Attitudes, Behaviours and Ethics

1. Communication Skills for Facilitators Attitudes, Behaviours and Ethics By: Wendy Miles, Miguel Castrence and Jefferson Fox Unit: M02U01

2. Presentation outline Focus: attitudes, behaviours and ethics for good practice in PGIS communication skills, team building and group decision-making techniques

3. Attitudes, Behaviours & Ethicsfor Good Practice in PGIS

4. The “lily pad” model lily pad = behaviours that people see from the surface high stalk = attitudes towards the world low stalk = values, growing from beliefs roots = beliefs, deeply held Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS Source: Cheek, Brad (webmaster). A general practitioner's education and training resource. Gp-training.net. [Last updated Oct 2008] http://tinyurl.com/8veblj

5. Belief: North is up. Value: Western mapping standards Attitudes: Maps should be made with north facing up. Educated people know the top of the map is north. Behaviour: Telling community members that the right way to make their map is to have it situated with north on top Attitudes, behaviours and ethics for PGIS Mapping beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors

6. Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS PGIS facilitators need to know themselves and understand how their behaviours are influenced by their: • beliefs; • values; • attitudes. PGIS facilitators serve the communities in which they work.

7. Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS Valuing diversity • welcoming • comfort and safety • sensitivity Source: http://tinyurl.com/oa5vef

8. Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS Valuing diversity Promote a “learning attitude”: • Listen and learn from others. • Accept differences and respect people and their opinions. • Recognise people’s experience and prioritise local and traditional knowledge.

9. Valuing transparency honesty and openness building trust compromise & consensus Source: http://www.fao.org/Participation/ft_princ.jsp Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

10. Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS Valuing flexibility • being open to other ideas and perspectives • being adaptable in diverse settings • being understanding of others’ situations Source: http://www.fao.org/Participation/ft_princ.jsp

11. Ethics: norms for conduct regarding acceptable and unacceptable behaviours Ethical principles for PGIS facilitators include: being open and honest; obtaining informed consent; avoiding raising false expectations; avoiding exposing people to danger; putting local values, needs and concerns first. Attitudes, behaviours and ethicsfor PGIS

12. Ground Rules for Group Behaviour

13. Developing ground rules for group behaviour What are group ground rules? developed by the group guidelines for group behaviour examples

14. Examples: Test assumptions and inferences. Share all relevant information. Use specific examples & explain what is meant. Explain reasoning and intent. Focus on interests, not positions. Developing ground rules for group behaviour Source: Schwartz, RM. 2005. Ground Rules for Effective Groups. In The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook.

15. Share thoughts and ask questions with the purpose of learning as a group. Design group strategies collectively. Discuss important issues, even if it is difficult. Use decision-making rules that meet the needs of the group and encourage commitment. Developing ground rules for group behaviour Source: Schwartz, RM. 2005. Ground Rules for Effective Groups. In The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook.

16. Counteracting the Challenges of Listening Through careful meeting preparation, facilitators can help people participate more fully

17. Challenges for meeting participants Facilitators… find ways to help participants feel comfortable and confident engaging more fully.

18. Common challenges in meetings being unable to see the speaker or writings being unable to hear another person talk thinking about something else thinking about how to respond (or thinking about a question but not asking it) having difficulty understanding the level of material being discussed being tired Source: University of Hawaii, Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

19. Further challenges for listeners having difficulty understanding another person’s language or accent being distracted by noise, interruptions, etc. needing to use the restroom being hungry or thirsty being too hot or cold What can PGIS facilitators do to help participants overcome these common distractions and make meetings more interactive? Source: University of Hawaii, Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

20. The Art of Listening

21. Communicating effectively Active listening PGIS facilitator reflects back what the speaker has just said. Facilitator helps speaker feel understood and heard. Facilitator encourages participants to talk and helps them feel at ease.

22. Communicating effectively Types of active listening questions: open-ended encouraging clarifying restating reflecting summarising validating

23. Non-verbal communication People communicate with body language and words emotions culturally-specific interpretations of body language culturally appropriate body language

24. Non-verbal communication What to keep in mind body: body position (especially arms and legs), orientation and movements (e.g. fidgeting) face: level of eye contact, expression voice: speed and pitch of speech

25. Verbal language A PGIS facilitator needs to: talk in a language easily spoken by everyone, or get well qualified translators; speak clearly and at an appropriate volume; stand/sit where everyone can see and hear. pay close attention to people’s body language. verify that people understand what is being said.

26. Making Decisions as a Group

27. Thinking as a group Group memory: provides the group with a visual record; can be used as minutes; helps the group focus; legitimises people’s ideas; depersonalises ideas; provides a non-human target for criticism; prevents repetition; is low cost and easy. Source: Barkai, John. Undated. "Group memory and recording" from Meeting Facilitation, University of Hawaii Law School.

28. Group memory • The “recorder”: • captures ideas in the “group memory”; • uses the group’s key words and phrases; • remains neutral and does not participate; • asks the group to slow down, if necessary; • helps the facilitator keep track of information. Source: Barkai, John. Undated. "Group memory and recording" from Meeting Facilitation, University of Hawaii Law School.

29. Group memory Recorder’s responsibilities Label and number the pages. Print in big letters. Ensure everyone can see the writing. Abbreviate where possible. Make corrections non-defensively. Focus not on spelling but on content, speed & legibility. Bring pens, tape and paper. If possible, tape pages on the wall as they are finished. Highlight agreements in some way. Source: Barkai, John. Undated. "Group memory and recording" from Meeting Facilitation, University of Hawaii Law School. Photo: Wendy Miles, 2006

30. Step 1: Brainstorming Encourage contributions. Do not evaluate or judge ideas. Be positive and encouraging. Use imagination. Build on people’s ideas. Record every idea. Aim for quantity – the more ideas, the better. Group decision-making Source: University of Hawaii, Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

31. Step 2:Prioritising Work together to prioritise what is most important. Step 3: Narrowing Narrow what is not necessary. Try to come to a conclusion with which everyone is happy; combine solutions and make compromises if possible. Group decision-making Source: University of Hawaii, Program on Conflict Resolution Training Files, undated.

32. Examples of group decision-making tools • Clustering • Go around • Voting with stars • Fist of five

33. Exercise:Developing group ground rules

34. Conclusion • Experienced and talented PGIS facilitators: • strive to better understand themselves and others and improve communication among people; • continuously work to improve their facilitation skills to better serve the groups with which they work.