Name: Tiffany Busby

Course: Group Facilitation Certificate

Assignment: Module 1

1. Your understanding of the core elements of group facilitation

The core elements of group facilitation are represented by the 5 Ps. The five Ps
include the purpose, product, participants, probable issues, and process. The purpose
of the facilitated group discussion should be well-defined before the discussion and for
the participants. The product is the outcome that is desired from the discussion. The
outcome may be information gathering or exchange, or a decision may be neededthe
type of outcome will vary. The participants are those people who are involved in the
session whether those who are being engaged and/or those assisting with facilitation,
scribe, or team leaders. The probable issues are those points of which participants may
be unaware, divisive, or lack obvious solutions. The process is how the discussion is
structured, and this component was the focus of one of the reading assignments.

To start, a process should be developed for a group of eight to 10 people. Any group
process should be well-defined to promote focus and effectiveness and to minimize
dysfunction. If the group is larger than eight to 10 people, the next step is to define
about a process that would accommodate up to five teams of eight to 10 people. For an
even larger group, a process should be developed that divides the group into even more
teamsmore teams than one facilitator can individually oversee. The more teams there
are, the more important it is to define the goal of the process and of the individual
sections of the discussion.

Any process problems will be magnified in larger groups, so using clear directions,
specific guidelines, and checkpoints promotes the facilitation of large groups. For very
large groups it is important to have good team leaders (selected from the participants)
or even other facilitators assist with the individual teams. It is helpful to meet with team

Busby, Tiffany Page 1 of 5 Module 1

leaders or additional facilitators beforehand, so they are educated on the process
including the goals, instructions, and timing of the event.

2. How your perspective and understanding of facilitating large groups has

changed
My perspective on facilitating large groups has changed in that I feel more willing to
attempt a facilitated session with a very large number of participants. Previously, I would
have thought that attempting a structured session with a large group would be unwise
because not every break out group would report and individuals would feel unsatisfied
that not every comment was vetted by the larger group. The reading material caused
me to reconsider how to set expectations with the meeting planners beforehand and at
the session itself, so that it would be possible to have large numbers of teams and
break out groups, and not report every outcome.

My understanding was also expanded to look for additional opportunities and methods
to engage the participants in a variety of situations. Most meetings tend to be formatted
with a speaker or speakers, and, perhaps, with some question and answer time. It
would be more engaging to ask the audience to think of questions in advance of the
presentation, to help engage the audience in the material as well as to fuel the discuss
after the presentation. While not every situation invites free-flowing discussion, looking
for opportunities to make the mundane transfer of information into a more engaging
session is my new goal.

3. Where you have seen the core elements of group facilitation applied in a
facilitated session
I essentially followed the core elements as described to design a workshop on the effects of
toxins on animals in the Indian River Lagoon on the east coast of Florida. Acting as a contract
facilitator, the purpose of the workshop was defined by the client, the Indian River Lagoon
National Estuary Program. The client-defined product was a list of research needs and
management activities that were needed to address issues with various animal populations with

Busby, Tiffany Page 2 of 5 Module 1

waterborne toxins. The initial participants were defined by the client as the Indian River Lagoon
Program Management Committee members. As part of the planning process, I contacted each
committee member in advance by phone, and asked them who else they felt should be invited
to the workshop. By this method, the participant list was expanded to include those regional
experts. Through discussions with the client as well as the pre-workshop phone calls, I identified
likely issues and some conflicts among the participants.

The process I used was to first define the various animal populations that would be discussed;
then to break into four groups who identified possible research needs and management actions;
then we went back to one group where we identified strengths and weaknesses of the items;
merged the ideas and identified possibly agencies or individuals who might implement the
items; and then rated the items as high, medium, or low priority.

