Facilitation Training

Facilitation is much more than just keeping stack. Facilitation is not easy. Not everyone is a natural, but anyone can learn. It takes training and a personal commitment to cooperation and equality to make a good facilitator. Other qualities that aid in facilitation are articulateness and the ability to paraphrase, a good memory, a sense of what’s missing or what’s needed in the discussion, and humility. Also, a good facilitator is not deeply invested in the topic at hand and/or will step down from the role of facilitator for agenda items for which s/he has a lot to say. The facilitator is considered a “servant leader.” It’s a good idea to rotate facilitators so that more people get a chance to practice and everyone gets a chance to just be a participant.

Facilitator Job Duties:

1. Be prepared.

• Get to meeting space early.

• Make space comfortable.

• Display Groundrules and Agenda.

• Provide meetings supplies (handouts, dry erase board, markers).

• Meet with presenters ahead of time to find out what they might need from you.

2. Keep the meeting focused.

• State the desired outcome for each agenda item.

• Keep the issues clear and manageable.

• Start the discussion with clarifying questions.

• Break large, complicated issues or proposals into smaller parts.

• Summarize after each stack of five or so.

• Never have more than one proposal on the table at a time.

• Keep a “parking lot” or “bike rack” for tabled items.

3. Encourage Participation.

• Use go’rounds to encourage everyone to talk.

• Ask questions to prompt quiet people to speak.

• Clarify the issue under discussion as needed.

• Have everyone speak once before anyone speaks a second time.

• If someone seems to be holding back, try to engage them in discussion.

• Give people easy ways to participate. (ex: Ask questions and have people show thumbs.)

• Hold brainstorms where everyone adds to a list of ideas.

• Dissociate contributions from contributors.

• Don’t grade contributions. Say, “Thanks for that idea,” not, “That’s a good idea.”

4. Manage Time.

• Start and end the meeting on time.

• Assign times to each agenda item.

• Remind participants of how much time is left.

• Interrupt long talker.

• Keep participants from repeating points.

• Write points on the board.

• Leave a few minutes at the end of each item to decide its disposition.

5. Pull it all together.

• Take your time before calling for a decision.

• Use a whiteboard or flipchart to list points of a proposal.

• Review important parts of the discussion.

• Know if or when a decision cannot be made, but don’t let the issue dissolve. Keep it alive at the next meeting.

• Ask members if they feel comfortable making a decision.

• Make sure the recorder writes it all down exactly.

• Leave some time at the end of the meeting to do a go’round about group dynamics or how the meeting went.

Techniques for Discussion:

• Stacking--Keeping and Calling names from a list kept by the order in which participants raised hands to speak.

• Talking Stick/Go’Round—Going around the the room giving each participant a turn to speak. Participants may simply say, “pass.”

• Popcorn—No raising hands, just shout it out. Short answers, and be polite. Allow a few seconds of silence between you and the previous speaker.

• Fishbowl—When there are a couple of participants with strong and differing opinions but most participants are indifferent or uninformed, you can put the too opinionated ones in the center of the group and let them talk it out in front of everyone. Then go back to a large group discussion on the topic.

• Small Groups—Break into groups of 4-6 people. Assign a notetaker and spokesperson. Then report back to the larger group.

• Brainstorming—Similar to popcorn. Be sure to have a scribe. This is not the time to discuss or critique ideas. This is the time to get all the idea out and on the table. You can also get more complicated with charts and having everyone rank their two or three favorite ideas.

• Thumbs/Straw Poll—Have people show thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs in the middle for support for a proposal or moving on to a call for consensus or the next agenda item. This will give you a sense of how people are feeling but should not be used as a formal decision making strategy.

A facilitator may choose to enlist fellow members to help make the meeting run smoothly. Here’s a list of roles that the facilitator might ask other members to play.

Other Roles for the meeting:

• Timekeeper—If your group assign times to each agenda item, you will need a timekeeper to keep participants aware of how much time they have left on the item at hand.

• Minute Taker—Takes notes and emails or files them for participants to reference.

• Scribe—Takes abbreviated notes on a blackboard/whiteboard for participants to see during the meeting. This is especially needed during a brainstorming session.

• Gatekeeper—Stands near the entrance to the meeting space and makes latecomers aware of the agenda and what part of it the group is currently working on.

• Vibes Watcher—Pays special attention to group dynamics and comments on issues during or after the meeting. This is especially useful to groups that have explicitly decided to work on issues of oppression within their group.

