Facilitating Groups With Grace and Productiveness - Sept 2012

This workshop is fun, energetic and interactive. It is grounded in presentation of key facilitation concepts and discussion of real-life examples. There are plenty of opportunities to practice the tools and to discuss the complexities of facilitating inclusive, effective, productive meetings. You'll take home a packet of materials you can use in your future work.

Participants will develop tools to:

• Understand basic cycles and processes that occur in groups.
• Help groups to organize their work around a clear understanding of their purpose and objectives.
• Encourage group members to uncover the interests that underlie their positions in a dispute.
• Guide a group in developing, prioritizing, deciding on, and implementing its ideas.
• Choose activities that make the best use of the group's participation.
• Take leadership in response to challenging behaviors from group members.
• Increase equity and inclusiveness in the group process, and engage productively in intercultural conflict.

This training focuses on skills for outside facilitators (those who are not members of the groups they are facilitating), though the tools are applicable to other situations.

What past participants say

• Enthusiastic training! Great, real-world examples.
• Thank you so much for the in-depth packet. I will keep it forever!!
• I appreciate the content chosen to present - not focusing on meeting management but true, good, honest facilitation.
• Fantastic interactive learning, and the space and snacks created great environment.
• I liked the combination of presentation, written materials, and role playing. I especially enjoyed when the presenters brought in specific examples from their experience.

Dates and location

In response to past participants' feedback, we are expanding this workshop to 2 1/2 days to give more time for practicing skills and discussing challenging situations.

Training dates:

• Thursday, September 13, 1 - 5 pm
• Friday, September 14, 9 am - 5  pm
• Saturday, September 15, 9 am - 4:30 pm

Lunch is on your own. We'll provide coffee, tea, a continental breakfast, and afternoon snacks.

Location: Resolutions Northwest (1827 NE 44th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon 97213). We have free parking for cars and bikes, and we're close to transit.

Accessibility: We want each participant to be fully included. Please contact us with any questions or requests for how we could support you in participating fully, such as providing large-print materials, sending written materials in advance, discussing/modifying the room set-up, etc.

Fees

Space is limited. Register now! Please note that if we have not received your payment by September 5, the registration fee increases by $25.

• $350 ($375 after September 5)
• Community volunteers and non-profit staff: $250 ($275 after September 5)
• Staff and volunteers of community mediation programs: $175 ($200 after September 5)
• Students: $175 ($200 after September 5)

We will also offer a work-trade slot in exchange for assistance with copying, assembling packets, purchasing snacks, etc. For more information or to enter the lottery, please contact us by August 30. (You do not need to register on the website.)

Trainers

Teri Pierson and Christina Albo are facilitators, trainers, and mediators on staff at Resolutions Northwest. Between them, they have over 20 years' experience facilitating all kinds of groups.

Details