Why Great Facilitators Need Practice, Not Just Training
Heidi Spurrell, CEO of Future Green interviewing Heather Cowap, Facilitator, Educator and Fellow AJ&Smart Certified Guide
In a special episode of the Future Green Podcast, Heidi Spurrell, Founder and CEO of Future Green, sat down with Heather Cowap, facilitator, educator, and fellow AJ&Smart Certified Guide, to explore a challenge that many facilitators experience but rarely talk about.
After completing training programmes, earning certifications, and learning countless facilitation frameworks, why do so many facilitators still struggle with confidence when leading real workshops?
🎧 Listen and watch the full podcast interview in Youtube and Spotify
Their conversation explored why practice, not more theory, is often the missing ingredient. Heidi and Heather also share years of facilitating workshops across businesses, schools, and organisations between them. Recognising that facilitators rarely get the chance to practice their craft, Heidi created the Facilitation Practice Retreat in Portugal, inviting Heather to co-facilitate. The retreat is designed to help facilitators build confidence through practical experience, honest feedback, and learning alongside other facilitators.
Most Facilitators Don’t Need Another Course
One of the strongest themes from the discussion was that many facilitators are already well trained.
They’ve attended workshops, read books, completed certifications, and invested heavily in learning new methods. Yet many still hesitate before leading an important session.
As Heidi explained:
It’s not because they need more knowledge.
It’s because they haven’t had enough opportunities to practice.
Facilitation is a practical skill. Like learning to ride a bicycle or play a musical instrument, confidence doesn’t come from understanding the theory. It comes from repeated practice, making mistakes, receiving feedback, and trying again.
Real Confidence Comes From Real Experience
Heather reflected that facilitation always looks easier from the outside.
Once you’re standing in front of a room, every group brings different personalities, energy levels, expectations, and challenges.
A workshop plan that works perfectly one day may need to be completely adapted the next.
As Heather shared:
That ability to read the room, ask better questions, and respond in the moment can only be developed through experience.
Watch the full podcast with Heidi and Heather Cowap here
Why Feedback Matters
Another important insight was the value of receiving feedback while practising.
Most facilitators work alone. They rarely have another experienced facilitator observing their sessions or offering constructive suggestions.
Without feedback, it’s easy to repeat the same habits without realising what could be improved.
Heidi explained that one of the biggest benefits of practising together is learning from others who have walked the same path.
At the retreat, participants facilitate real exercises while receiving supportive coaching from Heidi, Heather, and fellow participants.
The goal isn’t perfection.
It’s continuous improvement.
Facilitation Is Becoming an Essential Leadership Skill
The conversation also explored how facilitation is no longer just for professional facilitators.
Today’s sustainability professionals, consultants, educators, managers, and team leaders are increasingly expected to guide discussions, solve complex problems, build alignment, and help groups make better decisions.
Technical expertise remains important, but organisations also need people who can bring others together, navigate different perspectives, and create meaningful collaboration.
As Heidi noted:
Facilitation workshops that Heidi has run over the years
Learning Beyond the Workshop Room
One aspect that makes the Facilitation Practice Retreat different is its environment.
Rather than taking place in a traditional training venue, the retreat is hosted on a regenerative farm in the hills of Sintra, Portugal.
Participants spend five days balancing structured facilitation practice with opportunities to reflect, recharge, and connect with nature.
The programme includes group coaching, mindfulness sessions, nature walks, shared meals, and a restorative gong bath.
Heather explained that creating space away from everyday distractions allows facilitators to slow down, observe more carefully, and become more intentional in how they facilitate.
Learning Alongside Other Facilitators
The retreat is also about community.
Participants come from a wide range of industries, bringing different perspectives and real-world challenges.
Throughout the week they learn from one another, exchange ideas, practice together, and build relationships that often continue long after the retreat finishes.
Many facilitators spend much of their careers working independently. Having the opportunity to learn alongside peers who understand the realities of facilitation creates a richer learning experience for everyone.
The Facilitation Practice Retreat will take place on a regenerative farm in Sintra, Portugal
Practice Changes Everything
Perhaps the biggest message from Heidi and Heather’s conversation was refreshingly simple.
If you want to become a better facilitator, don’t just collect more knowledge.
Create more opportunities to practice.
As Heidi concluded:
Every workshop you facilitate teaches something that no textbook can.
Every piece of feedback helps you improve.
Every challenge builds confidence for the next session.
That’s exactly why the Facilitation Practice Retreat was created—not to provide another certification, but to give facilitators the dedicated time, space, and support to develop through practice.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ready to Practice Your Facilitation Skills?
If you’ve ever felt that you’ve taken plenty of courses but still want more confidence leading workshops, this retreat was designed for you.
Join Heidi Spurrell and Heather Cowap for five immersive days of facilitation practice, coaching, reflection, and connection in beautiful Sintra, Portugal.
Whether you’re a facilitator, trainer, consultant, sustainability professional, educator, or team leader, you’ll leave with practical experience, valuable feedback, and the confidence to facilitate meaningful conversations that create lasting impact.
Join the Future Green Membership
At Future Green, we believe meaningful change happens when passionate people come together to learn, share ideas, and take action.
Our membership connects sustainability professionals, food businesses, educators, and changemakers through exclusive monthly events, practical tools, expert insights, and inspiring case studies like Yindii’s.
If you’re ready to accelerate your sustainability journey and become part of a growing community creating real impact, we’d love to welcome you.
👉 Join the Future Green Membership today and help shape a more sustainable future—one action at a time.
🎙️ Listen to the Future Bites Podcast
Future Bites, the podcast by Future Green, brings you inspiring conversations with sustainability leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers who are driving positive impact across business, communities, and the planet.
Each episode explores practical solutions, real-world case studies, and fresh perspectives on sustainability, leadership, innovation, climate action, and systems change—giving you the insights and inspiration to create meaningful impact in your organisation and beyond.
👉 Listen to the Future Bites Podcast on Spotify