4. Factors or behaviors you have witnessed in various size groups

Size does matter--small groups are easier to focus. The challenge with small groups is to
encourage the timid to speak up and to share their thoughts, and to quell the most dominant
personalities. I have found that it is not possible to facilitate a shy person into an outgoing one
(and vice versa), but it is quite possible to draw out comments from quiet personalities and to
curb the domineering ones, if done with some sensitivity and a bit of humor.

Large groups are a different challenge and deserve some prior planning to structure the agenda
and the process to create good situations for participation. In a large group, you have more
opportunity for more great ideas and interactions, but you also have more chance for bad
moments to affect the whole crowd. I concur that problems are magnified with larger groups. I
have found it important to keep the product in mind when crafting a process, so you avoid
asking questions or creating exercises that dont add much value to the final product. Thinking
hard about what you want to know from the discussion really helps break down the questions or
discussion items that should be covered. Some diversions can be interesting and help the
outcomes in unexpected ways, but it is important to structure the process to dedicate most of
the allotted time to discussion that will contribute to the product.

Busby, Tiffany Page 3 of 5 Module 1

5. How the application of the learning could be used to facilitate various size
groups in the future
In the future, I would emphasize several aspects of defining the process to facilitate various
sized groups. First, I would continue to work with the client to well-define the purpose, product,
participants, and probable issues. All of those features are essential to defining a functional
process. When working with small groups, I would think about how to more fully engage each
participant and to follow the steps of delineation; strengths and weaknesses; merging; and
lobbying.

For large groups, I will think more about the process aspect of the session and the best way to
use teams or break out groups to increase engagement and the information that can be
generated. It can be beneficial to identify team leaders from the participants, and thereby to
engage some of the participants at a different level. It is interesting to think about different ways
to effectively handle the report-out stage and how to winnow the information into reportable
segments that meet the time constraints. I will consider having another round of teams that
consolidate the information and increase the efficiency of the reports. While structuring a
process for a large group is challenging, it is possible to accomplish. I will emphasize having
very clear instructions for any team leaders/other facilitators as well as giving clear instructions
during the session for everyone to hear. As with many complex efforts, good planning is
essential for a successful outcome, and to allow time and budget to conduct those planning
efforts.

6. How would you approach an extremely large group and an extremely small
group, applying the techniques and core elements you have learned
For an extremely large group, I would first think about how to structure a process for a team of
eight to 10 people. Then, I would expand that process out to include at least five groups of eight
to 10 people, specifically how to engage a larger audience and thinking about how to
consolidate the outcomes to a manageable size. Finally, I would think about the very large
group and how to ramp up the process for the medium sized group for a large number of
people.

For the large group, I would consider having either team leaders or other facilitators to help

Busby, Tiffany Page 4 of 5 Module 1

manage the discussions and to have a process to designate scribes for the reporting. I would
dedicate a lot of thought to the supplies and the instructions that would be given to the entire
audience and to the group leaders. Keeping these instructions simple would be very important. I
would plan the timing of each stage very carefully, and would make sure that the time
constraints are clearly conveyed as each step progresses. It would be crucial to keep the
process on time and to allow enough time to move or transition in between each stage. If time
and budget allow, I would recommend leading a pre-session discussion and training for the
team leaders and the scribes.

For a small group, I would focus on the details of the process. First, to make sure the purpose of
the discussion is defined. The outset is also a good time to share the history of the effort; why
the individual participants were selected and why they are important to the process; and the
goal of the effort. Second, I would think about setting appropriate expectations. Defining aspects
such as the boundaries of the discussion are helpful. Managing the discussion flow, keeping on
the agenda, and tracking the time are important tasks for the facilitatorthese provide some
structure to the discussion. At the same time, allowing some diversion can be liberating and
may be helpful in the overall conversation, as long as digressions do not overtake the goal. As
previously stated, in small groups it is especially important that the facilitation draw out those
that are not participating and reign in those that are dominating at the expense of others. Finally,
I think it is important for the facilitator to clearly identify and confirm outcomesthese can be
decisions, consensus, action items, or information.

Busby, Tiffany Page 5 of 5 Module 1