Author: Gail Zack Anderson

You’ve been there. I sure have. Sometimes meetings and training sessions seem to drag because you can’t get a good discussion going. Other times, people start talking and can’t seem to stop, or arguments and conflicts devour precious time. In order to facilitate effectively, you need to know both how to get a group started, and then how to manage the discussion. Based on twenty years’ experience, these are my Ten Terrific Tips for Group Facilitation:

1. Start with easy-to-answer questions. These questions should be closed ended and not sensitive in nature, so that your audience feels comfortable responding. As you continue to build trust, you can move into more sensitive issues, and ask more open ended questions.

2. Call on the group at large, not an individual. Pose your question to everyone, then as you look around, select the person or persons you want to call on. This way, everyone stays engaged, and no one is put on the spot.

3. Use the silence. Once you have asked a question, don’t jump in with your own answer. Count to ten, if you need to, before saying anything. Let the group have time to think and respond.

4. Ask participants to write down their ideas. Have paper or note cards handy. This is especially helpful with a quiet group, when time is short or when emotions are high.

5. Ask for a volunteer to write comments or answers on a flipchart. This will keep you from having to turn away from the group to write, allowing you to keep the group engaged, or to keep an eye on a talkative group.

6. Incorporate physical movement. Have individuals move into small groups, walk up to the front of the room to post their ideas, or stand beside a flipchart to deliver their findings to the large group. Use games and puzzles that get them physically engaged.

7. Manage side conversations. Make steady eye contact with those who tend to chat, stand closer to them, or use silence until the room becomes quiet. By using these “silent” techniques, you can usually maintain control without having to say anything.

8. Break a large group down into smaller ones for discussion. Give complete directions first, then disperse into breakout groups. If directions are complicated, write them on a flipchart, along with the time to reconvene. To signal small groups to return to the large group, dim the lights or sound a timer.

9. Don’t shy away from conflict. Disagreement can be a sign of independent thinking, and can lead to better solutions in the long run. When conflict arises, try to disagree with the statement rather than with the person. If the emotional temperature gets too hot, you might suggest a short break before continuing.

10. Use courteous language. Words such as “please” and “thank you” and inclusive terms like “Let’s look at our next agenda item” or “Shall we check for consensus now?” foster a climate of respect and cooperation.

Whether you are highly experienced or brand-new to classroom training or facilitation, you have probably discovered your own tips to encourage participation and manage group dynamics. If you are willing to share, please post your best facilitation tips.

You have entered the communication process by thinking about your approach or attitude for effective communication. You have prepared for communication by thinking through your intended message and targeted it toward your listener. Now let’s take a look at your skills and habits, to be sure your communication is coming across loud and clear:

Verbal Skills:

• Select the appropriate tone. Be aware of any tendencies toward tentativeness, sarcasm, inappropriate humor due to stress, exaggeration, etc. Try to keep the tone appropriate to the discussion, avoiding anything that might be confusing or off-putting, especially when the conversation is serious.

• Enunciate. Speak each word clearly. A great trick is to open your mouth a bit wider than you might be accustomed to in order to heighten articulation.

• Slow down. This is important particularly when you feel stressed or emotional, of if you tend to talk quickly anyway. Pace yourself, remember to breathe and pause periodically. On the other hand, don’t slow it down to a snail’s pace; that could be offensive.

• Watch your volume. If you speak too loudly, you may sound angry and intimidating. If you speak too softly you may not be taken seriously. So speak at normal volume.

• Got accent? Speak slowly and clearly, enunciate carefully. Allow a few pauses for the listener to catch up. Watch your listener’s face for signs of understanding or confusion.

• Choose your words. Be specific and accurate. You won’t be word-perfect, but if you are clear in your intentions and have managed your own emotions, you should be able to get your message across accurately. Avoid broad language such as “always,” “never,” and “as soon as possible,” substituting specifics where you can.

