Good group discussions led by a third party take planning and work. Here are some best practices on how to get there:
Articulate a disputable, specific purpose for gathering
- The purpose focuses upon why you are calling the gathering— what prompted it.
- Good: “We struggle to collaborate when facing an external deadline.”
- Bad: “We need to meet our deadlines.”
Articulate the desired outcome in neutral terms
- A facilitation outcome differs from its purpose. It is focused on process expectations.
- Good: “All participants will have an opportunity to reach consensus on developing agendas.”
- Bad: “X will agree to stay on topic during meetings.”
Choose a facilitator or facilitators carefully
- Facilitators should be able to establish and maintain all participants’ trust.
- Facilitators should be good at asking probing, neutral questions.
Set facilitators up for success
- Protect their neutrality— even from yourself.
- Ask them to identify the tools they need.
- Give them an opportunity to speak privately with participants in advance, if desired.
Be thoughtful and transparent about who participates, in accordance with your purpose
- Determine who you want to participate and why.
- Determine who should not participate and be prepared to articulate a neutral reason why consistent with your purpose.
- Invite participants well— your facilitated discussion really begins with the invite.
Ask for participant consent to the process and to the facilitator
- Discuss the process in advance.
- If a decision is a desired outcome of the facilitation, establish a decision-making methodology (e.g., facilitator confirms consensus, supermajority vote, majority vote, etc.) and share it.
Establish and validate safety mechanisms with participants
- Give participants an “opt out” option, ideally through the facilitator.
- Respect confidentiality.
- Be clear about how the results will be reported in advance and share that with participants.
Here is a half-page handout (link) to remind yourself of the basics.