Session Plan and Facilitator Guide Templates

Plan, time and run a training session with four ready-to-fill templates, each filled in for a 1-hour, a half-day and a virtual session.

Who it is for

• L&D and HR professionals who want a quick, consistent way to plan sessions.

• Small-business owners training staff without a training team, who need a session to run on time.

• Managers and shift leads asked to run a training session for the first time.

• Supervisors in the field who run refreshers, huddles and toolbox talks.

The problem it solves

Sessions run long, the practice gets cut, and participants leave without a plan. Usually the cause is a plan that only exists in the facilitator's head. This pack gives you the four documents every session needs (a timed session plan, a participant agenda, a facilitator guide and a participant workbook), a short guide to timing and pacing for each format, and complete examples to follow. It is the ready-to-fill companion to the G03 Facilitator Guide Standards Kit: use T07 to plan and fill in quickly, and G03 when you want the full writing standard.

What is inside

Part 1: Planning guide (2 pages)

• The four documents and how they fit, writing objectives you can plan around, and choosing a format (1 page)

• Timing and pacing: building a timing budget, pacing patterns that work, mistakes and tips (1 page)

Part 2: The four templates, with prompts (4 pages)

• Timed session plan (1 page)

• Participant agenda (1 page)

• Facilitator guide (1 page)

• Participant workbook (1 page)

Part 3: Filled-in 1-hour session (3 pages)

• Answering allergy questions at a bakery café counter: planning notes, timed plan, full facilitator guide, agenda and a workbook page

Part 4: Filled-in half-day session (4 pages)

• Phone skills for a dental office front desk: planning notes, timed plan, facilitator guide extract with a debrief, agenda and two workbook pages

Part 5: Filled-in virtual session (4 pages)

• A new scheduling app for a home cleaning company: planning notes, timed plan, facilitator guide extract with a producer column, agenda and two workbook pages

Editable files

• Word document with the guide, all four templates and all three examples (21 pages)

• Excel session timer: type the minutes for each segment and the start and end times fill in; a status box shows if the plan runs over or under. Includes a blank plan and the three example sessions.

How to use it

1. Read Part 1 to choose your format and plan your timing.

2. Build your timed plan in the Excel session timer.

3. Fill in the Word templates in this order: session plan, facilitator guide, workbook, then the agenda.

4. Compare with the filled-in example for your format.

5. After the session, update the plan with how long each part really took.

Formats and file types

• PDF guide, 19 pages, US Letter, printable

• Microsoft Word (.docx), fully editable, 21 pages

• Microsoft Excel (.xlsx), 5 tabs, with formulas and data validation

Frequently asked questions