Facilitate for Group Results

Facilitation by definition means to make easy for others. Facilitation is about helping a group experience "discovery" and "application" while moving forward toward improved performance. An effective facilitator will help participants learn from each other through guided discussion and other methods. Often during openings, activities, coaching, questioning, and closing, the presenter is really facilitating a process rather than presenting information. An effective facilitator draws from the group and leads people to a higher level. Here is how you can be a great facilitator.

Pacing

• Keep a sense of urgency for yourself and for the participants.
• Use a countdown timer for some exercises and activities to ensure the group stays on topic and on time.
• Start and end on time.
• Look for signals from participants that they are bored. Change the action.
• Put people into small group discussions to drive up pace and energy.
• Get people on their feet.
• Mix people into different groups.
• Change the room setting. Shift the front of the room by ninety degrees or use a different layout for the tables or chairs.
• Do something unexpected, like a pop quiz or team competition.
• Take a break every 90 minutes.
• Never mention breaks unless you are about to take one.
• If participants know it is time for lunch or time to end the day, just stop. Nothing you say or do will keep everyone's attention.

Encouraging Discussion

• Before we begin our session on..., let's go around the room and get some words that describe this topic as you understand it.
• Describe a time when you were encouraged to....
• Describe a time when you were discouraged from....
• Describe a time when effective...paid off.
• Describe your worst experience with...
• Describe your best experience with....
• What is your definition of...?
• What lessons have you learned about...?
• If you had to offer advice about..., what would it be?
• The word...means many things to people, what does...mean to you?

Summarizing

• Don't tell people what you can ask them.
• Briefly review key learning points.
• Confirm the benefits and value of being in the room.
• Discuss application opportunities and coach people to identify specific upcoming situations where they will use what they learned.
• Have participants discuss learning and applications in small groups and report back.
• Create a sense of urgency. Coach participants to act immediately, like at a break on the phone, rather than a week or month from now.
• Have participants get into teams and do "teach-backs" of key points to the full group.

Alex Zaborenko
Dale Carnegie Training of Colorado of Southern Wyoming
http://www.dalecarnegiecolorado.com/

Presenting to Gain Input

One of the most common and critical types of business presentations is the presentation to gain input. Rather than being a one-way delivery of information, this presentation seeks involvement from the participants and relies on getting productive outcomes to move processes forward. By its nature, this type of presentation requires flexibility on the part of the presenter and a willingness to allow the process to unfold without dominating the discussion. In planning a presentation to gain input, carefully consider the people who will attend the meeting. Who is your audience?

Knowledge of the topic. To gain input, you typically invite participants who have a thorough knowledge of the topic. Sometimes, however, you want an audience that has little or no experience with the topic, as in focus groups or market research.

Previous experience with the topic. Does your audience include individuals who have had a range of experience with the topic? How have they reacted: positively or negatively? What specific examples do you know?

Level of preparation required for the meeting. If you are looking for informed input, you may need to ask your participants to prepare for the meeting. Consider what they may need to bring with them to the presentation in the way of documentation, homework, research, or planning and let them know in advance.

Individual bias concerning the topic. Are you aware of bias for or against your topic? Does this audience include individuals who either champion this topic or who are antagonistic toward some aspect of it?

Attitudes of open-mindedness and cooperation. Review the individuals participating in the presentation. Do they include people who are open about exchanging their ideas and opinions? Are there participants who are reluctant to speak up? Will this audience cooperate with your agenda and purpose?

Degree of detail preferred by participants. Some audiences want only the basics about the topic under discussion. Others need more details before they are willing to express themselves. Consider preparing levels of detail from broad to specific that you can bring into the discussion as needed.

Supporting evidence needed to present the topic. Present basic evidence in the body of your presentation. Be prepared to reveal additional evidence in response to questions and requests for clarification.

Alex Zaborenko
Dale Carnegie Training of Colorado and Southern Wyoming
www.dalecarnegiecolorado.com

Twelve Tips to All-Win Negotiations

Negotiating is the process of attempting to agree on a solution. Compromising, or settling on a mutually agreeable solution, is the result of successful negotiations. Compromise is all about being flexible. It means being able to generate alternate solutions when you've "hit the wall." Whether it involves a person you can't get along with, an idea you know will work but that others are reluctant to embrace, a change in office systems, or a turf war that needs ending, learning to negotiate and compromise is essential to your success.

1) Have a positive attitude. Your attitude is essential to the outcome. You improve your chance of achieving a mutually rewarding solution if you approach the negotiation as an opportunity to learn and achieve an all-win outcome.

2) Meet on mutual ground. Find a mutually agreeable and convenient physical space to meet that is comfortable for all involved. Agree on when you will meet and how much time is available to devote to the process. Whenever possible, deal with negotiations face-to-face. Be careful about negotiating over the phone or in e-mail. A lack of facial expressions, vocal intonation, and other cues can result in a negotiation breakdown.

3) Clearly define and agree on the issue. Agree on a statement of the issue using simple and factual terms. If the situation is multifaceted, search for ways to slice the large issue into smaller pieces and deal with one issue at a time.

4) Do your homework. Take time to plan. You must not only know what is at stake for yourself, but you need to know the other side's concerns and motivation. Take into consideration any history or past situations that might affect the negotiations. Know the must-haves (non-negotiable items) and nice-to-haves (negotiable items). Determine the best resolution, a fair and reasonable compromise, and a minimally acceptable deal.

5) Take an honest inventory of yourself. Determine your level of trust in the other person and the process. Be conscious of aspects of your personality that can help or hinder the process.

6) Look for shared interests. Get on the same side by finding and establishing similarities. Since conflict tends to magnify perceived differences and minimize similarities, look for common goals, objectives, or even gripes that can illustrate that you are in this together. Focus on the future, talk about what needs to be done, and tackle the problem jointly.

7) Deal with facts, not emotions. Address problems, not personalities. Avoid any tendency to attack the other person or to pass judgment on his or her ideas and opinions. Avoid focusing on the past or blaming the other person. Maintain a rational, goal-oriented frame of mind. This will depersonalize the conflict, separate the issues from the people involved, and avoid defensiveness.

8) Be honest. Don't play games. Be honest and clear about what is important to you and communicate why your goals, issues, and objectives are important to you.

9) Present alternatives and provide evidence. Create options and alternatives that demonstrate willingness to compromise. Consider conceding in areas that might have high value to the other person but are not that important to you. Frame options in terms of the other person's interests and provide evidence for your point of view.

10) Be an expert communicator. Nothing shows determination to find a mutually satisfactory resolution to conflict more than applying excellent communication skills. Ask questions, listen, rephrase what you heard to check for understanding, and take a genuine interest in the other side's concerns. Reduce tension through humor, let others vent their concerns, and acknowledge their views. Focus less on your position and more on ways in which you can move toward a resolution or compromise.

11) End on a good note. Make an all-win proposal and check to make sure that everyone involved leaves the situation feeling they have won. Shake on it and agree on the action steps: who is responsible for each step, how success will be measured, and how and when the decision will be evaluated. Be open to accepting an impasse for noncritical issues; agree to disagree.

12) Enjoy the process. Look at the benefits of learning other people's point of view. People report that after overcoming conflict and reaching an agreement, the relationship grew even stronger. Reflect and learn from each negotiation. Determine the criteria to evaluate the process and the solution.

Alex Zaborenko
Managing Partner
Dale Carnegie Trainnig of Colorado & Southern Wyoming