National Center on Severe and Sensory Disabilities 2007 Consensus Building.

National Center on Severe and Sensory Disabilities 2007

Consensus Building

One of my worst meeting experiences regarding procedure (outside this group, of course).

Emotionss

Copyright © 2006-2007 The Beyond Intractability ProjectBeyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

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Emotions and Conflict

Emotions are both a cause and a result of conflict

Positive emotions are key to conflict resolution

Conflicts are fueled by emotional needs (love, closure…)

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

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Emotions and Conflict II

Emotion can overcome logic --

sometimes emotional issues become more important than substantive issues

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

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Emotions and Conflict II

Emotion frames conflict – shaping parties’ view of:

• Relationships• Fairness• Relative power• Relative status

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

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Emotion in Negotiation

Emotions can influence negotiations andmediations either positively ornegatively

Positive emotions foster:• Problem solving• Creativity• Respect for others’ perspectives• Improved cognitive ability

Negative emotions foster:• Inaccurate judgments• Lessened concern for the other

parties’ preferences• Neglect of one’s own instrumental

goals

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

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Emotion in Negotiation II

Emotions can inform us of our adversaries’:

• Commitment

• Sincerity

• Needs

• Values

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

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Recognizing and Using Emotions

To use emotion effectively:

• Acknowledge -- emotions in yourself and others

• Determine -- their source

• Manage -- you own negative emotions

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

PowerPoint Summary of: Emotions

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Recognizing and Using Emotions

To use emotion effectively:

• Allow -- the other side to express their feelings without dismissing them

• Empathize -- with the other

• Reframe -- your positions and interests in a less emotionally-threatening manner

Consensus Definition

Maximum agreement among people while drawing on as much of everyone’s ideas as possible

CONSENSUS

• not a simple matter• both a methodology and an aim• creative process• not stifling, not a killer of initiative• Respectful• Develops the best in us all

“Simply stated, consensus is different from other kinds of decision making because it stresses the cooperative development of a decision with group members working together rather than competing against each other. The goal of consensus is a decision that is consented to by all group members. Of course, full consent does not mean that everyone must be completely satisfied with the final outcome – in fact, total satisfaction is rare. The decision must be acceptable enough, however, that all will agree to support the group in choosing it.”

Center for Conflict Resolution

Consensus decision making requires:

• Sufficient time to explore all the information and opinions

• Strong facilitative leadership• Members willing to contribute their views and

discuss their reasons• Commitment and effort to develop an

atmosphere of honesty and openness in the group

• Willingness to confront and resolve controversy and conflict

Consensus exists within a group when each member can say:

• I have had the opportunity to voice my opinions

• I believe the group has heard me• I can actively support the group’s decision

as the best possible at this time, even if it is not my first choice”

Possible Agenda/Approach

1. Brief introduction by facilitator/team leader2. What would you be doing now if you were

not here?3. Aim of the session (outcome)4. Barometer reading

Examples

• “I really don’t care what happens in this workshop.”

• “I wish we had a different presenter today.”

• “I hope we get out of here by 4:30.”

5. Initial decisions (what does everyone agree on?)

6. Use tools:– Go rounds– Taking a break– Playing a game– Taking strength of feeling– Straw vote

– Time restrictions (e.g., 2 minutes to speak)• Opposites paired off

– Brainstorming• Everything suggested is written down on a sheet

which everyone can see.• Normal ideas of appropriateness are discarded to

allow creative and lateral thinking.• No comments are made until the brainstorming

process is completed.

– Lateral thinking process• Exploring other ways of dealing with the matter in

hand which might have the same or a similar effect or conclusion. Focus on interests not positions

– Small groups• Members randomly chosen, birds of a feather, or

deliberately having mixed opinions in each group

7. Conclusions/Review8. Final go round (anything left unsaid)

9. Brief assessment– Share anything individuals still want to say,

and – Share a few words of comment about this

session

10.Closing

• One-to-ones– One person speaks for a set time, then the

other

• Silence/Music• Parking lot (with process in place to deal

with issue)

