CLIPS Word Template - Sydney TAFE eLearning Moodle · Web viewAn effective group leader or facilitator accepts responsibility for working out what problems might be occurring and

Facilitate discussions

ContentsOverview 2Provide opportunities to fully explore all relevant issues 2Routinely use strategies that encourage all group members to participate equally, including seeking and acknowledging contributions from all members 7Routinely contribute to and follow objectives and agendas for meetings and discussions 16Provide relevant information to groups as appropriate to facilitate outcomes 20Evaluate group communication strategies to promote ongoing participation of all parties 21Implement strategies to ensure the specific communication needs of individuals within the group are identified and addressed 22

Certificate IV in Disabilities: CHCCOM403A: Reader LO 10129 1© NSW DET 2009

OverviewIn this topic we will focus on the communication skills and strategies we use when working with groups, and more specifically when facilitating group discussions.

We will start be defining the term facilitation and exploring communication in groups. We will then move on to look at facilitation skills, the importance of planning and the role of the facilitator. Next we will explore what is known as the communication-interaction process and look the role group rules can play in ensuring a successful group discussion. Strategies to encourage equal participation will be introduced and we will also look at how agendas and session plans can help a group discussion to reach its potential.

Providing information to groups and how to meet specific communication needs of group members will also be discussed. Finally, the need to evaluate group facilitation strategies will be raised.

Provide opportunities to fully explore all relevant issuesCommunity service workers are often required to facilitate group discussions. This can be done formally in case conferences, planning and review meetings and in staff meetings. Workers also facilitate group discussions when running groups with clients or community groups. These groups can be supportive, therapeutic, educational, or designed to help clients and communities develop new skills. Whatever the group and whoever is part of the group the same facilitation skills are used.

Facilitation: what does it really mean?

We often hear the word ‘facilitation’ used in the community services industry and especially in the context of groups and people working together. But what does facilitation mean?

This would be a good time to attempt Activity 1 before moving on with the remainder of this reading.

To be an effective facilitator a group leader needs to:

have an understanding of groups and how they work.

adopt a democratic style of leadership.

have a commitment to collaborative decision-making processes.

2 Certificate IV in Disabilities: CHCCOM403A: Reader LO 10129 © NSW DET 2009

be prepared to face and deal with conflict.

be committed to the group and the group goal.

respect group members.

have a non-judgemental attitude.

have well developed interpersonal communication skills.

be prepared to reflect on their own leadership and facilitation style and adapt to the needs of the group.

Communication in groups

Groups are often formed to create social networks, to provide support and to give group members an opportunity to learn new skills. If a group is to be successful (and reach its goals) the leader has to take responsibility for encouraging and facilitating communication between group members.

Group leaders are responsible for encouraging discussion, for making sure that everyone has a say, that some people don’t take over, and that everyone feels included and their contribution is valued.

Before we start exploring ways to successfully facilitate a group it might be helpful to refresh your memory about what skills contribute to effective interpersonal communication—remember those skills of clarifying, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings and summarizing (just to name a few).

The first step in being able to successfully facilitate group discussions is to be aware of your own communication style within groups. By looking at the way we communicate, we can learn to recognise:

why we respond to some messages and not others

why we are open to some people and closed to others

why we say the things we do

how our non-verbal and verbal messages affect other people

why we feel comfortable in certain situations and are shy in others

the ways in which we learn best.

Through communication, we also let others know about ourselves and our values and attitudes.



You will all have different responses to the questions in the previous activity, as you are all unique individuals. Hopefully you can use these reflections to help you improve your group facilitation skills. In fact you may now be ready to identify what areas you might need to work on to be a more effective communicator and facilitator in group situations.


Points to consider before facilitating group discussions

Successful group facilitation relies on the group leader planning group discussions. Good group discussion doesn’t just happen! The following points are useful to consider when planning a group discussion:

Is the issue you are discussing relevant and appropriate for the group?

Is the issue you are discussing fit for the purpose and goal of the group?

Do you know enough about the topic or issue or do you need to do some research before you can help the group discuss it?

Is the topic likely to result in unnecessary conflict?

Have you established ground rules that will help the group to resolve or work through areas of conflict?

Have you made enough time to explore the topic or issue?

Have you set up the room in a way that facilitates discussion? Seating people in a circle often works best.

