call-in number is (415) 655-0051 and access code is 412-216-979. to submit live questions, click on...
TRANSCRIPT
Building Your Facilitation Skills
Driving Meetings
Call-in number is (415) 655-0051 and access code is 412-216-979.
To submit live questions, click on the “Questions” panel, type your question, and click “Send”
Presentation materials and audio will be posted at www.cacollegepathways.org
Introduction
Today’s Panel
Michelle Magee
Karrie Tam
About Harder+Company
Harder+Company Community Research is a comprehensive social research and planning firm with offices in San Francisco, Davis, San Diego, and Los Angeles, California. Our mission is to help our clients achieve social impact through quality research, strategy, and organizational development services.
www.harderco.com
Second webinar of a two-part series from the John Burton Foundation California College Pathway’s project to strengthen your network
Today we will focus on facilitating meetings
An effective meeting facilitator supports a group to do their best thinking
Purpose & Overview
By the end of the webinar, you will…
Understand how to effectively facilitate meetings
Learn how to manage a group
Gain concrete strategies on facilitation during each stage of group behavior
Have a ready-to-use guide and tools to put into practice
Building Your Facilitation Skills
Recap from Last Webinar:Role of the Facilitator
participant
note taker
time keeper
facilitator
Team Roles
Role of a Facilitator
Draws out opinions and ideas
Focuses on the how and what
Helps the group stay on topic
Supports full participation
Summarizes discussions and conversations
Brings closure to the meeting with an end result or action
Maintains neutrality
The facilitator...
Managing the Group
Stages of Convergent and Divergent Thinking
Team Behavior
divergent
create choices
gro
an
zo
ne
convergent
make choices
Types of Divergent Thinking Generating alternatives Free-for-all open discussion Gathering diverse points of
view Unpacking the logic of a
problem
Types of Convergent Thinking Evaluating alternatives Summarizing key points Sorting ideas into
categories Arriving at general
conclusions
Divergent Thinking
Examples of Team Behavior
Convergent Thinking
Brainstorm
Use active listening
Draw out opinions
Support full participation
Divergent Thinking: Strategies for
Getting Ideas Out
Brainstorming Best Practices
Everyone should agree on the question or issue being brainstormed
Don’t spend too long brainstorming; 10-15 min should work well
Never criticize ideas
Write every idea on a flip chart; make sure the words are visible to everyone at the same time to avoid misunderstandings and remind others of new ideas
Leave explanations and clarifications until later
Brainstorming Strategies
Round Robin
Brainstorming Strategies
Allow participants 5-10
min to write ideas.
Have participants share their ideas,
moving one-by-one around the group.
1 2
Team Idea Map
Brainstorming Strategies
Give the group a well-defined topic and have participants brainstorm
individually for 5-10 min.
Ask participants to share their ideas in random order. As
ideas are put forward, chart them on a large “idea map.”
1 2
Allow participants to consider the map and think about new ideas that have emerged or
associations between them. The group can then prioritize and/or take action on emerging ideas.
3
Sticky Notes
Brainstorming Tool
Allow participants to write ideas on a sticky note.
Then, have participants cluster their ideas in the middle of the
table or on a wall.
1 2
The group is then allowed to pull out one or more ideas for inspiration. With these notes, the
team members can create new ideas and variations, or piggyback on existing ideas.
3
Active Listening
Encouraging: Convey interest by using non-committal words with a positive tone
“I see...” “Tell me more...” “That’s interesting...”
Restating: Help the speaker grasp the facts by putting it in your own words
“If I understand, your situation is...” “In other words...”
Reflecting: Let the speaker know you understand by empathizing with the speaker’s basic feelings
“So you feel that...” “You were pretty disturbed about...”
Summarizing: Pull important ideas, facts, etc. together by restating and reflecting major ideas and feelings
“These seem to be the key ideas...” “If I understand you, you feel this way about this situation...”
Techniques
Use ground rules
Accept, deal, defer
Take a break
Use body language
Stop the meeting
Use encouraging language
Groan Zone: Strategies for Managing
Conflict and Difficult People
Parking Lot
When the conversation goes off track:
Designate a chart labeled “Parking Lot” to “park” ideas
When the conversation gets off topic, briefly stop the meeting and write the off-topic idea on the chart
Before ending the meeting, return to the “Parking Lot” list and decide as a group how to address the ideas
Ground Rules
When a group member dominates the conversation:
A simple ground rule is to establish that “Everyone participates: share the floor”
This sets up the expectation that you want to balance participation
Enforce this ground rule during the meeting
Accept, Deal, Defer
When a group member is confrontational:
Accept that what they are saying is true; don’t ignore it
Deal with it right there by spending some time on the issue
Defer it to the group for a decision about what to do
Take a Break/Discuss Later
When a group member is confrontational:
When less confrontational tactics haven’t worked, you can deal with this issue outside the room, at a naturally-occurring break in the action
Use Body Language
When a group member has side conversations:
Make eye contact
Smile (or don’t smile)
Change your seating/standing position
Stop the Meeting
When a group member has side conversations:
Comment that it is difficult for you to hear the main discussion or concentrate on the topic
Check in with the group
Example: “I sense we are losing people’s attention and interest, can we do a check-in to see where people are on this topic?”
Use Encouraging LanguageWhen group members are not
participating:
Ask open-ended questions and language to engage group members and encourage follow-up questions
Example: “Could you please tell us more about...?”
Example: That’s interesting, what do others think about...”
Example: Go on, we’d love to hear more...”
Generate a list of options
Agree on criteria
Vote
Summarize and rate areas of agreement
Convergent Thinking:Strategies for Setting Priorities and Making
Decisions
Priority Setting
Narrow down and prioritize decisions:
1) Generate a list of options
2) Have the group agree on criteria for selecting and eliminating options
3) Identify each option and have members vote by writing down the number of the item or placing a sticker next to it
4) The options with the most votes are then prioritized for further discussion
5) When eliminating ideas, it is good to check the group for strong opinions to the contrary
Decision Making
Structured discussions:
1) Help members agree on criteria for selecting options
2) Have members take turns expressing their opinion without discussion
3) Summarize the areas of agreement and have the group discuss areas of disagreement
4) Stop the group at various points to see how close they are to consensus
5) The facilitator may want to use straw polls in between, continuing the discussion until it reaches an appropriate level of agreement
Closing the Meeting
Closing the Meeting
Tips:
Review the meeting results
Confirm any key agreements
Identify next steps
Determine when a follow-up meeting will be held, setting a date, time and location
Evaluate the meeting through a feedback form or ask participants to quickly identify what they liked most, what they liked least, and what they would do to improve it
Congratulate the group on a job well done!
Ready-to-Use Tools and Guide
Tools are available for download at
www.cacollegepathways.org
/resources
Questions?