Page 230 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

Leading Small Groups: Practical Tips 213

d. In private, tactfully ask the excessive talker to help you encourage quiet
members to speak: “Your ideas have been very helpful to the group, but
because you are so articulate, I’m concerned that others feel intimidated
about participating. How can you help me get Susan and Juan to contribute
to the discussions more often?”
e. Have an observer keep a count of how often or how long each member
speaks, and report the findings to the group. If a serious imbalance is
apparent, the group can decide what to do.
f. As a last resort, ask the person to control talking or leave the group: “While
your ideas are excellent, your constant talking prevents other members,
whose ideas are equally good, from contributing. This hurts both group
morale and decision making. For the sake of the group, if you will not
control your talking, I will ask you to leave the group.”
3. Listen with real interest to what an infrequent speaker says, and encourage
others to do the same.
Nothing discourages a speaker more than a lack of listening. Yet the evidence is
clear that most people ignore comments from a quiet member. Leader
intervention can help an infrequent speaker get a fair hearing.
4. Don’t comment after each member’s remark.
Some leaders fall into this pattern, while others do this to overcontrol the group.
Listen, then speak when you are really needed, but don’t become the constant
interpreter or repeater of what others say.
5. Bounce requests for your opinions on substantive issues back to the group.
Leaders can influence members just because they are leaders.
Encourage independent thinking by members by withholding your opinions until
others have expressed theirs. You might reply, “Let’s see what other members
think first. What do the rest of you think about . . .?” When you do offer an
opinion, give it as only one point of view to be considered, not as the point of view.
6. Remain neutral during arguments.
When you get heavily involved in an argument, you lose the perspective needed
to mediate, to summarize, and to perform well as a leader. If you realize that
evaluation is needed, point that out and ask others to provide it. At most, act as
a devil’s advocate for a point of view that otherwise would not be considered,
and tell the group that you’re playing the devil’s advocate role. Of course, you
are always free to support decisions as they emerge.

Stimulating Creative Thinking Groups are potentially more creative than individuals,
but often group outputs are mediocre or worse. Sometimes creativity must be
stimulated deliberately. Leaders can do several things to encourage creativity:
1. Defer evaluation and ask group members to do the same.
The main idea behind brainstorming, described in Chapter 10, is to defer
evaluation of ideas until members have no more ideas to suggest. Who wants to
suggest an idea that will get shot down? When a group member criticizes a
suggestion, gently remind that person of the “defer evaluation” rule.

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