Subject: [Master Facilitator Journal] Refining the Language of Facilitation - July12, 2006
Master
Facilitator Journal | Issue #0263, July 11, 2006 ....
Dear
friends,
There were a few inaccuracies in the article we published last week
on the Global Facilitators Service Corps that we'd like to correct.
Please click
here to view the corrected article that clarifies the roles
and functions of this organization.
Much of our language patterns and vocabulary are automatic, and
they affect the responses we get to a large degree. Being more conscious
of the keys to effective facilitative language can help us to help
our groups get the results they intend. This week's article, "Refining
the Language of Facilitation,
offers tips we may often overlook in using this tool of words.
FacilitatorU.com News
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converts to Lifetime Membership! FacilitatorU membership
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previously included in the yearly membership. We're doing this to
offer access to our materials to a greater number of people worldwide,
to simplify administration, and increase value to you. Click
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and please pass the word on to your friends and colleagues!
New 5-day Teleclass: Transforming Conflict
in the Workplace. Remove the fear and uncertainty in
working with conflict in groups and organizations in this 5-day
teleclass series led by a 25-year expert in the fields of facilitation
and mediation, Harry Webne-Behrman. See details after the article.
Refining
the Language of Facilitation Facilitative
language is part of the group leaders tool set.
Group
Management Skill
Your group had just spent the last half hour in small group discussions
and now it's time for them to report back to the larger group. Casually,
maybe even naively, you ask, “could you tell me your ideas.”
The group looks stunned. You sense that there was something wrong with
this language. It just didn’t feel right. Rephrasing it, you try
again with “I’d like to invite you to share your ideas…”
The group’s composure appears to change from winter to spring, and
ideas and discussion flow effortlessly.
What's going on here? Can language make that big of a difference in the
responses we get? Apparently so. Much of our response to language is hardwired.
This makes perfect sense when we consider the fact that our ability to
speak and understand language is hardwired in the form of memory and habitual
patterns of speech. Further, language is as much an art as a science,
where sensitivity to how language is received and your willingness to
experiment in the face of feedback, like in the example above, can help
us hone this tool to everyone's benefit.
Application
Language Keys for Facilitative Leaders
- Speak in ways that facilitate dialogue, clarity, and understanding.
This can be facilitated by asking questions. For example, "What was
your experience of that event?" will encourage dialogue more than,
"I heard that was a bad experience for you."
Bringing others into the conversation with a question like, "What
do others think," is more expansive, not to mention more accurate,
than asking the group, "What you think."
- Help
your group find its own language. Sometimes groups, in the height
of conflict or chaos lose touch with what's really going on for them.
Helping them to clarify and tell their collective story can be very empowering
and bonding. A shared story is one of the pillars of a coherent group
culture. Being rich in metaphor, stories can reveal new insights about
the state or stage of a group and what may be next for them. Click
here for an article on helping your group discover its story.
- Explore
new contexts. The language we use and just as important, the "context"
of that language hold important keys for facilitators and group leaders.
By context I mean discussions about the language of group process. As
facilitators, we can safely engage groups in discussions and offer feedback
around how they communicate and work together. This is a quantum leap
for most groups who may consider it unusual to talk about the process
of communication itself, and therefore tend to avoid these discussions.
- Be Pragmatic. Language "pragmatics" concerns how language
is used. For example, "Could you tell me your ideas?" Could
either be a polite request or a question about your ability to express
yourself. If we don't get the response we're after, consider that your
pragmatics may be off and rephrase it accordingly.
- Be conscious
of body language. Your bodylanguage is a tool you can use
to facilitate openness and participation, or have the opposite effect.
Body posture, position, gestures, hand motions, etc. are tools at your
disposal. Click
here for an article that says more about body language and includes
cues for positive and negative body language.
- Choose the right questions. The six question words, "who,
what, when, where, why, and how" have a great impact on the flow
of a discussion. "Who, what, and why" tend to limit communication
to specific answers or can make people defensive. "When and where"
tend to inspire more imagery and hence more open, spatial responses. An
exception here is when helping conflicting parties to uncover their personal
interests in competing desires. In this case, asking "Why do you
want this?" can help reveal one's personal interests under a competing
position.