How much structure will you have to provide to facilitate useful discussion?

What style of leadership does the group and the topic/issue require?


Drawing of people sitting in a circle

Seating people in a circle often works best

Once you have considered these points you will be more ready to facilitate a discussion that provides people with the opportunity to fully explore all relevant issues. Later in this topic we will talk in more detail about other planning issues such as developing an agenda and having a group session plan.

Facilitating discussion: the leader’s role

In the community services industry, group leaders are usually the facilitators of group discussions. Leaders often have to take a dominant role (especially in the early stages of the group or of a particular discussion) if the group is going to successfully talk about an issue or concept. This role is called a facilitating role.


An effective group discussion relies on the leader being quietly assertive, planned and organised and committed to the discussion. The leader also needs to keep track of the discussion, use a variety of skills and strategies to keep group members engaged and model appropriate involvement and behaviour. Leading a group is an active role


Effective facilitation skills

If we are going to help people fully explore all relevant issues in a discussion we need to create an atmosphere that feels safe and encourages discussion. The following strategies will help to create the best possible environment to encourage discussions.

Acknowledging individuals

The leader has to make sure that everyone in the group is acknowledged and their contribution is valued. The facilitator might say something like ‘Thank you Salma, I really like your idea on how we can help everyone to remember to get back on time after a break. Does anyone else have any other ideas?’

Encouraging participation

Not everyone feels comfortable talking in a group situation, especially during the early stages of the group’s life. Again, the facilitator has to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute. Activities such as name learning games and group development activities, and techniques such as breaking into small groups so that people get to know each other, are designed to build trust and create an environment where people feel safe to contribute.

Identifying priorities

The facilitator will often be called upon to identify what the group needs to deal with and in what order. Priorities can change following a group discussion and leaders need to be flexible and able to think on their feet. If, however, you are going to change the order of priority (which you would usually have set as a result of group discussion) you would need to talk about it with the group and say why (if this is appropriate).

Defining issues, activities and terms

You can’t expect group members to talk about an issue or do an activity if they don’t understand what you mean or want them to do. The facilitator has to define what it is they are talking about or what they want people to do. It is up to the leader to make sure that everyone understands what the leader is talking about. If the group is struggling to make sense of what is expected of them, the facilitator has to find different ways of getting the information across. Good ways to do this include building on what the group already knows, using plain English, giving examples or demonstrating what you mean.


Remaining focused

It can be very easy for groups to wander off the point and while such diversions can be interesting, they are often not useful in terms of the group achieving its goals. The facilitator, therefore, has to remain focused and bring the discussion back to what was originally being discussed. Sometimes you have to be quite directive and say something like, ‘This has been a very interesting discussion but we’ll have to stop it here as we have moved well away from what we were discussing in the first place’. Then give a summary of the discussion that focused on the original issue and ask for any more comments.

Managing time

A good group facilitator is good at keeping track of the time. Groups should always start and finish on time and the group facilitator is the one that has to make sure this happens. This is where planning is essential. Facilitators need a group session plan and should have worked out how long they can spend on each activity, discussion and practice opportunity. If it has been important to spend more time than planned on one activity, the facilitator will have to adapt their plans accordingly. Good time management doesn’t just happen. It takes planning and looking at a watch or clock.

Identifying key issues

One of the major roles of the facilitator is to highlight the major or key issues in each discussion and activity. By doing this, the facilitator is helping the group to learn from and build upon what they are doing or talking about. Often the key issues are not the ones that you thought they would be, so as a facilitator you have to be really listening to what is going on and keeping track of themes or ideas.

Summarising

At the end of each discussion or activity, and definitely at the end of the group session, summarising is essential if the group is to remember what has happened and what they have learned or gained from the session. A summary would include the key issues and the process (what was said and what happened) and should link back to the purpose of the session and the goals of the group.

It is also important when facilitating group discussions to leave enough time for talking about and exploring issues and topics that are relevant. All too often in our modern quick-fix society we want things solved or decided immediately. For groups to successfully reach their goals and meet the social and emotional needs of group members, time has to be spent in exploring people’s ideas, thoughts, feelings and reactions to whatever is being discussed. This is especially the case in groups that are designed to


provide a forum for personal growth and insight, such as groups in a rehabilitation facility or a life skills group.