• Task Manager—Keeps track or who volunteered to do what. Reminds and encourages those people toward achieving the groups goals.

How to have a good meeting.

Three keys to good meetings.

1. Good planning

• Plan and post the agenda at least one week in advance to allow everyone time to see the posting and reflect on the items to be discussed. Include times and what you would like to get out of each item (i.e. brainstorming, discussion, decision).

• Schedule breaks into the meeting.

• Set the meeting for a time when everyone can come and at a place that is comfortable and accommodating for the size of group you expect.

• Post the agenda where everyone can see it during the meeting.

• Get to the meeting space early. Rearrange the furniture so everyone can see each other. Set out water, scrap paper, and pens. Get a dry erase or chalk board ready for the scribe.

• Presenters, be prepared to present. Bring hand-outs or visual aides that will help keep people’s attention.

2. Good facilitation.

• Choose a strong facilitator who has attended facilitation training.

• Have the facilitator and presenters meet before the meeting so that everyone understands the purpose of each agenda item and what each person might need from the other(s).

• Start the meeting on time.

• Encourage everyone to speak.

3. Good participant behavior.

• Arrive on time.

• Stay for the entire meeting.

• Pay attention. Hand work is okay. Reading a book is not.

• Turn off your cell phone.

• Do not participate if you are intoxicated or very sick.

• Accept Process Roles.

• Support the facilitator by observing the process.

• Review any materials that were distributed before the meeting.

• Speak concisely and to the point.

• Don’t engage in side conversations.

• Distinguish between your individual interests and the needs of the group.

• Be willing to ask for process time if personal issues with other members are unduly influencing your ability to make a decision.

• Once the group has reached consensus, accept and support the decision.

Consensus, A Group Decision Making Process

source: Wikipedia

Consensus decision-making is a group decision making process that not only seeks the agreement of most participants, but also the resolution or mitigation of minority objections. Consensus is usually defined as meaning both general agreement, and the process of getting to such agreement.

The Process

Since the consensus decision-making process is not as formalized as others, the practical details of its implementation vary from group to group. However, there is a core set of procedures which is common to most implementations of consensus decision-making.

Once an agenda for discussion has been set and the ground rules for the meeting have been agreed upon, each item of the agenda is addressed in turn. Typically, each decision arising from an agenda item follows through a simple structure:

1. Discussion of the item: The item is discussed with the goal of identifying opinions and information on the topic at hand. The general direction of the group and potential proposals for action are often identified during the discussion.

2. Formation of a proposal: Based on the discussion a formal decision proposal on the issue is presented to the group.

3. Call for consensus: The facilitator of the decision-making body calls for consensus on the proposal. Each member of the group usually must actively state their agreement with the proposal, often by using a hand gesture or raising a colored card, to avoid the group interpreting silence or inaction as agreement.

4. Identification and addressing of concerns: If consensus is not achieved, each dissenter presents his or her concerns on the proposal, potentially starting another round of discussion to address or clarify the concern.

5. Modification of the proposal: The proposal is amended, re-phrased or reiterated in an attempt to address the concerns of the decision-makers. The process then returns to the call for consensus and the cycle is repeated until a satisfactory decision is made.

Although the consensus decision-making process should, ideally, identify and address concerns and reservations early, proposals do not always garner full consensus from the decision- making body. When a call for consensus on a motion is made, a dissenting delegate has one of three options:

• Declare reservations: Group members who are willing to let a motion pass but desire to register their concerns with the group may choose "declare reservations." If there are significant reservations about a motion, the decision-making body may choose to modify or re-word the proposal.

• Stand aside: A "stand aside" may be registered by a group member who has a "serious personal disagreement" with a proposal, but is willing to let the motion pass. Although stand asides do not halt a motion, it is often regarded as a strong "nay vote" and the concerns of group members standing aside are usually addressed by modifications to the proposal. Stand asides may also be registered by users who feel they are incapable of adequately understanding or participating in the proposal.

• Block: Any group member may "block" a proposal. In most models, a single block is sufficient to stop a proposal, although some measures of consensus may require more than one block. Blocks are generally considered to be an extreme measure, only used when a member feels a proposal "endanger[s] the organization or its participants, or violate[s] the mission of the organization" (i.e., a principled objection). In some consensus models, a group member opposing a proposal must work with its proponents to find a solution that will work for everyone.