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| Master
Facilitator Journal | Issue #0239, January 17, 2006 .... |
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Dear
friends,
While we think of facilitation as an advanced skill set used only
by thusly initiated group change agents, all of us have the opportunity
to use at least the basic elements of this skill set everyday.
Consider your typical group "conversations." Do they always
go as smoothly as you'd like? Or what about those small group roundtables
you're involved in at luncheons, community gatherings, or at workshops?
On these occasions, some basic group process skills come in very
handy. In this week's article, "Five Ways to Facilitate Group
Conversations," we review a few basic skills anyone can employ
in small groups to make the conversation flow. Use them yourself
and pass them on to your friends and clients who may be less familiar
with these skills than you.
Join
us for an "Introduction to Emotional Freedom and Healing"...a
teleclass with Richard Ross where
you'll learn about and experience this revolutionary approach to
transforming and eliminating challenges and blocks for you and your
clients.
These blocks might include releasing painful memories, allowing
abundance and prosperity in your life, healing your relationships
with loved ones and others, being a better facilitator, or eliminating
any unwanted beliefs that prevent you from becoming a full expression
of who you are. It happens this Thursday, January 19th at 1:00 PM
Eastern. See details after the article.
Get comfortable redirecting your groups when the going gets
tough. Join us in our new 5-day
teleclass, "Putting Out Brush Fires,"
with authors and trainers Dee Kelsey and Pam Plumb of
Great Meetings! Inc.
and improve your ability to dealing with those most difficult situations
you face in groups.
See details at the end of this issue.
Have a great week!
Steve
Davis
Publisher
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| d |
| The
Point |
Five
Ways to Facilitate Group Conversations
Employ basic group process skills for more rewarding conversations
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| Group
Process Skill |
Have you ever felt ???stuck??™ in a conversation with three or more people
that just wasn??™t going anywhere? People are droning on and on about this
and that, leaving you bored and wishing you could just slip away? This
is an all too familiar social situation - we??™ve all been there and, chances
are, we're unaware we can help shape our conversations to be productive
and meaningful for all involved.
You can make a difference in group conversations, if you choose. You can
???facilitate??? them so that they??™re rewarding to you and the group as a
whole. To do so, you must be willing to take responsibility for the course
of the conversation without being pushy or ???in charge.??? In well ???facilitated???
conversations, those unfamiliar with facilitation skills will know they??™ve
had a good experience, but they may not know why.
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| Application
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Here are five guidelines to effectively facilitate group conversations.
As a caution, keep in mind when making interventions, to be polite and
take a ???curious??? versus a ???commanding??? perspective. This is particularly
important in those social situations where you have not been granted the
role of official group facilitator.
1. Get everyone involved. One problem with group conversations
is that they often turn into monologues for the most vocal people in the
group. People often politely allow others to monopolize a conversation
when they??™re obviously uncomfortable. We??™ve all felt the awkwardness and
read the obvious body language of those tolerating a tirade.
In this situation, validate the speaker, and then ask for input from someone
else. This might sound something like, ???Wow Bill, I didn??™t realize you
were so tuned in to the stock market, it reminds me of how important investments
are to us all. In fact, it makes me think about you Margie having recently
started your own business, how is that paying off for you????
One important thing to notice is that I connected what Bill was saying
to something completely different, but related to another person in the
group. Recognize that you can make connections from one thing to anything
if you simply put your mind to it for a moment.
2. Know it??™s OK to interrupt when appropriate. One thing
to consider when redirecting a conversation is that you may have to interrupt
people. This is hard for many of us who??™ve been trained to listen when
others are speaking. The funny thing is, I??™ve found ???over talkers??? actually
expect interruptions, as this is the only way they can experience a dialogue.
3. Ensure
you are actively listening. Listening is the key to all good
conversations. We??™re often thinking of our response while others are talking.
Good conversations require us to stay present and pay attention when others,
and ourselves, are speaking. This means that we don??™t entertain other
thoughts while we??™re listening. Whenever our mind wanders, we bring our
attention back to the speaker. When we??™re listening closely, we??™re better
able to respond and also redirect the conversation in the presence of
???over talkers.???
4. Stay on track but be willing to leave it. Some of the best
conversations I??™ve had moved all over the place. Not in a disjointed fashion,
but like a dance, forming a mosaic of meandering patterns that fit together
into a coherent whole.