• Avoid qualifiers. Using words like “kind of, sort of, just, maybe”, and other tentative wording weakens your message. You may not even be aware of how often you use these terms. Listen to see if this is a habit of yours, or ask someone you trust to listen and give you feedback on how often you use these weakening words.

• Avoid jargon, slang, idioms, and profanity. If your terminology is confusing, your message will be as well. If you turn people off or intimidate them, your message will be lost in the anxiety. So clean up your language, and use terms the listener will understand.

• Avoid rambling or repeating. If you are clear on your message, get it across and then stop. Get comfortable with a pause or two; if the situation is sensitive, both sides need space to think before moving on.

• Check for understanding. Ask your listener to repeat, rephrase, or react to what you have just said. Clarify areas where you aren’t in perfect accord. See where you can find agreement. Summarize what you both agree to, and what will happen next.

Strong verbal skills will serve you well throughout your career as well as your personal life. If you are not as articulate and calm as you would like, take heart. You can practice each of these skills every day, in meetings, one on one, even in social conversation. It is not about being perfect, just about becoming a stronger, clearer verbal communicator.

In the last post we discussed your approach to communicating. We discussed the attitudes and mindsets we bring to our communication efforts, including being patient, sincere and empathetic when approaching any situation in which we need to communicate effectively. I encouraged you to examine not only your attitude and intentions, but also your actual behavior.

Today, let’s focus on some tips to help you prepare for an important communication event. It might be a performance review, an interview, or an informal capability discussion. It could be a sales presentation or a meeting. Or a problem-solution discussion of any kind. Whatever it is, it calls on you to bring your best in order to make the communication a success.

Do your research. Make sure you have all the facts ahead of time. Research alternatives and resources so you have all your “ducks in a row” and come off as professional and prepared. This can also save you from having to schedule additional meetings. For example, if you plan to suggest training to correct a performance deficiency, come with a class schedule.

Understand your audience. Put yourself into their frame of mind; how would you feel if you were in their place? For example, if this is to be a corrective action, they may be nervous or frightened. If it is to resolve a problem, do they understand that you are there to help, or are they afraid of being blamed or shamed? Just yesterday in my tax appointment I came in feeling uncomfortable over a coding error, but was instantly put at ease by my tax professional, who said; “We can fix that; no problem.” Whew!

Consider timing. Sometimes we jump into a situation where one or both parties are feeling stressed and emotional about the situation, and that makes dealing with it that much more difficult. On the other hand, if we wait too long to address it, we lose momentum, and we keep dealing with the problem instead of correcting it. Try to schedule the sit-down as soon as possible, but when all parties are less stressed. (If you do have to address something on the spot, be sure to take a minute to breathe and center yourself before proceeding; it would be great to allow the other parties the same opportunity.)

Create a plan. That might mean a few crib notes, an informal agenda, or an outline, but it really helps to write down and use notes to move the discussion forward. Take a moment to discuss the agenda or plan, and ask the other party what they would add, checking to see if you are in agreement on the situation. This helps you be more objective and more focused. Example: “Today I would like us to examine the evaluations from the last technical skills class you facilitated, and together try to discover why this one received lower ratings. It is not about casting blame, but rather, taking an objective look at what was different in this class. Then I would like to brainstorm some ideas about the next session so we can improve our ratings. I value your contributions and your professionalism as a technical trainer, and I want to help you keep growing your skills. Anything you would like to add to our agenda before we begin?”

Talk their language. Assuming you know the person you are speaking to, speak their language. Use their terms, mirror their style. If they are known as direct, speak directly without sugar-coating. If they tend to be more emotional, keep creating safety by validating them and reinforcing how you value them. If they are detail-oriented, give plenty of detailed evidence. If they are action-oriented, be ready with a plan of action. In short, adjust your style to match theirs, and you will receive better results.

