The staff of the Center for Conflict Resolution put their experience in working with groups into A Manual for Group Facilitators. This is an informal outline detailing useful and effective techniques to help groups work well. More than a simple "how to," the manual contains a discussion of the values, dynamics, and common sense behind group process that have been verified by our own experience. It includes information on such topics as:
- How to plan a workshop
- Sample agendas
- How to get a meeting started on the right track
- Useful information about group process, communication and dynamics
- How to deal with conflict in groups
- Crisis intervention
- Creative problem solving, and much more
In addition, there is a long chapter on how to handle common problems that occur in groups.
This manual is a valuable resource for:
- Anyone planning or presenting a workshop
- Trainers
- Teachers interested in innovative classroom techniques
- Anyone involved in a group as a leader, facilitator, or participant who wants to help the group work well without dominating it.
Laird Schaub, nationally recognized group process consultant, says "High quality meeting facilitation is neither a parlor trick, nor the result of mastering techniques. It comes instead from adopting a cooperative and agreement-hungry mind set, where you are open to surprises and ever eager for the creative possibilities of new information. It comes from trusting the process, without knowing ahead where it will lead. It comes from working with energy as well as with content. A Manual for Group Facilitators is the best introduction available for creating the kind of meeting culture where these attitudes can flourish.
