This document summarizes a webinar on structuring effective meetings in contentious settings. The webinar covered unseen structures that can impact meetings, challenges faced in contentious meetings, and tools to address those challenges. Specific tools discussed include seating structures, PALPaR, three reaction questions, visible note taking, 1-2-All, practical subgrouping, FATT, and ARE IN. The presenter emphasized using meeting structure to enable balanced participation and respectful exchanges.

1. Naked Meetings II: Structuring Effective
Meetings in Contentious Settings
Rick Lent
July 11, 2012
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5. Naked Meetings II:
Structuring Effective Meetings in
Contentious Settings
Rick Lent, Ph.D.
http://www.MeetingforResults.com
This work by Rick Lent, Ph.D. is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

6. Agenda
1. Help you see how unseen structures may affect
(+/-) meetings in contentious situations
2. Outline ways to structure better meetings in
contentious settings
3. Give you selected tools for implementing
structures to keep discussions respectful and
productive
And take your questions …
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7. Your Challenges…
1. You face contentious meetings where …
a) One or two voices dominate
b) Group is divided on an issue and some arrive with their
minds made up
c) Decisions lack real support or get remade later even
though there seems to be consensus
d) One person’s objection stops progress
e) Passive/aggressive “participation” as some show up late or
fail to engage in the work of meeting
2. Were you part of the first Naked Meeting webinar on the
underlying structure of meetings?
a) Yes
b) No
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8. Unseen structures …
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9. Unseen Structures of Meetings
• Physical, temporal,
procedural aspects of
meetings.
• With an (unrecognized)
impact on how we
interact with each other
and the work of the
meeting.
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10. Unseen Structures of Meetings
Sara Beauvais The FairyCircle.com
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11. Structure affects power,
control and participation
in many ways and sets
the context for
respectful exchanges.
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12. A Difficult Board Proposal
• Large church (1000
members)
• Board intends to
propose an
organizational change
and expects
resistance
• Risk of some
particularly
outspoken people.
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13. Engaging 150+ Members in 60 Minutes
• Meeting held
between services -
60 minutes
available.
• Room set up in
small clusters of
chairs.
• Seating directions
on door.
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14. Engaging 150+ Members in 60 Minutes
• Board presents purpose
of meeting: to gather
input on proposal.
• Proposal presentation
(12 minutes)
• Small groups answer 3
questions
• Groups address all 3
questions and be ready
to report back in 20
minutes.
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15. Whole Group Meeting Resumes
• President asks for (a sample of) group
responses to first question.
• As comments shared, another board member
writes key phrases on flip chart.
• Same process for second and third question.
• After all reports, President thanked everyone
for their input and explained that the Board
will review the feedback and present
conclusions next week.
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16. Over the Next Week …
– Board summarizes
what they heard in
response to all 3
questions
– Board develops revised
proposal
– Meanwhile, Frank talks
to minister
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17. Board Meets with Congregation Again
– Board summarizes what they heard in
response to all 3 questions
– They explain how they have taken the
feedback into account.
– The revised proposal is presented.
– Again people shared their reactions in small
groups before whole group discussion.
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18. Underlying Structure of My Story
1. Clear, multi-step process.
2. Short initial presentation.
3. Everyone gets to speak in
small, mixed groups. No one
gets to “take over” meeting.
4. Three questions, one at a
time, ensure balanced
feedback heard by all.
5. No back-and-forth verbal
“ping-pong”.
6. Board works with feedback
before having to reply.
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19. Contentious Respectful Meetings
– To be respected, both you and your ideas are
heard and honored
– To do this, use meeting structure to:
• Connect as people first, ideas second
• Enable all to speak and be heard
• Avoid binary voting when possible
• Avoid physical arrangements that create “sides”
• Avoid need to defend positions
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20. Tools Used in My Story
– Seating Structures to connect people in small
mixed groups
– PALPaR so everyone gets to speak, no sides
dominate
– Three Reaction Questions for balanced feedback
– Visible Note Taking to demonstrate listening and
focus/record feedback
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21. Seating Structures
Changing Interaction by Changing Seating
Decide if you want individuals to sit as they usually do. The
best choice may be to mix participants so that the same
people don’t sit with and talk to the same folks as usual.
– Direct people to their “assigned” seats as they arrive.
If nothing else, you can take a different chair yourself. If you
always sit at the head of the table, move to the side.
If it’s a large group, create small circles of chairs.
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22. PALPaR
Creating a Respective Exchange in Response to Some Proposal
Present: You present the proposal. Try not to take any questions at this time.
Ask: Ask participants to talk with each other (in small groups) to clarify
feedback by answering specific questions
Listen: Take reports from each small group, one question at a time..
Pause: Take a specified break to incorporate what you have heard before
continuing, and
Reply: Come back to the group and summarize what you heard as key points
in the feedback, and how you have taken feedback into account (or not).