Find mental focus. Before you begin, you need a moment to clear your desk, close out your computer tasks, and clear your mind. You might consider allowing 5 minutes to make the transition. Stand up and stretch. Look out the window. Breathe. Imagine how good it will feel to complete this discussion in a productive way. Review your notes if needed. Be ready to give your full attention to the person you are speaking with. OK, feeling ready?

Rehearse. If the situation is delicate, and the stakes are high, or you are not feeling altogether comfortable about the discussion to come, you will benefit from a rehearsal. Some people do this in the car on their way to an important meeting. Some people rehearse both sides of the discussion so they can predict what the receiver might say. You might even ask someone you trust to role-play the scenario so you can practice different outcomes. Whether you do it alone or with someone else, be sure to rehearse out loud. Rehearsing in your head certainly is better than nothing, but rehearsing out loud makes an amazing difference in your fluency and ability to think on your feet. Just don’t memorize your lines; you want it to be somewhat spontaneous.

Preparing for an important communication situation takes time and effort that sometimes we feel we don’t have. But the results are so worthwhile; we can solve problems better, build and maintain relationships, and resolve sticky issues. Think of preparation as an investment in creating these better outcomes. Be patient with yourself when things don’t go perfectly. Know that you will become more comfortable and more competent at dealing with challenging communication situations.

Please let me know which of these suggestions you decide to try. What works for you? What else would you suggest to help others prepare for challenging communication situations?

A recent workshop discussion led to this question: what kind of communicator are you, really? What are the best practices to adopt in order to be a great communicator? The class participants thought about what kind of attitudes we sometimes bring to communication, and came up with this list of best practices.

As you read the list below, be aware that we tend to judge ourselves not by our actual behavior but by our intentions: “I meant to listen; it’s just that I was so busy when you called…” While it is true that your heart is probably in the right place, the pressures of time, stress and multi-tasking can undermine those best intentions and leave you with less-than-desirable behavior.

Starting today, take a look at what you actually do, since this is what the people around you actually experience. Or, if you are feeling especially brave, ask someone you know and trust to give you some feedback on how well you approach communication. Specifically, how are you doing in your communication approach?

• Be polite, respectful in communication. Do you say “please” and “thank you?” Do you check with the person to see if this is a good time for them? Or do you bark out orders on your way past them?

• Be sincere. Do you really notice the others around you? Do you see them as whole people with lives and feelings? Or just as someone who can do something for you–or get in your way? When you travel, do you take time to notice all the people who serve you, from the taxi driver to the flight attendant? Do you take a moment to reaffirm the people around you, and to show them sincere appreciation?

• Be professional. Do you watch your language or let it fly? Do you have good grammar? Do you speak clearly? Do you have an obnoxious laugh? Do you tell dirty jokes? Do you gossip? Or do you try to speak professionally everywhere you go, knowing that “you never know” who might be listening.

• Be patient. Yes, you are under stress. Probably so are those around you. When you travel, do you shout at drivers ahead of you? Or are you like the passive-aggressive traveler behind me in the “professional traveler” security line who kept grumbling criticism of those ahead of him? Those stressful times are exactly when you should remind yourself to breathe.

• Be empathetic. Sometimes it feels good to vent, but not so good for the person on the receiving side. Take time to ask yourself how that person facing you feels. A smile and thank you could really help someone, and cost you very little. A brief apology if you have been unkind may make both sides feel better.

• Think, plan and prepare before talking, typing or sending. Of course you are in a hurry. Of course you are thinking of three (or ten!) things at once. But before you shoot off that hurried e-mail, think it though. Before you call someone onto the carpet, be sure you are speaking with the right person, at the right time. Before you send that newsletter, e-mail, invitation, or any other document, clear your mind and re-read it. Watch out for incomplete sentences, typos, and fuzzy thinking.

Communication is a complex, important human skill that requires your full attention. Be a great communicator. Check your communication approach.

What do you do to make sure your communication approach leads to effective communication?

Whether you are presenting to the board of directors, training your new staff members, or holding a meeting with a key client, how you manage your body language matters.