Routinely use strategies that encourage all group members to participate equally, including seeking and acknowledging contributions from all membersAll groups are made up of people who have different ideas, attitudes, beliefs, personalities, confidence levels and approaches to discussion. This variety in styles means that no group discussion is the same and that each leader has to work strategically to ensure that everyone is able to participate. Completely equal participation is rarely possible but the group leader has to make sure that everyone is able to contribute and participate as much as they feel comfortable. To ensure that people feel safe to participate the leader relies on their knowledge of groups and communication patterns.

Group of people sitting in a circle

Group leader must ensure that all participate

The communication–interaction process

Group workers call communication in groups the communication–interaction process. This process involves both verbal and non verbal communication. It is the ongoing process of individuals in the group sending and receiving messages and trying to work out meaning from these messages. This occurs from the first moment of a group to the last. As well as the content and meaning of the communication, the patterns of interaction in the group are important.

When assessing the communication-interaction process, we are looking for the main elements of communication and interaction in a group setting.


After all, perhaps the most powerful influence on the relationships among members and on communication in a group is the members’ participation in the group and their commitment to the group’s goal.

To help make sense of the how people are communicating in a group the following questions can be used to assess the communication-interaction process.

Who is influencing the group; what sub-groups are forming?

What are the patterns of communication? Do certain people only talk with certain others?

Who are the most frequent participators? Why? What is the effect of their participation?

Who are the least frequent participators? Why? What is the effect of their lack of participation?

Are there changes in participation? What causes this? Who talks with whom? Who responds to whom? Who triggers whom?

How are ‘silent’ and noisy members handled?

Are group members with the necessary and important information contributing?

A good way to work out what is happening in terms of the communication-interaction process is to map it. To do this, the leader (or better still, a support person) will draw a circle and mark on it everyone in the group, and then draw lines between the people who talk. What this shows is who talks to who, who dominates discussion and who gets left out. It’s a great way to really see what is happening in the group in terms of communication. This method can also be used in smaller informal groups such as a group of residents in a refuge or group home. Developing this map really helps you as a leader confirm what is happening and then you can develop a plan to mange group discussions more effectively.

Effective communication occurs when the sender’s meaning is accurately understood by the receiver. Group leaders may at times realise that intended messages have not been accurately received and can help to clarify what was meant and encourage group members to clarify their own meaning. Group leaders should also notice what patterns are occurring in the communication-interaction process and do something to create more equal participation.

This would be a good time to attempt Activity 5 Effective communication networks and Activity 6 Mapping a group discussion before moving on with the remainder of this reading.


Factors that determine the communication-interaction process

There are a number of factors that influence and determine who communicates with whom, when and how. These include:

Status

The perceived status of group members affects the quantity and direction of communications. For example, in a parenting group, a group member with expertise in child development is more likely to give information and to be asked questions by other group members.

Reinforcement

Where communication is rewarded, for example, by the leader saying, ‘Thank you for your contribution John’, the behaviour is likely to be repeated. This is especially the case when someone has often doubted the value of their contributions or finds it hard to give their ideas. Remember that as a group leader or as a member of the leadership team, you can have a huge influence on how group members feel about themselves and what they do.

Structure

The structure of the group also influences the communication-interaction process. Imagine sitting on cushions on the floor or around a table with the leader at the head. Generally speaking, if you want everyone to participate equally, create networks, and share their feeling and thoughts (plus take risks), it’s better to have people sitting in a circle with no obvious power structure. While leaders usually have to take more control in the earlier stages of group of the life of the group, they should start to be less dominant as the group gets to know each other and has sorted out how to go about things. If you are sitting in a circle, it’s easier for others to take on leadership roles or for you to notice who is or isn’t participating.

Control problems

This refers to the acceptance or lack of acceptance of group members. If you are accepted, you are more likely to express an opinion and you are more likely to be tolerated. However, this is the reverse for members who have not been truly accepted. The leader has a responsibility to ensure that, as much as possible, group members are accepted by the rest of the group. Spending time getting the group working together is essential to increase member acceptance—remember to use those trust building exercises.


Content

The actual content of what is being talked about is important in establishing effective communication practice in the group. For example, in some groups, religion is an acceptable topic, in others it is not. Group leaders and their support staff must get to know their group so that appropriate content is included. Group leaders should also make sure that plain English is used so that everyone can understand the content of what is being said.

