Support the spread of “good practice” in generating, managing, analysing and communicating spatial information

Attitudes, Behaviours and Ethics

Communication Skills for Facilitators

By: Wendy Miles, Miguel Castrence and Jefferson Fox

Unit: M02U01

Presentation outline

Focus:

• attitudes, behaviours and ethics for good practice in PGIS

• communication skills, team building and group decision-making techniques

Attitudes, Behaviours & Ethicsfor Good Practice in PGIS

The “lily pad” model

• lily pad = behaviours that people see from the surface

• high stalk = attitudes towards the world

• low stalk = values, growing from beliefs

• roots = beliefs, deeply held

Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

Source: Cheek, Brad (webmaster). A general practitioner's education and training resource. Gp-training.net. [Last updated Oct 2008] http://tinyurl.com/8veblj

Belief: North is up.Value: Western mapping

standardsAttitudes:

Maps should be made with north facing up.Educated people know the top of the map is north.

Behaviour:Telling community members that the right way to make their map is to have it situated with north on top

Attitudes, behaviours and ethics for PGIS

Mapping beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors

PGIS facilitators need to know themselves and understand how their behaviours are influenced by their:

• beliefs;

• values;

• attitudes.

PGIS facilitators serve the communities in which they work.

Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

Valuing diversity• welcoming• comfort and safety• sensitivity

Source: http://tinyurl.com/oa5vef

Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

Valuing diversityPromote a “learning attitude”:

• Listen and learn from others.

• Accept differences and respect people and their opinions.

• Recognise people’s experience and prioritise local and traditional knowledge.

Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

Valuing transparency• honesty and openness • building trust • compromise & consensus

Source: http://www.fao.org/Participation/ft_princ.jsp

Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

Valuing flexibility• being open to other ideas and perspectives• being adaptable in diverse settings• being understanding of others’ situations

Source: http://www.fao.org/Participation/ft_princ.jsp

Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

Ethics: norms for conduct regarding acceptable and unacceptable behaviours

Ethical principles for PGIS facilitators include:• being open and honest;• obtaining informed consent;• avoiding raising false expectations;• avoiding exposing people to danger;• putting local values, needs and concerns first.

Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

Ground Rules for Group Behaviour

Developing ground rules for group behaviour

What are group ground rules?

• developed by the group

• guidelines for group behaviour

• examples

Examples:

• Test assumptions and inferences.

• Share all relevant information.

• Use specific examples & explain what is meant.

• Explain reasoning and intent.

• Focus on interests, not positions.

Source: Schwartz, RM. 2005. Ground Rules for Effective Groups. In The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook.

Developing ground rules for group behaviour

• Share thoughts and ask questions with the purpose of learning as a group.

• Design group strategies collectively.

• Discuss important issues, even if it is difficult.

• Use decision-making rules that meet the needs of the group and encourage commitment.

Source: Schwartz, RM. 2005. Ground Rules for Effective Groups. In The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook.

Developing ground rules for group behaviour

Counteracting the Challenges of Listening

Through careful meeting preparation, facilitators can help people participate more fully

Challenges for meeting participants

Facilitators… find ways to help participants feel comfortable and

confident engaging more fully.

Common challenges in meetings

• being unable to see the speaker or writings

• being unable to hear another person talk

• thinking about something else

• thinking about how to respond (or thinking about a question but not asking it)

• having difficulty understanding the level of material being discussed

• being tired

Source: University of Hawaii, Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

Further challenges for listeners

• having difficulty understanding another person’s language or accent

• being distracted by noise, interruptions, etc.

• needing to use the restroom

• being hungry or thirsty

• being too hot or cold

What can PGIS facilitators do to help participants overcome these common distractions and make meetings more interactive? Source: University of Hawaii,

Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

The Art of Listening

Communicating effectively

Active listening

• PGIS facilitator reflects back what the speaker has just said.

• Facilitator helps speaker feel understood and heard.

• Facilitator encourages participants to talk and helps them feel at ease.

Communicating effectively

Types of active listening questions:• open-ended• encouraging• clarifying• restating• reflecting• summarising• validating

Non-verbal communication

People communicate with body language and words

• emotions

• culturally-specific interpretations of body language

• culturally appropriate body language

Non-verbal communication

What to keep in mind• body: body position (especially arms and legs),

orientation and movements (e.g. fidgeting)

• face: level of eye contact, expression

• voice: speed and pitch of speech

Verbal language

A PGIS facilitator needs to:

• talk in a language easily spoken by everyone, or get well qualified translators;

• speak clearly and at an appropriate volume;

• stand/sit where everyone can see and hear.

• pay close attention to people’s body language.

• verify that people understand what is being said.

Making Decisions as a Group

Thinking as a group

Group memory:• provides the group with a visual record;• can be used as minutes;• helps the group focus;• legitimises people’s ideas;• depersonalises ideas;• provides a non-human target for criticism;• prevents repetition;• is low cost and easy.

Source: Barkai, John. Undated. "Group memory and recording" from Meeting Facilitation, University of Hawaii Law School.

Group memory

The “recorder”:

• captures ideas in the “group memory”;

• uses the group’s key words and phrases;

• remains neutral and does not participate;

• asks the group to slow down, if necessary;

• helps the facilitator keep track of information.

Source: Barkai, John. Undated. "Group memory and recording" from Meeting Facilitation, University of Hawaii Law School.

Group memory

Recorder’s responsibilities• Label and number the pages.• Print in big letters.• Ensure everyone can see the writing.• Abbreviate where possible.• Make corrections non-defensively.• Focus not on spelling but on content, speed & legibility.• Bring pens, tape and paper.• If possible, tape pages on the wall as they are finished.• Highlight agreements in some way. Source: Barkai, John. Undated.

"Group memory and recording" from Meeting Facilitation, University of Hawaii Law School.

Photo: Wendy Miles, 2006

Step 1: Brainstorming

• Encourage contributions.

• Do not evaluate or judge ideas.

• Be positive and encouraging.

• Use imagination.

• Build on people’s ideas.

• Record every idea.

• Aim for quantity – the more ideas, the better.Source: University of Hawaii, Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

Group decision-making

Step 2: Prioritising

• Work together to prioritise what is most important.

Step 3: Narrowing

• Narrow what is not necessary.

• Try to come to a conclusion with which everyone is happy; combine solutions and make compromises if possible.

Source: University of Hawaii, Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

Group decision-making

Examples of group decision-making tools

Clustering

Go around

Voting with stars

Fist of five

Exercise:Developing group ground rules

Conclusion

Experienced and talented PGIS facilitators:

• strive to better understand themselves and others and improve communication among people;

• continuously work to improve their facilitation skills to better serve the groups with which they work.