Communication experts claim that as much as 93% of your communication depends on your delivery. Today, let’s look at a few basic but oh-so-critical delivery skills. This week, take time to notice how you are managing your non-verbals, or ask someone you trust to give you specific feedback on your posture, hands, voice, face or eye contact.

1. Check your posture. If you are standing, place your feet several inches to shoulder width apart, distributing your weight evenly. In this position you should feel grounded and secure. Watch newscasters and professional speakers; they rarely sway or rock. If sitting, plant your feet on the floor and sit up tall from your rib cage. From this position you look confident and can project your voice with more authority.
2. Neutralize your hands. If you put your hands in your pockets, clasp them behind your back, or lock them into a fig-leaf position, chances are you will not use them effectively. Start with your hands relaxed and at your sides, and you’ll be more likely to gesture. Instead of holding back your gestures, let them go a bit. You will look more engaged and engaging.
3. Improve your voice. To get more volume and better enunciation, try opening your mouth a little bit wider. Check for tension or tightness in your face and release it; try relaxing your jaw by massaging gently right in front of your ears. Be sure to keep breathing, preferably before you speak and during pauses.
4. Engage with your eyes. You might be compelled to look at your slides or papers in front of you, or over the heads of your audience. You might stare at the top-ranking audience member, or the one friendly face in the room. Instead, try to keep your eye contact moving slowly around the room, one person at a time, including everyone equally.
5. Relax your face. Check a mirror to see if your face looks tight or tense. Look for tension in your eyebrows, forehead, between your eyes and around your mouth. If you see tension, try to relax your face into a more neutral expression. Soften your eyes. Smile.

Start today to be more aware of your delivery skills, to make good choices, and to build new habits. For example, if you have the habit of mumbling, you might not even be aware of it. Once you discover this habit, work to enunciate more clearly as in Tip 3 above, and keep at it until you have created a positive habit of enunciating, one that will serve you well and which will become nearly automatic.

What other delivery skills would you like to hear more about? What good suggestions would you add?

So you want your team to be better at presentation skills. You know it will pay off in in winning new business, better reporting of projects, and better visibility for your team. But given tight budgets and limited time, what activities will give you the biggest payoff for your efforts? Consider one or more of these:

1. More rehearsals, especially dress rehearsals. Bring in a small audience to challenge presenters by asking demanding questions. Management can be present at the beginning to stress the importance and offer support, but may or may not sit in.
2. Have junior people observe rehearsals of senior presenters. They can provide feedback on what was clear and engaging or confusing. They can also ask the challenging questions. This way they are learning to evaluate effective presentations, and learning how to give and receive feedback. They are also learning the content.
3. Suggest that people record their presentations and review them by listening. This will help them maximize vocal skills and habits; a must with so many presenting virtually where voice is key. Encourage people to record their presentations and listen back. They can do this right on the computer or by recording online meetings.
4. Create or add to a business library. There are so many great books on current thinking in design and communication we can all learn from. Ask people to read and report back to (or teach back) someone else. Reading inspiring books and articles can provide inspiration while preparing for a big presentation. Alternatively: give books or credit for online books as a reward for performance.
5. Have everyone learn PowerPoint™ so that they can use it to deliver a presentation easily. While this may not always be the media of choice, everyone should know it and be comfortable using it. At a minimum, they need to be able to start, advance, click on hyperlinks and end their presentations without fumbling.
6. Have everyone use some kind of electronic delivery system that allows them to click easily through their presentations. Make sure they spend their delivery time with the audience, not dealing with the technology. This can also be done by having someone else run the technology. Also be sure they have a remote to advance slides.
7. Consider offering a series of clinics or short training units on various topics: eye contact, voice, acing your openings, power closes, responding to challenging questions, using humor, storytelling, etc. These would be a great refresher for experienced presenters and a good starting point for newer associates.
8. Advanced-level workshops. This would be a great challenge assignment for experienced presenters who need a brush-up. Select a small group (3-6) Have each person bring 10-15 minutes of a presentation to deliver. They receive practice and feedback from peers and/or a coach. Run it right before a round of new presentations, at the start of a new project, or a when working with a new client.
9. Buddy system. As people begin to present, give them a mentor—an experienced presenter they can ask questions of, practice with, etc. Both parties will benefit.
10. Coaching for specific issues. Some people will continue to struggle with building confidence, or using body language or voice effectively, targeting their content, etc. Encourage them to get one-on-one coaching to address the issues that might be holding them back. A small investment of time that will pay huge dividends in performance and confidence.

