Page 42 - The ART of Facilitation

Establish rules at the beginning. Take care of your participants.
Facilitating from Afar: You're the Crossing Guard
When facilitating a virtual meeting, think of yourself as the crossing guard, referee, or traffic cop. You get to make sure all voice are heard and sort out any collisions. Set the rules at the beginning. This helps participants feel safer—better taken care of—so they can focus on the call content. Establish that it's ok to interject if participants can't hear or need clarification.
Invite Collision Over Courtesy: Communicating virtually is messy because we often speak at the same time, which makes us uncomfortable. Embrace and invite the messiness and help others navigate it. Reassure them that you would rather two people speak at once than to have no one speak up. Jump in and help others.
Invite People to Question Whether to Be Muted or Un-muted: Un-muting allows people to respond more quickly in the moment. Large groups can't have everyone un-muted, but you can choose a select few.
Roll Call: Calling roll saves time and helps establish the players. It truly is helpful for people to state their name before speaking. This helps everyone know who is talking and saves people from becoming distracted by wondering who is speaking.
Be Transparent: Transparency is helpful in mitigating miscommunication. Share what's going on. This helps others NOT create story, nor create assumptions.
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