Be flexible
and willing to move from one subject to the next, but beware of leaving
incomplete ideas hanging. This is particularly common in conversations
where poor listening and unconscious interruptions occur. If the conversation
shifts to a new subject when an idea hasn??™t been brought to completion,
politely interrupt and ask the group if they??™re complete with the idea,
or say something yourself to feel complete about it. The simple act of
intervening to get completion often has the effect of drawing others into
deeper listening and better dialogue. Staying with a subject long enough
to truly express ourselves around it increases our connection to others.
5. Work
on cultivating your relationship. We humans are social creatures
who sometimes just need to talk. So coming together simply to chat isn??™t
always a bad thing. However, if we really want to have better conversations,
ones where we feel closer to the others in the group, we need to work
on relating better to one another.
How do we do
this? Start by asking yourself how you like to be related to. For me,
it??™s about being heard, respected, and having others ???be real??? with me.
In your next conversation notice the following: Do you truly listen to
yourself when you speak? Are your words respectful to yourself and others?
And most importantly, are you being real in the conversation? Then get
ready for others to nearly invite you to facilitate!
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| Action |
Try these skills
out in your next conversation or share them with your clients who complain
about their small group meetings. Let
me know what happens, I'd love
to hear from you.
|
Facilitation
Expert
Tele-Seminar |
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Introduction
to Emotional Freedom and Healing...
a revolutionary approach to transforming and eliminating challenges
and blocks for you and your groups.
|
Featuring
Richard Ross, a transformational mentor, coach, spiritual counselor,
and facilitator of personal healing.
"Just-in-Time" Learning
Over the past
ten years Richard has developed the "Emotional Freedom &
Healing" (EF&H) work as a completely new system for healing
and personal transformation that is gentle, fast, and effective,
offering nearly immediate and permanent relief.
This call is both a learning and an experiential process, offering
both an introduction to Emotional Freedom Modalities, as well as
an opportunity to experience the power of this work using your own
personal issues. Through a powerful guided session on this call,
you may work on releasing old painful memories, allowing abundance
and prosperity in your life, healing your relationships with loved
ones and others, being a better facilitator, or eliminating any
unwanted beliefs that prevent you from becoming a full expression
of who you are.
Attend this live, one-hour
tele-seminar with Richard Ross and
Steve Davis on Thursday, January
19th at 1:00 PM EST (NY Time). Besides the experiential
component, some of the points we'll discuss are...
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Who are you and what do you do in your Mentoring and Healing
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Where do these healing modalities come from, and how is your work
different from coaching, or traditional therapies and other counseling
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What kinds of "issues or situations" can be transformed
with this work, and typically how long might it take? How can it
specifically help Facilitators, Trainers, and Grou
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Is your work more useful or effective with particular kinds of situations,
or with clients having certain belie
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Are there any other reasons why so many of us often have difficulty
healing old negative patterns and/or reaching n
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Do I need to know the original cause of the issue (the core belief(s))
in order to heal, release, or clear
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Will the participants on this call leave the session with any tools
or methods that they can then use on their own to further their
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A personal experience of EF&H you can apply to any emotional
issue that's present for you.
Here's what a recent participant said:
Last nights'
class was awesome for me. You touched directly on the issues I brought
with me....love, forgiveness & anger. I do not have a number
[scale of intensity] I can give those issues now...I feel very peaceful
today. I am in a 12-step program & had been working on those
issues for 2 yrs now.
---Gayle V.
Bonus!
Free
25-minute MP3 Audio "Releasing Resistance." This
is a powerful guided process, that can be used to release resistance
in any area of one's life, where one wishes to move ahead. Also
included is a preparation email, that tells the you how to get the
most out of the process.
This
seminar is free to FacilitatorU.com members.
Click here to view features and benefits of membership.
Click
here
for details about this interview and registration.
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Note
to Publishers |
Would you like to republish this or other articles from the journal? You
are free to do so providing you follow these guidelines.
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| In
the Spotlight |
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lign="center">
| Putting
Out Brush Fires...
How
to intervene in
difficult group situations
Learn
how to effectively
intervene when things
heat up in your groups |
|
When...
January 23rd - 27th, 2006, 10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern
(NY Time),
one hour each day.
The Teleclass...
Do non-stop talkers, silent groups or dramatic conflicts ever knock
your meetings off track? These meeting situations take a toll on a group’s
ability to work together and cost time and money. This 5 hour teleclass,
taught by Dee Kelsey and Pam Plumb, authors of Great Meetings! Great
Results, will increase your ability to know when and how to intervene
effectively in difficult situations to get your meetings back on track.
You will find the course Putting out Brush Fires: Intervening in Difficult
Situations to be highly interactive. Each class
includes a short content presentation, discussion, demonstration, participant
exercise, debrief, and discussion of application. This course if for
anyone who facilitates, manages, teaches, mediates, coaches, counsels,
directs any group.