What do you do to help your team continuously improve their presentation skills?

We all want to approach conflict situations with clear, honest communication that leads to a productive solution everyone can feel good about. But old habits and norms sometimes block direct, open communication. Use these suggestions as a checklist to see if you are communicating in the best possible way at your organization. If you aren’t, an open discussion and agreement to use these practices might be just what is needed to foster healthy, open communication in conflict situations.

1. Talk directly to the person you need to talk with. Don’t go around them. Don’t talk about them. Don’t email them. Talk to them face to face if possible, or on the phone if necessary.
2. Before engaging in a discussion, stop and ask, do we have the right people in the room? If others are needed to resolve the issue or to add input, get them into the discussion right away.
3. When you are bringing up an issue or problem, be sure to also bring ideas for a solution. Don’t just bring up issues to get them off your chest or to complain, but rather come with either a request for help or possible solutions.
4. Seek to understand the other person, whether you or the other person is bringing the conflict to light. How do their personal energies and styles differ from yours? How are they emotionally or rationally engaging with you? What are their perspectives? What are their perceptions?
5. Use a simple model to help unravel the situation. Be sure you focus on the goal of the interaction, the facts leading up to the situation, the possible solutions, and the decisions you will make. Decide who will do what, and when. Enlist others as needed to complete the action plan. Follow-up to see that what you agreed on happened.

Conflict in communication is universal; being human, we have different wants and needs, and we don’t always communicate perfectly. Keep the lines of communication open, and keep an open mind.

What other suggestions would you make to help work through conflict with healthy communications?

Now that you have created your team presentation and prepared it thoroughly, it is “game on.” Time to deliver the presentation with power, punch and professionalism. These 10 tips will take you from “good enough” to “best of show.”

1. Take your marks. Decide where each person will stand during the presentation so it is easy to move to and from center. If you are using slides, be sure no on stands in the light from the projector.
2. Use a remote slide advancer. This is an easy way for the speaker to control his/her own flow through the slide presentation, and it looks smooth and professional. Hand if off to the next speaker when doing the transition.
3. Dress as a team. The general rule is to dress one level more formally than your audience, and whatever you wear must fit perfectly and be clean and pressed. Never wear your usual clothes for a group presentation. It is a special occasion and your attire should reflect that.
4. Introduce your team and topic. Even if the audience knows the presenters, it is still important as a way of kicking off the presentation. Alternatively, introduce your team and your agenda together: “Bill will be discussing the benefits of this approach.”
5. Tune in. Even when you are not presenting, you are still part of the presentation. Watch your body language, don’t chat with your co-presenters or allow a bored or disinterested look on your face. presentation. Be aware of the message you are sending your audience as you observe others in your team presenting.
6. Underscore key points. Wherever appropriate, each presenter should include brief references to the points made by the other speakers. This reinforces key messages and helps your audience retain information, an important consideration given that your listeners are receiving much more input than they would from a solo presentation.
7. Finish strong. Always end the presentation with a brief summary and recap of the next steps. This may be done by the final speaker or the team leader, but it needs to be planned, rehearsed and done with enthusiasm. Each presenter should know the close and be prepared to close if needed.
8. Close on a positive note. Try to close after an upbeat comment or question, not after a negative one. If you have a negative question toward the end of the presentation, consider asking for one more question. If that question is more positive, or you are able to turn around a negative question, end there. Remember, your audience is more likely to remember what they hear first and last, so try to make those as positive as possible.
9. Know when to quit. Decide in advance who will make the decision to end the presentation. Try to end on a positive note, for example: “clearly we need to provide you with additional information based on what has come out of this meeting. Could we arrange a follow-up meeting for early next week?” Everyone should practice this step and be prepared to do it in an emergency. However, don’t be too quick to pull the plug. Expect some resistance and be prepared to respond.
10. Debrief every team presentation. A flip chart can be prepared with space for both positive and negative feedback. Alternatively, comments can be written down, then exchanged, and read out loud by another person to maintain anonymity. In any case, capture both positives and negatives, while they are fresh so they can be put to use in the next presentation.

