KC Cooper

Walking the High Wire

You can get blindsided in a public meeting by unanticipated issues or fierce emotions. The reality is that the people affected by a project can feel powerless and confused, which tends to make them angry. If these feelings are not addressed in the public process, they can arise at inopportune times and disrupt meeting proceedings. These essentials of good meeting facilitation will help you keep a lid on unproductive outbursts.

Preparation is the Mother of Agreement

Clarify your objectives: What do you want to do—educate the public? Get feedback? You need clarity up front.

Anticipate the issues: Do your homework! Identify hot button issues through interviews with the people who will be affected or closely involved. This will help you take the community’s temperature and provide you with the time to develop responses or solutions to perceived problems.

Play the “what if?” game in advance: What if someone is really disruptive? What if someone brings up an issue that isn’t on the agenda? Determine how you will make changes to address the unexpected before it occurs.

Set the agenda: Your conversations with stakeholders will help determine the type of meeting you need to have—an educational open house, an issue-oriented forum, or a focus group. Create a timed agenda focused on reaching your meeting objectives, while allowing flexibility for feedback. Don’t try and stuff too much into it—sometimes it’s better to have more than one meeting. Remember, you need to educate, as well as identify issues or respond. Make clear what is negotiable and what isn’t, e.g., permitting regulations that are not negotiable.

Run through it: Make sure presenters and project staff who will respond to questions are prepared and that you have the necessary supporting materials. A practice session will tell you if you’ve allowed enough time and have identified as many issues as possible.

Create the Opportunity for Successful Facilitation

Clarify objectives. Sometimes confrontation happens because participants don’t understand the objectives of the meeting. At the outset, frame the objectives and review the agenda and how much time is allotted to each item.

Establish ground rules (no personal attacks, no interruptions, etc.). Don’t hesitate to refer to them if things start to deteriorate. Begin with a respectful tone toward everyone and maintain it throughout the meeting.

Stay flexible. If you see your tack is failing, change course to keep the process moving forward.

Strive for understanding. Note the different opinions on a flip chart so everyone can see them. If participants are not listening, have each party state the opposing party’s position and the supporting reasons.

Focus on the facts, supporting reasons, and potential problems involved in each course of action. Maintain an emotionally neutral demeanor. As you listen to different arguments, summarize them accurately and put them into context.

Generate alternatives. This is challenging, because participants often can’t see any alternative to their positions. Members of the group who are not at the extremes of the debate can be a resource to generate reasonable alternatives.

Tuck These Techniques in your Back Pocket

If you know that the meeting will be tense, use an icebreaker to get people talking before you go to work. Physical movement also works to dispel tension.

Table the issue—effective if everybody needs time to consider arguments or digest new information. Make sure that you address the issue later in the meeting or at another time.

Listen and paraphrase, summarize each point, and post them.

If people are stuck on an opinion, isolate and discuss a single aspect of the issue at a time.

Allow people to express strong feelings so that they are acknowledged. Expressions of emotion are not undesirable elements of a meeting. Verbal abuse is.

Break into small groups and have each group focus on one area and bring information back. Refer to a subcommittee—especially if there isn’t enough information.

Use humor to release emotional tension and refocus the group.

There is Never Time to Do It Right, but Always Time to Do it Over.

Most projects have tight time lines and public involvement often gets short shrift. If you rush into the public process without developing the steps necessary for success, you may have to reconstruct the process and that’s expensive.

KC Cooper is the Public Involvement Team Leader for the JD White, a division of BERGER/ABAM Engineers. Email KC to learn how JD White can help with your public involvement and public relations needs.

This article was originally published in the BERGER/ABAM Inside Out Newsletter.