Wie können Sie in Gruppendiskussionen neutral bleiben?

What I do when this happens, is to try to find commonality. All of us have things that we differ about. But when you zoom out, we all have much more in common than not in common. This is not simply a cliche, it's a basic fact that is very true, but so often overlooked. Try to stick to topics or points that both sides are likely to agree with.

Love God. Love others. (Breathe. Listen. Pray for wisdom, humility, and compassion. And patience. Then speak truth, respectfully. And stop talking until called upon. Rinse and repeat.)

While I find that this approach emphasizes neutrality, it's also essential for facilitators to be prepared for pushback. Participants might feel the facilitator is being too neutral or not addressing dominating voices whilst more introverted participants get left behind. I suggest that a facilitator should not only actively validate concerns, but also use facilitation tools that contribute to an equitable dialogue, and be flexible in adjusting this approach based on group dynamics and feedback.

Give examples of what forms facilitation may take - e.g., clarifying questions, capturing everyone's inputs, ensuring the group stays on time, asking the group to argue the other side of a point to round out their thinking - and what forms it will not take - e.g., sharing your opinion, sharing your experiences, directing the process to any predetermined result(s).

I think before facilitating, its also important you know and understand your biases on the topic that is about to be discussed. Then think about how these biases could potentially play out in the discussion. This way you can check yourself and try to rebalance when you are already leaning towards one side. Framing your bias tendencies and asking people for help to rebalance in case these biases show up might also help.

I agree that active listening is a cornerstone for facilitators, but it's only the beginning. Deep listening takes this further, capturing the essence of messages, not just content. It tunes into unsaid emotions, motivations, and hesitations. A nod captures attention, but noticing the silence, hesitations, or unspoken tensions reveals deeper insights. For true facilitation, we must hear both voiced opinions and the silent undercurrents, ensuring a holistic, inclusive discussion.

Move around the room stopping in different spots so all participants know they have your attention. Use different forms of cues of active listening. Pay attention to how different participants respond to each. Some people will want more room when they speak. Some will respond more if you move toward them when they are speaking. Do some investigative work ahead of time so you have an indication of who is quicker to speak and who needs more to think and form their thoughts and the overall culture of the group - e.g., Do some people dominate? Do they practice active listening?

In terms of asking questions. I think it should be a balance of open ended and close ended questions. Close ended question help ground points being made and can be an invitation to speakers to listen to themselves. Open ended questions on the other hand helps explore the point further. So for example, you could ask a close ended question like “what I am hearing you say is point A?” Speaker may then give you a yes or a no answer. Sometimes upon hearing you repeating the point might prompt them to clarify. Then you can follow it up with an open ended question like, “how does point A support this and that?”

As a facilitator, it's important to listen to the atmosphere and energy in the room, to the participants, as well as yourself.

I always ensure to re-phrase what I heard and check with the contributor to make sure I understood correctly. The latter part is vital to make sure you not only heard, but you understood someone's contribution.

I would recommend checking out "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life" By Marshall B. Rosenberg. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a tool with the goal of creating empathy in conversations. The Jackals and Giraffes framework really helped me to consider how I show in any space or conversation. Jackals: Non-empathic Responses, Labels, Evaluates, Judges, Assumes, Criticizes, Interprets by layering our own meaning Giraffes: Empathic Responses, Observes without judgment, Takes responsibility for our own feelings and needs, Understands the wants and need of everyone (including ourselves), Formulate clear requests or replies We can show up as either at any time, but once you raise your awareness around it, you have the power to choose.

I say, "Be attached to the process, not the outcome". This allows myself to remain open-minded, but allows the participants to do so as well. If the process is interactive, steeped in trust and allows for ways to check in with the group, the outcome should be something everyone can support.

Facial expressions and body language are also key to keep an eye on when you're moderating. Keep those as neutral and open as possible.