Fist to Five

1. Feel it is an issue, but I don't feel too strongly about it.

2. Issue of some importance, but not overly important.

3. Feel strongly on the issue, but I’m willing to compromise somewhat.

4. Feel strongly enough that compromise would be difficult.

5. Matter of principle/essential issue where I cannot see how I can compromise at the moment.

CONDITIONS THAT SUPPORT CONSENSUS

• Unity of purpose• Equal access to power• Autonomy of the group from external

hierarchical structures• Time• A willingness in the group to attend to process• A willingness in the group to attend to attitudes• A willingness in the group to learn and practice

skills

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

Copyright © 2006-2007 The Beyond Intractability ProjectBeyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado

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Communication and Culture

Communication is cultural

• It draws on speech patterns, language, and nonverbal messages

• It is interactive

• It operates through social relationships

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

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Communication and Culture

Cultural Fluency

• Essential for effective cross-cultural communication

• Consists of• Understanding your own cultural

lenses• Understanding communication variation across cultures

• Applying these understandings to enhance relationships

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

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Common Cultural Differences

Perception of Time

Perception of Space

Fate and Personal Responsibility

Importance of Face

Nonverbal Communication

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

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Perception of Time and Space

Time

• Monochromic -- linear quantitative time, most common in the northern and western hemispheres

• Polychromic -- cyclical time w/ unraveling and unlimited continuity, most common in southern and eastern hemispheres

Space -- differences in comfortabledistance between people

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

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Fate and Personal Responsibility

Extent to which we feel ourselvesto be the masters of our lives

Extent to which we see ourselvesas subject to things outside ourcontrol

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

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Face and Face-Saving

Face is the standing a person has in the eyes of others

The importance of “face” andface-saving varies across cultures

• Some cultures value “face” more than their own well-being

• Other cultures do not care about face all that much

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

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Nonverbal Communication Different cultures use different

systems of understanding nonverbal cues

• Low-context cultures -- place relatively less emphasis on nonverbal cues

• High-context cultures -- place relatively more emphasis on nonverbal cues

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

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WARNING! These categories (time, space, fate, face, context, etc.) are both oversimplified and non-exhaustive!

Negotiators should be aware of differences and respond appropriately.

PowerPoint Summary of: Cross-Cultural Communication

Getting Past No (Ury, 1991)

• Five steps of breakthrough negotiation are:1. Don’t react to provocations. Step away from

the scene, calm down, and carefully plan your response. Do not respond automatically, because most automatic responses are negative and further escalate the situation.

2. Step around obstacles, don’t walk right into them. Use active listening to defuse negative feelings, and use I-messages to express your feelings. Agree whenever you can, but stand up for your principles as well.

3. Ask people "why?" "why not?" or "how is that fair?" to try to move them away from positional bargaining toward principled negotiation.

4. Make it easy for the opponent to agree by making the offer as attractive as possible

5. Make it hard for them to walk away by proving that the negotiated agreement is better than their alternatives. "Bring them to their senses, not their knees,"

Paraprofessional/Educator Partnerships

• Hire the most talented, caring, and competent paraprofessionals available;

• Demonstrate appreciation and respect for their work by treating them well;

• Orient them to the school, classroom, and students;

• Clarify their roles and assign them tasks that align with their skills;

• Provide initial and ongoing training that matches their roles;

• Give them professionally prepared plans to follow;

• Direct their work through ongoing, supportive supervision; and

• • Provide opportunities for them to be contributing team members.

• Don’t relinquish instruction– Paraprofessionals STILL undertrained or

untrained– Students with the greatest learning challenges

in the classroom—often receive their primary or exclusive instruction and support from the least qualified staff members

• Operate across the curriculum (high school teachers can’t do this)

• Risk making “done-to-ers” instead of “do-ers”– Often compensate by doing work for student

• Can contribute to isolation• Overdependence

Is it okay, if:

• A paraprofessional provides the student's primary literacy instruction.

• The student is removed from class activities at the discretion of the paraprofessional rather than the teacher.

• The student spends 80 percent or more of his or her time with a paraprofessional.

• The student spends the majority of his or her social time (lunch, recess) with a paraprofessional rather than with classmates.

• The paraprofessional, rather than the teacher or you, makes the majority of day-to-day curricular and instructional decisions affecting the student.