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23. Three Reaction Questions
Gathering balanced feedback
• Present proposal. Then ask participants to reflect on their
own or in small groups to answer these questions:
1. What do you like about [the proposal]?
2. Where do you need further information?
3. Where do you have concerns?
• After a few minutes, take reports, one question at a time
beginning with the first. Get all replies to first question before
proceeding to the second.
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24. Visible Note Taking
Recording the progress of the group’s discussion
• Maintain an ongoing record of comments, using each
speaker’s words as much as possible.
• Record the comments where all can see it.
• Use the speaker’s words. But, this is not a transcript. Some
abbreviation of comments is fine as long as you capture the
essence of what the speaker said.
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25. Turning to Your Challenges…
a) One or two voices dominate
b) Group is divided on an issue and some arrive with
their minds made up
c) Decisions lack real support or get remade later even
though there seems to be consensus
d) One person’s objection stops progress
e) Passive/aggressive “participation” as some show up
late or fail to engage in the work of meeting
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26. Challenge: 1-2 Dominant Voices
Plan to create opportunities for individual reflection
and small group sharing before whole group
discussion.
Tool: “1-2-All”
1: Individual Reflection. Give individuals a chance
to gather their own thoughts.
2: Small Group Discussion. Ask participants to turn to
their neighbors to share their ideas.
All: Whole Group Discussion. Ask each group for a
brief report (typically 1-3 minutes) summarizing
their discussion.
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27. Challenge: Arriving with Minds Made Up
Plan to engage everyone in respectful sharing and
listening to balanced feedback.
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28. Challenge: Decisions Lack Support
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29. Challenge: Decisions Lack Support
What’s the underlying issue? Do people feel they are
responsible for this decision at this time?
The “potholes”…
Failure to decide how to decide.
Failure to communicate the choice.
Failure to act consistently with the choice.
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30. Challenge: Decisions Lack Support
Five ways to reach a decision with a group: “5Cs”
• Consensus: All support the decision. If one person has an objection,
then you don’t have consensus.
• Consent: Each person says that s/he can support the decision even
if not “perfect.”
• Compromise: Everyone gives up something to achieve a unified
common outcome.
• Count: This is majority rule or voting. One side wins.
• Consult: You want the group’s input on some decision you will
make.
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31. Challenge: One Objection Stops Progress
Key is to respect individual. Avoid isolating and
causing him/her to go defensive.
Ask: “Who else feels this way?”
• Form sub-group to explore their view (not debate or argue against other
view)
• Remainder of group listens
• Form second (and third) subgroup to discuss other view(s)
• Then ask whole group: “What are we learning about similarities and
differences in views?”
See tool “Practical Subgrouping” (or Weisbord and Janoff: Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There. (2007)
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32. Challenge: Passive/Aggressive “Participation”
What’s the underlying cause?
• Is the work of this meeting clear and relevant
to all?
• Are the right people present to do the work?
• Is there enough time for the discussion and
do all understand how a decision will be
reached?
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33. Challenge: Passive/Aggressive “Participation”
Tools:
Five Cs of decision making
FATT for a clear task
ARE IN for getting the right people in the
discussion
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34. FATT
Defining a Clear Task: Focused, Actionable, Timely, Timed
The more clearly the task description fulfills the FATT criteria, the
more likely it is that the group will engage each other effectively
in the work of the meeting.
• Focused: The subject for discussion is a clear and bounded
task so everyone understands exactly what is under
consideration.
• Actionable: The decision to be reached can be acted on by
those present. This group has the relevant authority.
• Timely: This is the right time to address this topic.
• Timed: The assigned time is adequate to the task.
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35. ARE IN
Identifying Who Should Be Present
Be clear about the work of the meeting and what a successful
result will entail. Then plan how to include those who represent
one or more of the following:
• Authority to act on meeting conclusions.
• Resources to apply in implementing meeting conclusions.
• Expertise on critical aspects of the discussion or decision.
• Information on some aspect of the discussion.
• Need for an effective outcome or conclusion of this meeting.
The ARE IN acronym, was first proposed by Weisbord and Janoff (2010).
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36. How Do I Know This Works?
• The last 30 years have seen major advances in how we
conduct effective large group meetings of 50, 100, 500 or
more participants.
• In such large meetings, it is very difficult to direct the behavior
or participation of individuals. Instead, a facilitator uses
structure to enable all to participate effectively and efficiently.
• My goal is to adapt and communicate the structural
approaches of these large group meetings so leaders
everywhere can make own meetings more engaging and
effective.
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37. For More Information..
Stories of challenging meetings and structural tools to help at
www.meetingforresults.com/blog
Complimentary consultation on a meeting challenge (by email or
phone appointment)
rick@meetingforresults.com
1-978-580-4262
E-book on 31 structural tools for better meetings: Meeting for
Results Tool Kit: Make Your Meetings Work. Available late summer.
Sign up to be notified when available: www.meetingforresults.com
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