Decide What the Conversation Must Resolve
Facilitation helps people understand a question and consider choices. It does not require everyone to share a view. Before a meeting, name the decision, actual decision owner, available options, information needed and how disagreement will be recorded. Explain whether participants are advising, negotiating or deciding. Do not invite people to choose an option that the sponsor has already ruled out without saying so.
INTRAC's approach emphasizes context and client ownership. The example below is original working facilitation, not a participation program, mediation service or method for deciding sensitive employment cases.
Hear the Difference Between Silence and Agreement
In this fictional NGO, two teams are considering a joint weekly approval meeting. The manager can schedule a trial within existing working arrangements, but cannot alter employment terms. The facilitator has no decision authority. The proposed Tuesday meeting conflicts with a delivery task.
Manager: "No one objected to Tuesday in the email, so we are agreed."
Coordinator: "I did not reply because I was covering the storeroom. Tuesday would leave receiving work uncovered."
Facilitator: "The email shows no recorded reply from you. It does not show agreement. What coverage would Tuesday require, and which alternative is feasible?"
Second team lead: "Thursday gives us more time, but decisions would reach our partners later."
Facilitator: "We have two different consequences. Let us compare coverage and decision timing before the manager decides."
The facilitator corrects the inference without declaring either team obstructive. A quiet room can reflect uncertainty, limited access, power differences or lack of time to think. Ask for views through an appropriate accessible route and allow private input where justified. Do not promise anonymity that cannot be maintained.
Compare Real Alternatives
| Option | Benefit in the Supplied Case | Remaining Cost or Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday with authorized cover | Earlier decisions for partners | Cover is not yet confirmed; a named person is insufficient without availability and permission |
| Thursday | Current receiving cover remains available | Some partner decisions arrive later; check which are time sensitive |
| Keep current arrangement temporarily | Avoid an unsupported coverage change | Existing delay remains; a decision and follow-up date are still needed |
Ask each team to describe what would make its preferred option unacceptable. Check statements against the actual work where possible. A facilitator can separate factual disagreement from different priorities, but should not erase either by averaging preferences.
Close With an Accurate Decision Record
The manager selects a two-week Thursday trial because Tuesday cover is unavailable. Record: "Manager selected Thursday under existing scheduling authority. Receiving team supports the trial. Delivery team accepts testing it but remains concerned about partner delays. No consensus on a permanent arrangement. Partner timing will be checked before continuation."
The coordinator will record delayed decisions using the agreed definition. The manager will check coverage and partner consequences after the trial. These are assigned actions, not evidence they have occurred. If actual authority or a legal employment question is unresolved, keep that decision pending for the proper role.
Respond When the Meeting Cannot Proceed Safely
If a complaint about harassment or an identifiable safeguarding case emerges, stop treating it as a group planning disagreement. Use the established restricted route and appropriate trained personnel. Do not investigate it in an ordinary planning meeting or place details in public minutes.
For ordinary unresolved choices, state what is known, what remains disputed, who decides and what happens next. Circulate the record for factual corrections through the agreed route; no response is still not endorsement. Use consultant ownership guidance when outside advisers are involved. A useful meeting can end with a bounded decision and preserved disagreement.