Being aware of my own personal strengths, weaknesses and biases, as well as the sensitivity of the content and job at hand is important to prepare adequately. This awareness helps me to position myself as water: resilient, marginal and adaptive, while guiding the process. When emotions begin to escalate, helpful questions often identify, label, guide and lead participants to reflect and review their emotions and perspectives. Breathing, icebreakers, short breaks, reflection, eye contact and soft language, open questions, interpersonal dialogue and sub-group discussions are some helpful tools/techniques to employ.

Contrary to what some folks have shared, it's okay. It's okay. We are all human with our own network of emotions, triggers, and sensitive topics. It's okay and normal. Acknowledge and hold some space for yourself. In the moment, I use two methods. Both start with, "W.A.I.T." Why am I talking? What would my comment realistically add to the moment? Would my comment cause more tension? Reduce tension? In your role, in the moment, with the folks that are present, what is the value/impact of your need to participate? While "W.A.I.T."-ing, count to 10. Give yourself 10 even, steady, seconds to reflect. Will my comment feel as profound or important in 10 seconds, 10 minutes, 10 days? Be intentional in your choices.

If you have these problems you shouldn't moderate, choose the topics that doesn't affect you. In life you can be as emotional as you can possibly be, but inside these walls you just put on the hat of a Martian who has no idea what is going on on earth.

Holding the participants with compassion, being curious about their situation and innovative in approach helps to remain in an emotionally balanced headspace, as does all the mindfulness suggested. The bold action of changing the format of the group changes their physiology and can serve to lift their emotional mood.

I would refrain from using the term “feedback” i would rather use the term “observations”. When you say feedback somehow it connotes judgment and if you are making judgment you are not being neutral and objective. So, “provide observations and reflections” rather than “feedback and reflections.”

I'd definitely recommend taking reflection time for yourself. Effective facilitators / learning & development professionals benefit from building reflection into their practice. This can simply take the form of a couple of reflective questions at the start and end of a session/day. The act of 'checking in' with yourself can be powerful, help you acknowledge where you are at, and therefore what you might need to do to prepare for your day ahead. To do this, you could simply set aside a couple of minutes to think at the start and end of day; you might capture your reflections in a notebook or device; or you could discuss it with someone you trust.

It’s definitely important to encourage reflection within the group, especially from the participants themselves. I love Liberating Structures for this (like What, So What, Now What or Experience Fishbowl), which help create space for participants to reflect on the discussions they’ve had, their own contributions, feedback for others in the room (including you) and the key learning they’ll take away.

In my experience, introducing a case study that uses a similar situation to the one that’s being discussed works really well. When there are disparate views or heightened emotions in the room, breaking into small groups to discuss potential solutions and roadblocks, can reduce the potential for conflict. It also gets everyone into a problem solving mindset and working together towards a common goal. This has worked wonders, even when tempers became frayed.

As a facilitator, one must be comfortable with silence. When the participants can't agree, instead of trying to push the conversation forward, give them the space to contemplate. In my experience, someone always comes through with a question or clarification that allows the conversation to move forward. From a tooling perspective, a parking lot is of immense value. As a facilitator, I find that any time a conversation begins to go into a rabbit hole, or a question threatens to divert towards a tangent, I can use the parking lot to acknowledge the topic, and still move on with the main thread. Quite often, the queries on the parking lot are resolved in the main conversation, but at the appropriate time with the right context.

I will advocate Reflection in Action (Donald Schon). Notice what is happening within you. - Are you responding emotionally? - Where might that be originating within your body (somatic empathy). - what else are you noticing about yourself in relation with the situation? Do you feel threatened? Are you operating from your sympathetic or parasympathetic systems? Once you are more aware of the impact of the situation is, you can choose option / actions that are helpful. If you are not aware or noticing what is happening within you, you are unlikely to be able to execute useful interventions regardless of how well intentioned they are. Do you agree with this thinking?

Having a solid grasp of the content will allow you to identify points that you may need to pay closer attention to regarding managing your emotions and netrality. I recommend internalizing your neutrality if possible. It's hard to just ommit your stance without it seeping out if the environment intensifies. Have a true neutral view allows you to avoid unconsious biases that could undermind your facilitation.