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Meeting Facilitation16 Process Tools for Effective

Source: Bens, Ingrid (2005) Facilitating With Ease, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

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A participative approach to goal setting – Every voice must be heard

Uncover potential issues and conflicts with a

series of straightforward yes or no questions

Accumulate potential ideas with a group –

Remember at this stage there are no bad ideas

Ensure all sides get a fair and

equal hearing – Reduce tension

in conflict

Rank ideas quickly in a group setting based

on priority

The gap between ‘where we are’ and

‘where we need to be’ is often a good way into ‘what we need to do’

An effective way to scrutinise and

evaluate the pros and cons of

a situation

Unpick the underlying cause

of a problem

Bring order to a seemingly random or

complex debate with a matrix that organises ideas based on how likely they are to be

effective

Better to be prepared for

setbacks than be surprised

by them

Explore lots of issues in

a short space of

time

Collect anonymous feedback from

participants

Identify clear action steps with more

thorough questions

Turn all of your bright ideas into structured plan

for action

Focus equally on giving and receiving to

ease any conflict among participants

A step by step approach combining any number

of the process tools mentioned above