What challenges do you face when delivering team presentations? Do you have a favorite tip you would add? What else have you done to help your team deliver winning team presentations?

Once your team presentation is developed, you will want to begin the process of preparing everyone for delivery of the presentation. Your goal here is to make each team member as comfortable and confident as possible, so dedicate whatever time it takes to get everyone ready individually and as a team. It is also a great time to reconsider each role; is each individual capable of pulling their weight? If not, do you have time to develop them, or arrange for them to have some special training or coaching to get them ready? Here are 10 suggestions for successful preparation:

1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. When pulling together a team presentation, it is important that everyone become familiar with presentation content, visual aids, and transitions between presenters. Because everyone presents in a unique way, it is critical that the team practice together in order to reach a high level of comfort with the presentation and each other.

2. Request that all team members rehearse their respective parts before the team practice. Practicing out loud – at least 3 times, and saying the words differently each time will help build confidence and spontaneity. Having team members practice in their heads won’t work as well as actually saying it out loud, so encourage informal practice sessions. A great practice technique is to video practice sessions and review them for timing, content and delivery.

3. Assign a timekeeper so you can be sure that each speaker can deliver his/her content in the time allowed. It is critical that you are able to end on time and allow opportunities for questions, while still getting across all of your essential points. It might be a wise move to brainstorm ways to speed up if you fall behind, or if you get a late start.

4. Include introductions as part of your preparation and rehearsal. The team leader should be ready with a brief, succinct introduction of what’s to come and who the key presenters are. State the overall theme. Also find the most relevant things to say about each presenter other than simply their name and title.

5. Ace openings and closings. When used properly, these bind the presentation into a smooth, cohesive effort. The first and last things you say often set the stage for success, and may be the key things that are remembered, so plan and rehearse openings and closings thoroughly.

6. Plan and rehearse transitions, the bridging elements that conclude one section and start another. They can create a common thread, so when one speaker finishes, the next begins logically. Example: “So that’s an overview of the history of our firm and the work we focus on. Next Mary will show you some examples of recent projects.”

7. Design your presentation so it limits the number of transitions between team members. One transition per group member is a good rule of thumb. Going back and forth between speakers just adds to the complexity of the presentation.

8. Prepare for the no-show. One “worst case scenario” is that one of your team members is avoidably detained from attending your presentation. Have team members prepare different parts of the presentation so that each part has a “lead” and an “understudy.” You may wish to have the understudy and the key presenter prepare and rehearse together.

9. Do a final run-through. Assemble a small live audience to serve as a sounding board. Think of this as a dress rehearsal before opening night. It’s likely you’ll still find things to improve upon, so allow a few days to make final adjustments.

10. Plan ahead for Q&A. Decide beforehand who will answer certain subject areas, or which cues to use to invite other speakers to address the question. The team leader can direct questions to the appropriate team member.

Time for preparing and rehearsing a presentation is always a challenge, and it is even more so when you are working as a team. Remember what is riding on this presentation; a successful proposal, a new client, or a new project? If it is important enough to bring the team along to the presentation, it is probably well worthwhile to take the proper time and steps to prepare and rehearse thoroughly.

How does your team prepare for critical presentations?