Edward Nelson argues that when conflict erupts in groups, facilitators should welcome difficult contributions instead of shutting them down. Invite the person to elaborate with "Great, tell me more" and give them space to speak. This diffuses tension and prevents the issue from coming back later.
Chapters
I want to share the biggest tip I ever learned about facilitating conflict, and that is coming from the belief that we're all human, and by that means we all have the capacity to be kind and compassionate, and we also have the capacity to come across as the opposite of that, and, um, that usually that is never anybody's intention. Um, sometimes people are angry and they act, um, with a sense of reprisal, but often they have their own rationale for it. So no one's trying to do bad, it just may feel that way in the moment. So what does this mean? Means that the best way to deal with a challenge from somebody in a group that's challenging to the other people is to welcome it in. Even to say, "Great, tell me more." And the act of giving that person a platform to speak for a short amount of time is the number one tip for working with conflict. If we try to keep it silent, if we try to belittle it, if we try to argue against it in the first instance, then it just pushes something out and that will remain waiting to pop in at any other time. So my final tip on that is: welcome what is. Thanks for listening. I'm Edward Nelson, and that is a tip from Facilitating Change.