Environment

Factors to consider here include heating, ventilation, privacy, space and noise. If people are uncomfortable, distracted or can’t hear, communication can easily break down. To be able to listen well and use skills such as paraphrasing, reflecting feelings and summarizing, we need to be able to hear what’s being said and to focus on the person or people who are talking.

Problems in the communication-interaction process

There are times when problems occur in the communication-interaction process which hinder group functioning and discussions. An effective group leader or facilitator accepts responsibility for working out what problems might be occurring and why. When assessing what problems are occurring in the communication-interaction process it is useful to consider the following:

Norms

Sometimes the norms (implicit and explicit rules) of a group can restrict the communication-interaction process. These might include norms such as:

we’re all nice to each other

if you have a different point of view, keep quiet

interrupt others if you want a turn

don’t talk about personal issues.

Some norms that would encourage participation include:

everyone has a right to be heard

we can be honest here

it’s okay to talk about our true feelings

it’s okay to disagree with others’ opinions

it’s okay to confront people.


Channels of communication

The fewer the methods of communication used, the less likely it is that you have brought out each member’s fullest contribution. An example of this is the quieter member who has something to contribute to the group but has perhaps missed the opportunity to do so. A group leader needs to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to share in group discussions and decision-making. We will explore ways to help the quieter members to participate more equally later in this topic.

Dominance of communication time

Problems may occur in groups where there is a member who dominates the session and restricts others from contributing. This not only limits the interaction but it may also result in resentment between one member and another and less trust and cohesion in the group. In fact, if one person is seen to dominate others, members can either give up and not bother contributing or they can become disruptive and try to sabotage the dominating person’s ideas. Again, we will look at ways to deal with the dominating person later in this topic.

Drawing of people sitting round a table and one saying: ‘Grandmaster Kiochi is our new meeting timekeeper. I am hoping he can help with our little speaking-time over-ruin problem’.

Dominance of communication time and how to prevent it

Individual differences

Problems can occur when individual differences such as age, culture or personality affect the communication-interaction process. An example would be a young intravenous (IV) drug user in a group of middle-aged


people who have abused alcohol. It may work, but be aware that the different life experiences may be too great and limit effective interaction. Groups in which people have a lot in common tend to work better than those where there is nothing in common or where one or two people are very different from the others.

Individual differences should be valued. Sometimes people may feel that they are only valued for how they are the same as others and their differences (or uniqueness) ignored. We are all unique people and this should be recognised and seen as being important and special. As groups can tend to only focus on what everyone has in common, it is up to the leader to make sure that what people have to offer as individuals is noticed and valued. Asking someone to talk about how things are done in their culture, for example, is one way of saying that things can be done differently and one way isn’t necessarily the right or only way. Also, people can feel that what they believe in can be recognised and adopted by others.

Stereotyped roles

Sometimes the roles members adopt can limit their own interaction and that of other members. An example is the member who takes on the ‘carer’ role and avoids expressing his or her own views, and so blocks others from taking on that role. Or the person who becomes the group joker or clown and whose ideas are listened to because they may be funny.

Lack of communication skills

Although members may intend to communicate well, there will be some who lack the skills to do so. For example, some members may lack the ability to speak up for themselves while others need training in how to give supportive feedback to others.

Sometimes communication skills training is needed, or should be included as a group task. That is, if group members don’t have the communication skills necessary to contribute effectively to group discussions or decisions, you may decide to run some activities to help people develop the necessary skills and attitudes.

Group rules

One of the ways to ensure that everyone is able to have their say in a group discussion is to create some group rules the very first time the group meets. Most people tend to feel more comfortable if they know what is expected of them and what behaviour is acceptable. Having this understanding helps people to feel safer and thus they will be more likely to take the risk of opening up and sharing their ideas, thoughts and feelings.


Group rules are also very helpful because having rules then provides us a framework within in which to monitor and regulate behaviour. For example, if someone is making racist remarks the leader can say, ‘Tom, I feel very uncomfortable about those comments and you might remember that as a group we all agreed to be accepting of everyone and not make negative comments about other people and their cultures. We all also agreed that we wanted to have a group that was respectful and accepting of everyone and those comments that you have just made really don’t fit in with this.’