Would
you like to republish this or other articles from the journal? You are free
to do so providing you follow these guidelines.
We grow
by recommendation only when you find our material of use! If you enjoyed
this issue, we'd love it if you'd spread the word. Click
here to use our interactive form to tell your friends about MFJ, and
as a thank you, you will receive our free Facilitator's Self Assessment.
In
the Spotlight
Facilitator
Training Workshop
Disaster, Crisis & Trauma Intervention:
Building Community Resilience and Self-Reliance
Facilitating Psycho-Social Reconstruction
7-8
August, 2006
Eastmont Town Center
7200 Bancroft Avenue, Ste. 202 (free parking)
Oakland, CA 94605
Is your community prepared for the psycho-social aftermath of
a major crisis or disaster? Are you?
The survivors of Katrina, especially the children, are still
trying to heal their emotional scars and do not have adequate
resources to help! When natural or man-made disasters strike
and after the major rubble is cleared, who will provide this
much-needed community support in your area?
You can!
The GFSC Disaster & Crisis Intervention Facilitator Training
Workshop prepares experienced facilitators to:
Train
and mentor other professionals working in direct recuperation
efforts
design and deliver a DCI workshop to address the needs of a
local population in affected areas.
If you are a professional engaged in the day-to-day work with
the survivors of disasters, or if you are working with organizations,
communities or agencies that have responsibilities in disaster
or crisis recovery now or in the future, you may be an excellent
candidate to learn and use these DCI facilitation skills on
the front lines or in preparation for future crises.
Upon
completion of this two-day workshop participants will be able
to:
·
Describe a grief cycle; identify productive and non-productive
processes of handling grief in one's self and others, for individuals
and groups; use four specific, effective tools for facilitating
group processes of proactive grief management.
·
Identify and apply Resilience Strategies to support the four
stages of group and individual resilience.
·
Assist others who work with disaster survivors to maintain a
healthy balance between their work and their own personal well-being
(caring for the care-giver).
·
Develop a proactive curriculum for working with organizations/professionals
responsible for supporting communities impacted by natural/engineered
disasters.
·
Train and mentor other professionals working in direct recuperation
efforts in areas impacted by disaster or crisis.
Would
you be a more effective facilitator or leader with a more
solid base of conflict resolution skills under your belt?
All
organizations and relationships encounter conflict. It's
what we do with it that makes all the difference in the
world.
Remove
the fear and uncertainty in working with conflict in groups
and organizations in this 5-day teleclass series: Transforming
Conflict in the Workplace, led by a 25-year expert
in the fields of facilitation and mediation, Harry Webne-Behrman.
o
Did you know that everyone has a unique style and response
to conflict? Knowing your styles and
response is critical to effective conflict resolution.
o Do you feel comfortable modeling effective conflict resolution
skills as a facilitator? This is one
of the best ways to prevent conflict from escalating.
o Did you know that 80% of effective conflict management
consists of effective interpersonal communication?
Knowing how to facilitate this kind of communication is
key to mining the positive energy of conflict.
o
Do you know what it takes to establish conflict resolution
and staff facilitation programs within organizations? This
knowledge is in growing demand for facilitators, coaches,
and consultants.
In
this class you will learn conflict resolution skills for
facilitative leaders by exploring and evaluating your own
styles and personal responses conflict, learning and practicing
conflict resolution strategies in the context of group facilitation,
and exploring how you can implement conflict resolution
and staff facilitation programs within organizations.
By
the end of the 5 days, you will:
Know
your own conflict resolution style and response
to conflict.
Be
able to employ effective conflict resolution strategies
with any group.
Understand
how to deal with impasse in groups.
Be
able to recognize others conflict styles and responses.
Have
more confidence in dealing with conflict in groups and
organizations.
Know
the keys to implementing conflict resolution and staff
facilitation programs within organizations.
And
much more..
When... July 17th-21st, 2006, 10:00 AM Pacific,
1:00 PM Eastern (NY Time), one hour each day.
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