From your perspective, what& #39;s involved in great facilitation?

It can be quite subtle and mysterious so I wonder what y& #39;all think?

Some great answers in this thread. I& #39;m thinking the facilitator& #39;s job is to pay attention to the conversational dynamics that are too subtle for the average participant to track themselves, and intervene gracefully when they& #39;re getting out of whack.