How to Facilitate a Discussion

A leader ACTS to facilitate discussions by:

• Acknowledging: Acknowledge each person who speaks during a discussion. Also, watch for non-verbal signals and acknowledge those.
• Clarifying: Clarify what members say. Also, clarify your understanding of what members are feeling (frustrated, impatient, stressed…).
• Turning: Turn questions back to the group rather than answering all of them yourself.
• Summarizing: Summarize what members have said before moving to a new topic or adjourning.

For more tips, see: Facilitate Discussions