Most of us don’t like to have rules imposed on us but rather like to be consulted about what those rules should be. The same goes for groups. Rules are more likely to be adhered to if everyone has had a say in what they are. That being, said you as a leader can always make suggestions to help the group decide on which rules work for them.

Common rules in the groups that operate the CSI, both for clients and for workers, include:

Confidentiality—what is said in the room stays in the room.

Respect—that everyone should value the uniqueness of others in the group and be open to listening to their thoughts, ideas and reactions.

Acceptance—that everyone should be accepted for who they are and that we shouldn’t try to change them (though we can certainly not accept all behaviours—accepting a person is different to accepting all behaviours!).

Non-judgemental attitude—that is, we shouldn’t judge people as being better or worse because of what they have done in this life or for what they believe etc.

Mobile phones—off or on silent and no-one leave the room to answer the phone.

Drawing of people in a meeting and a woman answering a mobile phone in her bag


Mobile phones—no!

Punctuality—people arriving on time and not leaving until the group has ended

Drawing of four men in masks sitting round a table, and one saying: Sorry I’m late again guys – what did I miss?

Late again

Breaks—when they will be and for how long.

A group may or may not have all of these rules or some of them might be combined into one. No matter how many rules a group has what is important is that there are some so that people know what is expected of them and what to do.

Equal participation—dealing with quieter or dominating people

Successful group discussions are ones in which everyone has an opportunity to participate. While it is impossible to have every group member participate equally it is essential that the group facilitator provide an opportunity for everyone to participate. In groups there can be people who either under-participate (as a result of being shy, having low self-esteem or feeling unsafe) or those who over-participate (dominate the group).

Things that can work well to encourage quieter members to participate include:

getting people to share (ideas/contributions/tasks) in pairs

breaking the larger group into smaller groups and getting the smaller groups to talk about the topic or issue and then report back to the larger group

once there is a reasonable level of trust in the group, going around the circle asking everyone for their ideas (this is often called a ‘round robin’).


if you notice that lots of people aren’t sharing in group discussions you might have to make sure that people feel safe to share—for example, reflect on whether or not you have spent enough time helping people to get to know each other and if you have provided enough structure so that people know what is expected of them.

Dealing with a dominating person (or people) isn’t always as easy as helping quieter members to participate more—and no, you can’t shoot them, and praying that they leave won’t work either! Some things that you can do are:

Have a time limit on how long people can talk.

Have a clause in the group contract or agreement that states that everyone is to have an opportunity for equal participation. This allows you and other group members to remind the dominating person that they have had their say.

Ask other people for their ideas.

Thank the person for their contribution (politely) and ask others what they think.

Sit next to the person who tends to dominate, make sure you have minimal eye contact with them and if they are really persistent you could (if it is appropriate) put your hand gently on their arm to remind them that it is time to stop talking – though this should only be done as a last resort as they could take offense at this!

If you are finding that you are getting angry with the dominating person or feeling frustrated and powerless, it is a good idea to talk to a colleague or supervisor about how you can deal with the difficult behaviour. Asking for help is not a sign of failure but rather a professional approach to a difficult situation.

Routinely contribute to and follow objectives and agendas for meetings and discussions To help you to facilitate good discussions in which everyone participates it is helpful to have a plan. In meetings, case planning activities and case conferences those plans are called agendas while in other types of groups the leader would have a program (advertised) and a session plan.

Meetings: another form of group discussion

So far in this topic we have focused more on discussions that we have with groups of clients but it is important to stress that meetings are a common


feature in the lives of most community services workers. Facilitating a discussion in a formal meeting is similar to facilitating a discussion in any other type of group that you might run in the industry. Sometimes the only difference relates to the formal structure of the meeting and some of the terminology used.


Role of the chairperson

Often the chairperson is the facilitator of group discussions and as such they need to be impartial and make sure that they facilitate rather than give their own opinions. Their role is to guide the members through the agenda and they can do this by:

ensuring that everyone has a copy of the agenda (usually prior to the meeting)

keeping discussions relevant and to the point

ensuring that everyone knows the decision-making processes adopted by the meeting

creating time, space and opportunities for everyone to participate in group discussions

summarising discussions

noting motions and amendments and putting these to the vote

adjourning the meeting when business is completed or when there isn’t a quorum (in some groups meetings finish at a set time regardless so the chairperson is responsible for closing the meeting at the appointed time).

