This is one TIP from our collection of practical tips, tools, and techniques. Our tips are gathered from our experience, training classes, and alumni contributions.

Ground Rules for Meeting Facilitation

By now, you have developed a preferred set of ground rules for your workshops. We offer these ground rules as a reminder of rules that others have adopted.

Typical ground rules:

• Arrive and start on time.
   
• Be prepared for every session.
   
• Participants share what they know, and avoid withholding information and/or sharing partial truths.
   
• Withhold judgmental and negative comments about others' points of view and stated values.
   
• Aim for a better group, not a better individual, especially in disclosing information, direction, strategies, challenges, and experience.
   
• Argue only for the benefit of the group, particularly to highlight latent requirements, challenges, or conflicting goals.
   
• Be specific when presenting requirements.
   
• Agree to disagree, when necessary; "winning" a disagreement is not an acceptable goal.
   
• Avoid rhetorical questions, particularly those that start with "Why not . . ." and "Why can't . . ."
   
• Be open to being incorrect, ignorant, and out-of-date.
   
• Keep your humor light and use sparingly; do not make fun at another's expense.
   
• Be aware of the decision process, such as by "consensus" or other means.
   
• Avoid group think, but also avoid contrarian positions (solely for the purpose of being contrarian).
   
• Include in your agenda: self and group critiques.
   

TIPS ARE FOR OUR ALUMNI

We publish a compendium of facilitation tips for our alumni. We occasionally publish a tip for public consumption.

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