Meeting Facilitation Skills

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Meeting Facilitation Skills

• Julie Henning
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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A Facilitator..

• Enables a process to happen
• Encourages people to find their own solutions to
  problems or tasks
• Phrases questions to generate discussion
• Listens

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Facilitator vs. Teacher

• Leads discussion
• Provides feedback
• Negotiates areas of focus, pacing
• 2-way communication

• Presents information
• Provides answers
• Dictates areas of focus, pacing
• 1-way communication

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Dos and Donts

• DO
• Give chance to answer
• Rephrase Repeat
• Ask for opinions on controversial statements

• Dont
• Ask several questions at once
• Assume you know what person means
• Over control

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Upfront Items to Address

• Room Set-Ups
• Flip Chart
• Introduction
• Objective
• Agenda
• Ground rules
• Parking Lot

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Basic Tools
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Contingency Diagram

• Worst-Case Scenario Planning
• Identify Situation to Prevent
• Brainstorm Causes
• Prevention Checklist

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Brainstorming

• Think in silence
• Ability to pass
• Record all ideas
• No judgements

• Second round
• Discuss each idea
• Multi-voting
• Walk-about obtion

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Force Field Analysis
Forces That Help Us
Forces That Hinder Us
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Action Plan
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When is Consensus Reached??

• When all members of the team
• Feel they have been heard
• Believe discussions were frank and honest
• Are convinced all views thoroughly discussed
• Feel they own the decision