The chairperson usually can’t move motions or vote though they may have a casting vote if the vote is tied.

A meeting agenda

As mentioned above an agenda is a list of what will happen at a meeting. The chairperson is responsible for planning and circulating the agenda to those who will be attending the meeting. Usually an agenda will include these items:

open meeting—welcome those who are there, etc

apologies


minutes from last meeting—to see if people agree that they were a true record

business arising (from the last meeting)

correspondence—in and out

treasurer’s report

other reports

general business—things that need to be discussed

any other business—things that other people might want to mention (if it is really important they should tell the chairperson prior to the meeting so that it can be listed under general business.)

close.

All meetings should have an agenda and in fact all group leaders or facilitators should always have a plan of what they are going to introduce for discussion in any group session.

To learn more about meetings and how to run an effective meeting you are encouraged to watch the videos:

Meetings, Bloody Meetings (1976) written by John Cleese and Antony Jay

More Bloody Meetings—the human side of meetings (1984) written by Antony Jay

More Bloody Meetings (1994) written by Antony Jay

These videos are available in TAFE libraries and many local libraries and while old still very relevant today and also entertaining!

Group programs and session plans

When planning a group it is best practice to develop a program, ideally in consultation with group members and then advertise this program. People then decide whether to come to a group based on what activities and discussions are planned. Obviously the activities and discussions should relate to the purpose and goal of the group. For example, if you were running a group on parenting skills the topics you cover, activities you plan and discussions you hope to have should all be based on parenting.



Session plans

To maximise the potential success of a group good facilitators develop a written plan of what they are going to do and when. Regardless of how many groups a leader has facilitated they should always have a written plan. Having this plan shows respect for and to the group and ensures that discussions are focused and relevant.

A session plan usually includes information such as:

the goal of the group session

objectives of the group

what information is going to be shared (content)

what activities are going to be run to help people hear and understand the content

timing

if there is more than one leader, who is going to do what and when.

A good plan is detailed but doesn’t contain a minute by minute breakdown. If it has too much information the plan can become the focus and not the leader. A good plan, however, does include the questions that you want to ask when holding a facilitated discussion. Having these questions ensures that the questions you ask are open and focused and thus the discussion is more likely to flow smoothly.

Example session plan—group discussion segment

Below is a sample of part of a session plan for a group on parenting teenagers which this week is focusing on TV habits. As this topic is focusing on facilitating group discussions I have only included details relating to the discussion;

Note: this group has been meeting for some weeks now and they have already covered topics relating to communicating with teenagers, adolescent development etc

Topic name: TV and your teenager

Goal: to help parents develop household rules on TV watching

Objectives: by the end of the session parents will be able to:

discuss what they think is an acceptable amount of television for teenagers to watch

list what types of television shows they feel is acceptable for their teenagers to be able to watch

identify what rules on watching television that they would like to introduce with their families


Example session plan

Time Content and Strategy Resources

6.45pm Informal mingling time to help people reconnect and arrive at the group

Tea, coffee, juice

7pm Welcome and introduction to the topic

7.05 Facilitated discussion on TV and your teenager – what do you think is acceptable?

What role does television play in your family?

What types of shows do your teenagers tend to watch?

How do you feel about the shows that they watch?

What limits do you place, if any, on what shows they can watch?

Many children and teenagers are spending up to seven hours a day watching TV. How much TV is too much?

How do you and your teenagers negotiate how much TV they can watch?

How can you use TV to connect with your teenager?

What has this discussion helped you to clarify about television and your teenager?

Seating set up in a circle

7.35 Small group discussions on the rules that they would like to establish in their families on television watching

This session plan could also include an activity after they have come up with some rules on how they can introduce these rules and what strategies they might use etc.

By listing the main questions you want to ask you are prepared and have the basis for a free flowing discussion on watching TV. Of course to keep the discussion flowing you would need to paraphrase, reflect and summarise and may also need to ask some clarifying questions – that is, you would use the same skills and strategies that you would use whenever you communicate with others and what to hear what they have to say!

When designing questions for a facilitated discussion always make sure that they are open (so people can say what they think and will provide longer answers!) and that they are neutral so that people feel safe to share what they think and not just what they think you want to hear!

