Achieving Efficiency When In Charge Of Dialogue Facilitation

By Nancy Moore


To be a great facilitator for discussion, you will have to help people deliberate freely through a defined process with the aim of getting great results. It will be up to you to make sure that everyone is a part of the discussion so that you arrive at your aimed outcome. If you hold any leadership position, you may find yourself leading such deliberations many times. These guidelines will give you a path to use to your dialogue facilitation.

You are the one controlling the air traffic but not flying the plane. This means that you will be there to provide direction and coordination for the people to get to the destination safely and comfortably. When there is a group formed, individuals will be moving at varying speeds and directions. You will be the one responsible for determining how everyone needs to contribute.

Establish the norm of the crowd. When you are controlling a team, they need to discuss the rules that will be used when they are doing their work together. At times, the regulations can be provided before. Still, you may be the one who establishes the norms. Ensure you have a method to develop the next person to talk and how any conflict will be addressed.

It will be vital if you major on questions other than answers. The primary purpose of your leadership should make sure that each person achieves their aspirations and also the entire team achieves its goal. Even when you feel you are experienced in the topic that you are discussing the main aim is to let the people present contribute but not to teach them what you know. Prepare some guiding questions but not answers.

The questions you are asking need to be open-ended. If you to be doing the work right, then you need to encourage the people to converse and build their relationship. Having open queries will be how you can achieve this. You should keep away from those questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no from the people.

Promote relationship-building. When different people are in a group, they will want to have a better relationship with everyone else. The best thing is to have questions that facilitate this. Look at where you have a chat and the aim of the talk to know the exact issues that will be suitable. You aim to find the ones that will lead the individuals to get to share something personal.

Preparation before the meeting will help you kick-start the conversation. However, not all groups will be waiting to be prompted to speak. Depending on the team some will wait before they begin the discussion and others will start straight away. However, it is always better to be ready whichever way it goes.

Invite the people to participate but do not force them into it. It is common to find individuals who speak out more often than others in any group. Unless the job requires it, you should not force those who are quieter to speak up. You should give everyone space to make their contributions at the right moment. This will be likely to lead to a more productive talk. Watch out for any body language that will let you know the quieter ones are ready to talk.




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