Here are the things I remind myself to do when I am facilitating any
group.
- don't show off -- you are there to convince them that they are smart, not that you are smart.
- look to who you want to speak -- also, know who needs to be heard and when
- let people think -- have them write alone, or discuss in pairs, before speaking to the group
- don't work too hard -- set easy goals and take breaks. brilliance will happen soon enough
- make a mental list of what you wish would happen -- revise it at each break
There may be good books out there. The only thing that comes to my mind is
NormKerth's book on
ProjectRetrospectives, a specialized kind of workshop. --
WardCunningham
IBM used to have a class in
JointApplicationDesign (JAD) that taught very effective facilitation techniques. They provided the book 'How to Make Meetings Work' by Michael Doyle and David Straus ISBN 0-515-09048-4 as part of the course materials. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in facilitation. --
MarkAddleman
Try the
Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making
by Sam Kaner, Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk, and Duane Berger
ISBN 0865713472 --
JimHighsmith