Active Listening

Listening is something we often take for granted; of course we know how to listen! Yet to be a good listener is hard work. Because the brain works four times the rate that someone can speak, you have to actively intend to listen to understand someone's position, feelings, or attitude. Doing public involvement activities — whether interviews, workshops, or presentations — necessitates good listening and an active resistance to inserting our own opinions. As project leaders who ask for input and people's responses we need to practice being a willing receiver and gatherer of information about a subject before moving to interpret it or react to it. Especially in a controversial project, everyone has a need to be heard to feel understood. More>>

Brain Storming

Brain storming is an excellent way to get people engaged, to gather a lot of ideas, and to break down barriers of communication. Not everyone will feel this way; some will say this type of exercise is a waste of time delaying getting to work. We find even the strongest skeptics will loosen up and participate if they understand the purpose of an activity and how it is leading everyone towards realizing the goal. Take time to explain how the information collected in the group brain storm will be used — or if it is just for fun, say that and watch what happens. Usually everyone joins in. More>>

Break-out Groups

Break-out groups have three great advantages. First is that they are a means of bringing people to the information rather than simply bringing information to people. Second is they get people moving around and talking. And third is real work can be accomplished much more quickly in a small group than trying to do it with a large group. We find the only limitation for break-out groups is the meeting facility itself: some just cannot accommodate splitting into multiple groups and having adequate space to work, hear each other, post findings, etc. More>>

Dialogue

For a group that wants to explore its own consensus process in depth and to bring out the maximum of group creativity, dialogue is an excellent vehicle. It is a great way of going to the heart of the matter, but not quickly. This technique requires time and a contemplative attitude within a group. While it’s certainly not for everyone, if there is the right mix of people and a trained facilitator, we have seen groups take conversations to completely new levels and develop ideas that would have never been possible. More>>

Flip Charts

If the focus of a large meeting is to collect information and discuss ideas, recording notes on flip charts is essential. Large, posted notes allow everyone to visually see what is being discussed and help ensure that everyone has similar understanding of the discussion. After the meeting, we usually mail the write-ups to attendees. We have also used the notes for content in newsletters and project publications to reach an even larger audience. More>>

Ice Breakers

Ice breakers can effectively break tension and encourage interaction between people, whether they know each other or not. We can all be a little intimidated first entering a room of people and a short activity can help people get comfortable voicing their ideas with one another. While we often encounter some who are resistant to doing ice breaker activities, more often than not, these activities generate laughs and set a more positive tone for the meeting. More>>

See also:
    Community Tool Box