CHQ 2023 Facilitator's Manual

FACILITATOR FACILITATOR

3” ID

In volunteering to be a facilitator for the Chautauqua Dialogues you are agreeing to complete the facilitator training and become familiar with the methodologies contained in this manual. And in so doing you agree to apply the methods when leading the dialogue groups during the summer season. In order to be familiar with the subject matter that will most likely be the point of discussion among the groups, we ask that prior to facilitating the dialogue group(s) (that you agree to lead) that, you attend as many of the daily 10:45 and 2:00 lectures as possible. If you are unable to attend a particular lecture, you can use the Chautauquan Daily and the CHQ Assembly video as a source of content.

Each week this summer all facilitators will meet on Mondays, at 12:15 at Hurlbut Church for an Institution sponsored lunch. This is a "meet and greet" with plenty of time to answer questions and discuss some key points of the facilitation process. Prior to the 2:00 lecture on Tuesday, we will distribute the assignments for the week. Based on both your experience and your comfort level, you will be assigned a day and time to facilitate a group, either by yourself or with another facilitator.

How we transcend differences and practice respect for the inherent worth of every individual.

Both Roger Doebke and Lynn Stahl will be available to meet with you to discuss any aspect of the process or challenges of facilitation: They are usually available before the 2:00 lecture each day on the grass area in front of the Hall of Missions.

As a facilitator of Chautauqua Dialogues you will be filling a key position. As you read what follows imagine yourself taking on these responsibilities. Imagine which situations would be difcult for you to manage and which ones would be easy. Visualize yourself succeeding despite the inherent challenges.

First, the physical mechanics:

If you are unfamiliar with your assigned venue, please check it out before your scheduled session. Before your session begins, be sure that the room is set up for the conversation with the available chairs arranged in a close circle, with extraneous materials set of to the side. Create a cozy, comfortable, and private space. As participants arrive, greet them, check them in, give them a name tag (first name only). Ask them if they have a Brochure and have read the Rules of Participation. If not, give them a Brochure and ask them to reviews the rules before the start of the session. (Since we have not yet finalized all of the venues, day and times of sessions etc., the 2022 Brochure is not currently available. However, the Brochure will include the following:

Participation Agreement

You agree to (1) actively listen and show respect for the views of others; (2) avoid labels and stereotypes; (3) not interrupt others when they are speaking or engage in side conversations; and (4) remain focused on the topic and maintain the thread of the conversation.

Begin each session with a very brief reiteration of the participants agreement in the brochure and ask if everyone understands and agrees with them. Then emphasize, briefly but with some passion, that it is relatively easy to have a "good" conversation when the guidelines are followed. But, it is also possible to have a "Great" conversation in which inspiration, revelation,

or growth can be experienced by those who open themselves to one another ~ and to what each has to ofer ~ despite their diferences. Explain that in your position as facilitator it will be your task to help everyone have a "Great" conversation.

Ask each person to briefly introduce themselves by giving their first name only and perhaps where they are from. We want to avoid participants promoting their authority and/or expertise by ofering their occupation or additional biographical information that may intimidate others and/or limit the free flow of discussion.

Then explain that you will start the session by asking each participant to put forth, in one or two sentences, the “Big Idea” they garnered from the lectures they have heard so far during the week.

As each person articulates their “Big Idea” make notes next to their name on your clipboard or journal to remember what resonated with each of them. It generally becomes apparent from your notes that several people will have the same or similar “Big Idea:” This will give you a place to start the conversation ~ Simply begin by asking one of the people who spoke to the most popular "Big Idea" to elaborate on that idea.

When the first person finishes speaking, ask another person who articulated the same, or a similar "Big Idea," to join the conversation with their thoughts. This process of developing “threads of conversation" is essential to making the sessions dialogical and creates the engagement we strive for. Encourage other participants to join in freely. Follow that thread until you feel you have exhausted the idea. Repeat the process with a new expressed idea.

By looking at the initial notes you took when everyone gave their opening “Big Idea,” you can identify new big ideas expressed by others and ask them to speak. This starts a new thread of conversation, which is generally the second most popular “Big Idea”. Remember not to leave the speaker of a new thread on an “island,” make sure that other members of the group join in to speak to the same topic ~ As you go through these and other threads, you will find that your session actually feels like a

conversation rather than simply a forum for people to articulate random ideas.

The Dialogues are scheduled to last between sixty and ninety minutes each, varying somewhat depending on the flow of the conversation and the venue. As you approach the end of your session it is important to save enough time to ask people to reflect on their experience. We especially want to determine if anyone has changed how they think or feel about what was discussed. Always ask, “Do you feel any diferent about a topic at the end of the session than you did at the beginning?”

As people prepare to depart please ask them to fill out the brief survey card and return it to you before they leave.

As facilitators, the most important skill we bring to our sessions is the capacity to be fully present. Our

task is NOT to participate in the dialogues but to ensure that others within the group do participate and engage in the most elevated way possible. This goes far beyond calling on people and maintaining order. It means we watch and listen carefully to words, to expressions, and to body language. It means we oversee the conversations and insure that conversations stay within the guidelines ~ Wherein lies the potential for "Great" conversations.

However, as a facilitator, you are also encouraged, when appropriate, to ask probing questions to follow up and further what a speaker has said.

