Facilitation Principles and Techniques

2 The Inside Facilitator Authorized by the Project Champion Invites project team members Announces the facilitator WHY? Keep the team on track Assure all ideas are explored 2

3 The Inside Facilitator Walking the ‘fine line’ Do not push the group to a specific solution Always try to introduce your ideas last If you have information you need to bring out, try to phrase it as a question 3

4 Facilitation Components Prepare Conduct & follow-up 4

5 Preparation Process walk-through Strawmodels Ground Rules 5

6 Preparation Process walk-through Understand the process better Understand the questions to ask 6

7 Preparation Process walk-through Strawmodels Can be a simple map of the process Allows the team to discuss the topics in a logical sequence More productive faster 7

8 Preparation Process walk-through Strawmodels Ground Rules Govern the team’s conduct Empower the facilitator Can be added throughout the project 8

9 Ground Rules Generic behavior Listen carefully to other speakers Respect the point of view of others Suspend judgment and consider alternative approaches Speak up and share your views Avoid side conversations 9

10 Ground Rules Project specific Identify policy decisions that are within and outside of the scope of the group Determine who will make a decision if the group cannot reach consensus 10

11 Facilitation Components Prepare Conduct & follow-up 11

12 Conduct & Follow-up Determine how information will be retained Draw maps Record notes on chart paper Have someone else take notes The facilitator should update the maps to prepare themselves for the next meeting Validate the maps with the team at the next meeting

13 Facilitation Techniques Facilitation Styles Group Management

14 Facilitation Styles Understand your default style The way you prefer to handle specific situations My default style Fun Patient Chaos 14

15 Facilitation Styles Understand your default style Modify your style to deal with specific situations Tough talk 15

16 Facilitation Styles Understand your default style Modify your style to deal with specific situations Scripts Standard phrases used to introduce a comment 16

17 Group Management Staying on schedule Moving the line of inquiry forward Building consensus

18 Staying on Schedule Use the agenda as a guide Shift from content to process Script: “Let’s do a process check” Stay on this topic or move on Assign to a sub-group between meetings Run over scheduled time 18

19 Staying on Schedule Use the agenda as a guide ‘Parking Lot’ ideas for later Script: “With your permission I will capture your idea on the parking lot.” 19

20 Group Management Staying on schedule Moving the line of inquiry forward Asking questions Summarizing ideas

21 Elevate details to themes “It sounds like we need to determine how much risk of internal mistakes we can tolerate.” Moving the Line of Inquiry Forward 21

22 Elevate details to themes Summarizing the ‘working proposition’ The path that seems to be resonating best with the group Direction for the line of inquiry Does not mean everyone has agreed Script: “Why don’t I run through the working proposition?” Moving the Line of Inquiry Forward 22

23 Elevate details to themes Summarizing the ‘working proposition’ Explain it in the vernacular Use common words not organizational jargon Moving the Line of Inquiry Forward 23

24 Elevate details to themes Summarizing the ‘working proposition’ Explain it in the vernacular Recognize ‘violent agreement’ and move on Everyone favors an idea Script: “It seems like we are in violent agreement.” Moving the Line of Inquiry Forward 24

25 Elevate details to themes Summarizing the ‘working proposition’ Explain it in the vernacular Recognize ‘violent agreement’ and move on Move some issues to another venue Moving the Line of Inquiry Forward 25

26 Consensus is the solution everyone is willing to support Recognize small victories Script: “We already agree on X, so now we only need to focus on Y.” Building Consensus 26

27 Consensus is the solution everyone is willing to support Recognize small victories Recognize common elements of seemingly differing views Recognize views only differ by a few elements Building Consensus 27

28 Consensus is the solution everyone is willing to support Recognize small victories Recognize common elements of seemingly differing views Working proposition morphs into consensus Building Consensus 28

29 Avoid voting for the final Yes/No decision Don’t create winners and losers for the final decision Building Consensus Voting 29

30 Avoid voting for the final Yes/No decision Where voting works Clarify the working proposition 30 Building Consensus Voting

31 Avoid voting for the final Yes/No decision Where voting works Clarify the working proposition Ranking importance (2-d matrix) 31 Building Consensus Voting

32 Voting: Two-dimensional matrix 32

33 Facilitation Summary Facilitators allow for more productive meetings and projects Preparation and follow-up are critical for a successful facilitation 33

34 Facilitation Summary Manage the group to: Stay on schedule Move the line of inquiry forward Build consensus 34