhood.org) - [How To Build Strong Families](https://www.fatherhood.org/build-strong-families) - [Why Father Inclusion Matters](https://www.fatherhood.org/why-father-inclusion-matters) - Show submenu for Get Involved Get Involved - [Fatherhood Programs](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/programs-and-resources) - [Train Your Staff](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/staff-training) - [State, County, and City Agency Services](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/collaborative-services) Open main navigation Close main navigation - Show submenu for Get Informed Get Informed - [How To Build Strong Families](https://www.fatherhood.org/build-strong-families) - [Why Father Inclusion Matters](https://www.fatherhood.org/why-father-inclusion-matters) - [Father Stats & Infographics](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic) - Show submenu for Get Involved Get Involved - [Fatherhood Programs](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/programs-and-resources) - [Train Your Staff](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/staff-training) - [State, County, and City Agency Services](https://www.fatherhood.org/solutions/collaborative-services) - Show submenu for Get Started Get Started - [Find Your Stage of Father Inclusion](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-inclusion) - [How Father Friendly Is Your Organization?](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-friendly) - [Get In Touch](https://www.fatherhood.org/get-started) [Store](https://store.fatherhood.org/?hsLang=en) [Get In Touch](https://www.fatherhood.org/get-started) [Store](https://store.fatherhood.org/?hsLang=en) Show submenu for Get Started Get Started - [Fatherhood Data & Statistics](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic) - [How Father Friendly is Your Organization?](https://www.fatherhood.org/father-friendly) - [Other Free Resources](https://www.fatherhood.org/nfi-free-resources) - [Talk With us to Get Started](https://www.fatherhood.org/get-started) National Fatherhood Initiative Blog / [Latest Articles](https://www.fatherhood.org/championing-fatherhood) [Tips & Tricks](https://www.fatherhood.org/championing-fatherhood/topic/tips-tricks) # Check Out This Awesome, Simple Facilitation Tool 1 min read ![Christopher A. Brown](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Images/chris_circle_icon.png?width=100&height=100&name=chris_circle_icon.png) [** Christopher A. Brown ** ](https://www.fatherhood.org/championing-fatherhood/author/christopher-a-brown) Chris serves as the President of National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI), where he is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of NFI's strategic plan and business model, as well as its operations and fundraising efforts. ![Awesome & Simple Facilitation Tool](https://www.fatherhood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Images/Blog/awesome-simple-facilitation-tool.png?width=467&name=awesome-simple-facilitation-tool.png "Awesome & Simple Facilitation Tool") Are you the kind of facilitator who likes to experiment with new facilitation tools? If you are, I recommend you experiment with this simple, yet powerful, tool: a picture. I absolutely love to share anything that can help facilitators become an even better facilitator and, in the process, make the experience they create for dads more enjoyable. That’s why when I ran across [this post](https://hbr.org/2017/10/to-build-connection-on-your-team-skip-icebreakers-and-talk-about-photography) in the blog of the Harvard Business Review (HBR) on the use of pictures to build faster, better connections among team members, I thought, “This is a great tool that can also help facilitators build faster, better connections among the dads they serve!”  Here’s how in five easy steps: 1. Read the [HBR post](https://hbr.org/2017/10/to-build-connection-on-your-team-skip-icebreakers-and-talk-about-photography) for details on why pictures can help any team—yes, the dads you serve in a program or a workshop are a team—build faster, better connections. 2. Identify pictures that reflect the topic of your program session or workshop. Use any of the many royalty-free images you can access via the Internet or that you can purchase. (The HBR post provides links to free and for-purchase sources for photos.) If, for example, the focus is on how to co-parent effectively, select a photo of two parents clearly in a struggle to communicate. 3. Convert the photos to a size large enough to hand around a group of dads so that each dad can hold it and deeply examine it—a standard 8 ½ x 11-inch size will do. Laminate them for use time and again. 4. Create some questions (or tie them to questions in the program or workshop curriculum) to generate discussion. Ask open-ended, non-leading questions like: - What’s happening between the two parents in this photo? - When you saw this photo, what’s the first thought that popped into your mind? - Does this photo reflect anything about the relationship you have with the other parent of your child? 5. Show the photo and have the dads hand it around to start your session or workshop. Tell them to look hard at it and notice everything they can about it. Then ask your questions. And voilà! You’ll be off to a great session or workshop. Do you experiment with new facilitation tools? What creative tools have you integrated into your work with dads?  [![Effective Fatherhood Program Facilitator](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/135704/a37aada9-d0ee-4c3e-8ffa-1ce245d15723.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/135704/a37aada9-d0ee-4c3e-8ffa-1ce245d15723) Date Published: 12/19/2017 Last Updated: 01/03/2018 ## Learn How to Build a Fatherhood Program That Works Download this free guide for a proven 7-step roadmap—from making the case and securing funding for your program, to launching and measuring real results! 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