You might ask what life experience has lead them to that opinion, or what fear or desire is motivating them, etc,.

As the facilitator you can/may highlight any unspoken agreement or disagreement.

Notice frowns or grins as someone speaks. You can gently, but directly, ask that person what they are thinking, feeling or reacting to.

Ask individuals who seem to have been deeply afected by a speaker to speak themselves. Notice when someone nods approval or scowls when listening to someone else speak.

Encourage the expression of emotions that utilize "I feel" statements.

Poll the group for overall responses to a particular point made by a speaker.

Someone has made a broad statement. Ask, the participants if there is “agreement?” Be sure to acknowledge it. Specifically look for disagreement and be sure that it too is also expressed and acknowledged.

When you recognize tense situations, always try to bring them to the surface so they can be addressed, acknowledged and difused to resume the conversation.

Use your observational skills and intuition to identify and draw out people who are holding back for some reason. What else is happening for them right now? What do they need to say? If some participants are obviously not comfortable speaking they should not be pressed to share at that moment.

When two people disagree, it may be helpful to ask each of them to find something “good” in the other person’s position - seeking a commonality to build on. Remember that dogmas, creeds and exclusive truths all have one element in common ~ they have both

positive and negative consequences ~ depending on perspective.

Always insure that others respond directly to the speaker. After someone has spoken, be sure the conversation doesn't move in another direction without the speaker getting some response. However, if they were of topic, gently point that out and bring the conversation back on track.

Ask how people feel, or think about specific statements, or about the way in which the statements have been presented. Bring to the attention of the group situations where stereotypes are used. Note specifically when an individual or group is demonized to make a point. Particularly call attention to something that is said that STOPS the conversation. In some of these situations you may just want to say “Ouch”. This can be a teaching opportunity for you and the group.

If a speaker uses strong language or broad statements, or is in some way ofensive, encourage the

group to give the speaker kind but direct feedback. How we speak to one another is at the center of civil dialogues and vital to "Great" conversations.

When a conversation gets difcult, ask people to reflect on what they are experiencing at that moment and then ask if they have the courage to share it with the group.

If things have gotten heated, there are too many rapid fire opinions being put forth, or there is some confusion, STOP The Conversation. Ask each person to assess what is important at the moment, or what most needs to be said (or not said). Then ask people to speak from that place of their introspective awareness.

Penetrate their intellectual masks to stimulate their feelings. Many people will give their "credentials" or their intellectual ideas about a topic without opening themselves and revealing their actual emotions, fears, desires, etc,. Be willing, as a facilitator to gently interrupt and guide the speaker towards whatever course seems most meaningful.

All of this needs be done with a clear motivation for real kindness and understanding within the group (although not necessarily to reach an agreement). This is our challenge. We are learning how to live beautifully with one another despite our diferences, and we are trying to do that by delving compassionately into those

diferences. It is one thing to be "tolerant" of those who are diferent, while it is quite another to understand those diferences and learn to perceive and accept the other as fully equal to ourselves.

A facilitator is someone who uses knowledge of group processes to formulate and deliver the needed structure for meaningful and compassionate dialogue interactions.

Here are some further guidelines for meaningful facilitation:

The facilitator focuses on efective processes allowing the other participants to focus on the content or the substance of their conversation.

Facilitators listen deeply, hearing and feeling all that is said and not said, and they respond compassionately for the highest good of all concerned.

Facilitators need to create or maintain a safe space, but participants need to be made aware that whatever they say may go outside the room.

Facilitators are sensitive to the energy of the group, and should be comfortable coaching participants, as necessary, to create expanded awareness.

Facilitators know how and when, and when not to intervene in the group process. They are comfortable, actively working to keep the process healthy and moving forward. They know that they must keep their own thoughts and feelings from coloring the conversation.

Facilitators use a variety of listening skills, including the ability to paraphrase; to develop a thread of conversation; to draw people out; to balance participation; and to make space for more reticent group members to speak.

Characteristics of a good facilitator:

• Openness

• Honesty and fairness

• Accessibility

• Flexibility

• Assertiveness

• Enthusiasm

• Consistency in actions

• Focus

• Active listening

When there is conflict, we should keep in mind that resolution and compassion require profound courage on the part of all parties. It takes courage to honestly and clearly articulate your views, and it takes courage to sit down and listen to your adversaries. It takes courage to look at how you might be creating contentiousness, and it takes courage to approach others with a sense of empathy, openness and respect for their perspective. Collaborative approaches to difering opinions require us to engage in the moment of dialogue in profound and meaningful ways.

In the Chautauqua Dialogues there are two conversations happening at the same time: The first is the discussion of the topic; the expression of opinions and beliefs and values stimulated by the week's lectures; the second is the meta-conversation which examines how it is that we communicate with others who hold diferent opinions, beliefs, or values. It is in this second conversation that we are doing something radical and, hopefully, laying out some groundwork for a global pluralistic culture. The challenge is formidable but the potential rewards could not be more important.

The fact is, our communities are multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious, and the metaconversation is all about how we transcend diferences and practice respect for the inherent worth of every individual.

This manual is supplemented by a variety of writings each facilitator will receive during training. Please refer to these materials for further discussion of specific challenges relative to the dialogical process.