5 tips for facilitating DiSC

Everything DiSC® profiles are written to be easy to understand on their own. A good facilitator still makes a big difference to how much people take from them. These five habits help.

1. Open with the Cornerstone Principles, and keep coming back to them

• All DiSC styles and priorities are equally valuable, and everyone is a blend of all four styles.
• DiSC isn’t meant to put people in boxes. The point is to help people widen their range of behaviour.
• Your work style is also shaped by other factors, such as life experience, education and maturity.
• Understanding yourself better is the first step to working well with others.
• Learning about other people’s styles helps you understand their priorities and how they differ from yours.

Whenever someone starts labelling a colleague, these principles give you a friendly way to steer the conversation back.

2. Read the profiles before the session

You’ll know how people may prefer to receive information and what questions are likely. For teams, run a Team View or Group Culture Report so you can see the group’s overall style.

3. Use the Supplement for Facilitators

Occasionally someone doesn’t recognise themselves in their report. The Supplement for Facilitators shows more detail, including how the person scored on each of the eight DiSC scales.

For example, someone may come out as a D style while also scoring fairly high in the CS area. Or their shading may include a priority, such as Stability, that isn’t typical for their style. Talking this through usually helps them see why the report reads the way it does.

4. Save time with a facilitation kit

Use the official facilitation kits or the ready-made content in our DiSC Knowledge Hub. It saves preparation time, and your sessions look professional with fresh, up-to-date and well-designed materials.

The official Everything DiSC facilitation kits include scripted modules, slides, activities and workplace videos. You don’t have to follow them word for word, but they save a lot of time when you build a session for your own audience.

5. Get people talking, and know when to stop

• Explain the goals at the start. People open up more when they know why they’re there.
• Start with an easy, safe question, so everyone has spoken early.
• Sum up often and connect what people say to the bigger picture.
• When a discussion needs slowing down, ask questions that can be answered in a word or two.
• Close a discussion when it has done its job, and thank the group.