If your role requires you to facilitate community meetings or workshops, at some point you will come face-to-face with challenging behaviours and difficult group dynamics. By Kerri Price, Professional Facilitator, The Facilitators Network.
Some challenging behaviours aren’t malicious or ill-intentioned; they’re simply a result of passionate people and diverse opinions showing up in the same space.
However, some behaviours can only be described as ‘grown-ups behaving badly’, and if not managed well, meetings can spiral into a symphony of rude, aggressive and inappropriate behaviour.
When planning to facilitate a community meeting, you must expect the best from those who choose to participate, yet at the same time, plan as if the worst behaviours might appear. A well-designed meeting uses appropriate frameworks and processes to minimise the risk of poor behaviour and ensure that all voices, even those who disagree, are heard.
It’s not about shutting down dissension; it’s about creating an environment that allows it to happen in a respectful and constructive way, so if you are asked to facilitate a community meeting, consider the following points.
Be clear on purpose
If you want to keep a meeting on track, you need to clearly articulate the purpose of the meeting at the point of invitation and be clear about what will and will not be discussed and why that is.
What are you ultimately trying to achieve by inviting people to participate in the meeting? Do you already have a proposed plan for which you want feedback, or are you inviting people to help shape up the plan from scratch? What do you hope people will gain by attending the meeting, and what do you hope they will contribute?
By clearly articulating the meeting purpose on the invitation and at the start of the meeting, it’s much easier to bring the conversation back on track should it go awry.
In the beginning, acknowledge the meeting’s purpose and explain that part of your role is to keep the meeting on time and on track. Let participants know you may interrupt people to bring the conversation back on track if necessary.
There are different interruption techniques you can use in different situations. In the case of an avid sharer who is not malicious, just a passionate storyteller, you might say something like, “I’m mindful of time, so I’ll give you just one more minute to wrap up your point here.”
If a participant has come with an alternate agenda, which is outside of the purpose of the meeting, you might say something like: “I can hear this is really important to you and I would love the opportunity to unpack your concerns some more. Unfortunately, this conversation doesn’t fall into the scope of this meeting, but I can chat with you afterwards about where and how you can share these concerns so they are properly heard.”
Consider room set-up
The room set-up tells participants whether they’re about to be ‘talked at’ or ‘talked with’; if it’s the former, expect some resistance.
Where possible, set up the space so that participants can sit in small groups at round tables that are small enough so people can easily talk across the table. Have paper and felt pens available so people can jot down their thoughts. If specific information is to be shared, have this on the tables so people can browse through it before the meeting starts.
If you know people are arriving with fixed viewpoints and an unwillingness to consider other points of view, don’t be afraid to let them sit together. While splitting up the negative energy might be tempting, allowing them to sit at the same table means other groups can have constructive discussions without distraction.
Set clear expectations of behaviour
If you want to effectively address poor behaviour when it happens, it’s important to set clear expectations from the start.
With smaller groups who already know each other, you might like to create a group agreement where all parties decide how they would like to behave. However, in a large public meeting you might say something like: “I’m conscious that we have a lot of passionate people in the room, and there are bound to be some diverse opinions. I intend for everyone to get a chance to have their voice heard. However, raised voices, personal attacks and derogatory comments about race, religion or gender will not be tolerated.”
You must be prepared to follow through should that behaviour show up. Being specific about what poor behaviour looks like makes it easier to spot it and call it out, recognising that calling it out doesn’t need to be confrontational. Labelling a comment racist (or any other ‘ist’) can turn a hurtful comment into full-blown conflict. A simple “That comment is not acceptable” is often all it takes.
It is important to recognise that strong opinions and conflicting viewpoints are not necessarily a bad thing. As a facilitator, you need to recognise your relationship with conflict, acknowledge your own bias and understand your personal triggers.
Getting comfortable with discomfort is an important part of working through these situations well.
More information: www.thefacilitatorsnetwork.co.nz, kerri@thefacilitatorsnetwork.co.nz.