Provide relevant information to groups as appropriate to facilitate outcomesSometimes group discussions fall down because not enough members have adequate information about the topic that is under discussion.



Ensuring that every person in the group has adequate information about the topic or issue that is being discussed in a group is therefore essential. To do this you can:

Make sure that everyone receives the information at the same time, and has time to read it before the group starts, if necessary.

Provide the information in a clear and unambiguous manner.

Ensure that the information is in an accessible format for everyone.

Provide all group members with an opportunity to clarify their understanding of what the topic or issue is.

Let people know what is expected of them and what they have to do.

Provide written material to support your verbal information sharing.

Monitor group discussions to ensure that everyone really does understand the information.

Evaluate group communication strategies to promote ongoing participation of all partiesGood facilitation is a skill that group leaders can learn and improve upon. Effective group facilitators believe that they can always improve their facilitation skills and methods. Evaluating the strategies you use as a group facilitator is a great place to start in terms of developing and improving facilitation skills.

Evaluation can occur at different levels and include:

1. Asking for feedback, either formally or informally, from group participants—this is best done in a structured way with participants being asked a variety or open and closed questions so that you can get an accurate picture of how they experienced your facilitation methods.

2. Having a supervisor sit in and observe you run a group—they will often be able to give you much more specific feedback than participants and hopefully will let you know what you do well and what you can improve on.

3. If you have a co-facilitator, you can ask them for feedback on how they perceive your facilitation skills.


4. You could keep a journal of your reflections about your group facilitation skills. In this journal you could identify what you think worked well and what didn’t in each group discussion. You could also link your reflections to current literature on group facilitation techniques and use the reflections as a springboard for trying new things.

5. Attend further training on group facilitation skills—by doing so you will have an opportunity to both reflect on what you are currently doing and learn new skills.

The main thing to remember is that developing and maintaining good facilitation skills is like a journey—you can keep on seeing and learning new ways of being and doing.


Regardless of how you went the most important thing is that you thought about your performance, what you did well and what you could do differently. No one is a perfect facilitator and good facilitators always reflect on each discussion they facilitate and learn from it. One of the fabulous things about our industry is that no two groups are ever the same and so we need to continually adapt our skills and develop new ways of getting the best out of a group and of ourselves.

Implement strategies to ensure the specific communication needs of individuals within the group are identified and addressedThere are times when some group members may have specific communication needs and it is up to the group facilitator or leader to address these needs. There are a wide range of communication needs for people in groups—some obvious and others hidden. They include:

people who don’t speak the same language as others in the group may need an interpreter to help facilitate communication

people who are deaf and who communicate using Auslan (Australian Sign Language) may need an Auslan interpreter

people who are visually impaired may need written material translated into Braille or put onto tape

people who have a physical disability such as cerebral palsy may need a communication board or electronic communication board


people who have an intellectual disability may need information presented pictorially or broken down into simple phrases with one concept presented at a time. If they use Makaton signing you may need to use the relevant signs to augment your spoken words.

With people who have acquired brain damage (either as a result of an accident, disease, or AOD misuse), an intellectual disability or learning difficulties it is helpful to:

Keep explanations and information simple and to the point.

Use language that is simple and accessible—that is, plain English, no jargon and one point at a time.

Check they have understood what you have said.

Rephrase the information, comment or question if they haven’t understood you the first time.

Use your body language to reinforce what you have said.

Allow more time than you might usually for the participants to respond.

Observe the non-verbal cues of the participants to assess whether or not the group discussion is appropriate.

Take more breaks than you might usually.

There are a range of documents that you can find that provide detailed information on how to communicate effectively with people with a disability. You can find these on the Internet or else ask specialist disability services.

All cultures have different rules about communication in groups. If you are working with people who are from a different culture to you it is always a good idea to talk with someone from the culture you are working with to get an understanding of the cultural norms associated with communicating in groups. Alternatively, you can look for information that has already been published about the particular culture you are working with. Many community organisations who work with specific communities can provide this information.

The main thing to remember is that it is your responsibility as a leader to address the specific communication needs of group members—after all we can’t facilitate effective group discussions if not everyone is able to actively participate in the discussion.


Documents

CLIPS Word Template - Sydney TAFE eLearning Moodle · Web viewAn effective group leader or facilitator accepts responsibility for working out what problems might be occurring and