Facilitator

From EcoReality

The facilitator performs a variety of duties relating to meetings. This role is similar in many ways to the chair of a "Robert's Rules" type of meeting, but with subtle differences. Different meeting types have different facilitation needs.

• power or authority should not be assumed; the facilitator should ask it of the group as needed
• set the intention of the facilitation
  • "We're here to decide what to do about the flooding in the gardens."
  • "This is a business meeting in which we come to agreement on the agenda items."
• must be detached
  • should not facilitate a meeting in which something you have a strong opinion on is to be discussed
  • should not facilitate when you have an important agenda item to present
    • it's hard to facilitate a meeting of your own group, easier to facilitate a group in which you are an outsider
  • co-facilitator can serve as a backup
• plan the agenda
  • should be done well in advance
  • most people are unrealistically optimistic about the time required
  • rule of thumb: cut the number of proposed agenda items in half!
    • can be delegated -- separate agenda planner
• meeting control
  • active facilitation: explore intentions, rather than simply calling people in turn
  • "stacking order" management
    • very important; do not delegate, or you can lose control of the meeting
  • suggest ground rules, such as max stacking level (three suggested), precedence to those who have not spoken, recognizing those who have spoken a lot and respectfully asking them to be more selective in their comments
  • reflective listening
    • keep attention focused on speaker
    • non-judgemental, let judgments slide by
    • don't solve their problem!
    • listen from heart, compassionately
    • seek essence of what other person is saying
    • echo back their essential meaning in other words
• more to come from Tree Bressen's workshop notes