We think facilitation is:

• Open Discussion
• Challenging other participants and connecting with them
• Dialogue with diverse topics
• Safe environment for peoples views
• Drawing out diverse views
• Devil's advocate
• About learning/expanding ideas
• Leading the group in the correct direction
• Developing group dynamics
• Encouraging people to step outside of their comfort zone
• Being inclusive, open-minded, understanding, tolerant
• Interjecting only when necessary, just observing and listening
• Having fun, getting everyone involved
• Encouragement of personal reflection

We do not think facilitation is:

• Imposing your own views on others
• Lecture
• Debate or confrontational
• About yourself, its for the participants
• Ganging up on others or taking sides
• Just a few people discussing
• Forcing people to speak or giving answers
• An excuse to dominate, or yell
• Allowing personal attacks
• Getting emotional
• Asking one person to represent an entire social identity
• Making people conform

What do you do when someone makes an offensive comment?

• Give people an option to walk away
• Ask them a question to have them clarify comment, allows for reevaluation
• Re-visit ground rules
• Facilitators take a more active role in discussion
• Break into smaller groups for further discussion
• Pose an alternative point of view
• Discuss assumptions and intentions of comment
• If all else fails, call a small break and the facilitator has a personal talk with the person
• If it's between two people, open it up to entire group
• Don't get side tracked in a long discussion
• Ask the group to refrain from using offensive comments
• Be aware that people may react differently
• Be flexible and use your judgment to react

How do you create a safe environment?

• Create common guidelines for the group to follow
• Icebreakers: finding commonalities
• Start with less sensitive topics to build trust
• Body language
• Diffuse tensions
• Drop your own reservations
• Give everyone a chance to speak, sit on the same level
• Anonymous question and comment cards
• Give people time for self reflection
• Silence is OK, give people an opportunity to pass
• Try to build a group bond, mix people together
• Identify reasons for people not participating
• Encourage different ideas
• Look happy, be enthusiastic
• Be mindful of diversity in the group and try to get to know everyone
• Be aggressive if you notice a potential problem

How do you get people involved to engage with each other?

• Icebreakers, find similarities, introductions
• Finding conflicting opinions
• "Go Around" exercises with option of passing
• Splitting into pairs, or smaller groups and changing groups
• Getting paper to write down thoughts, distribute thoughts and comments
• Asking individuals to state something they like about group, be supportive
• Exercises that require asking each other questions
• Bring different view together into focus
• Start with easier topics to help move into harder topics
• Make sure questions stimulate discussion, not one word answers
• Make questions neutral so they invite different answers