Facilitation Technique

Here are the things I remind myself to do when I am facilitating any group.

• don't show off -- you are there to convince them that they are smart, not that you are smart.
• look to who you want to speak -- also, know who needs to be heard and when
• let people think -- have them write alone, or discuss in pairs, before speaking to the group
• don't work too hard -- set easy goals and take breaks. brilliance will happen soon enough
• make a mental list of what you wish would happen -- revise it at each break

There may be good books out there. The only thing that comes to my mind is NormKerth's book on ProjectRetrospectives, a specialized kind of workshop. -- WardCunningham

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IBM used to have a class in JointApplicationDesign? (JAD) that taught very effective facilitation techniques. They provided the book 'How to Make Meetings Work' by Michael Doyle and David Straus ISBN 0-515-09048-4 as part of the course materials. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in facilitation. -- MarkAddleman

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Try the Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner, Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk, and Duane Berger ISBN 0865713472 -- JimHighsmith