Benefits to you for participating
in this Training...
1. Increase
your ability to know when and how to intervene in difficult situations.
2. Get practice and coaching on your intervention skills to internalize
your ability to intervene.
3. Gain confidence to manage challenges with ease so your meetings will
be more productive and more fun.
4. A chance to work through the specific kinds of issues you face with
the experts
5. Collaborate and learn from a community of your peers, all passionate
about empowering groups.
How
the Training works...
1. You dial into your class every day for a 60 minute focused training
segment using a conferencing bridge.
2. You work through a learning/resource workbook which accompanies the
class including practice assignments after each session.
4. You will have the opportunity to discuss issues on the subject matter
with your classmates via a listserve during the course.
5. You have access to the instructors via email for help on specific
situations.
Putting
Out Brushfires Training Agenda...
Here's what you'll be learning and doing during the course...
Day one: Introduction to each other and the course
-
What is a “brush fire”?
-
Why does intervention matter?
- What
are our values for framing interventions?
Day
two: Know yourself and assess the situation
- Staying grounded
in the face of difficult situations
- Gaining insight
into your personal reactions to brush fires
- Knowing how
to get and stay grounded
- Assessing the
situation
- Introduction
of the Great Meetings! Intervention model
- What to
look for when considering an intervention
- What questions
to ask to determine if an intervention is needed
Day
three: Step into the situation: interrupting
- Different ways
to intervene
- Interrupting
as one key tool
- Cultural
and personal frames on interrupting
- The Art
of interrupting
- Application
of the technique to your own situations
Day
Four: Step into the situation: other intervention options
- Review of Intervention
model
- Examples of
other interventions
- Choosing the
right intervention
- Choosing the
right level of intervention
- Application
of the techniques to your own situations
Day
Five: Help the group move on and prepare to prevent difficulties
- Moving on from
the intervention
- Understanding
what the group needs
- Choosing
tools
- Good preparation:
essential to preventing difficulties
- Parking lot
issues
- Questions and
answers
- Wrap up and
final evaluation
Also
included with your training...
In addition to the training described above, you also receive:
1. A downloadable version of the book, Great Meetings! ($25 value) and
a 20-page workbook to serve as resources in the future ($15 value)
2. Free access to the RealAudio version of the training ($69 value).
3. Articles and resources around using Improv in leadership and facilitation:
- Steps for
negotiating conflict in a group.
- Meeting Assessment checklist: Questions to ask during the client
interview.
Pricing...
The full cost of training/access is only $99 including the free items
( worth $109) listed above. Everything you read about above is included.
And, we offer a 100%-satisfaction-guaranteed guarantee.
Dates...
January 23-27, 2006, One hour each day, Monday through Friday,
10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern (NY Time).
Registration...
Immediately upon completion of your registration, you will receive an
email with instructions to access the course and free article bank.
This course is limited to 20 individuals on a first come basis.
Early registration discount.
Register by January 15th for only $89.
Click here to register
FacilitatorU.com
Membership Option
Become a member of FacilitatorU.com premium member and register for
this teleclass at half price in addition to a host of other items and
benefits. An exceptional value. Click
here for details.
One-Day
Live Version
Interested
in a one-day "live" version of this class offered to your
group? Email
us to discuss options.
Your instructors
 About
Dee Kelsey. Dee has been
facilitating groups since her teenage years. She turned her early interests
into more formal work both as a trainer and personnel representative
at Hewlett Packard and as a mediator and trainer of mediators for the
city of Palo Alto, California. In addition to her work with Great
Meetings! Inc, she has been principal of Dee Kelsey and Associates
since 1985. She has worked nationally to provide organizational development,
facilitation, process consultation, mediation, and training services
to hundreds of clients ranging from small work groups to large corporations.
About Pam Plumb. Pam discovered
during her years as a City Councilor and Mayor of Portland that effective
meeting planning and facilitation made a big difference in meeting outcomes
In 1991, she created Pamela Plumb & Associates which serves a wide
range of non-profit organizations, businesses and government organizations
with process design, facilitation, training and organizational development.
She is known internationally for her process work and training in municipal
governance.
About the satisfaction
guarantee
If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with this package, simply
email us with a request to refund/credit your credit card in the full
amount and we will do so immediately. It's our policy to do this and
we honor this in every single case. This policy completely removes the
buying risk for you and keeps our customer-satisfaction rates extremely
high.
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Master Facilitator Journal Web Site
