Tag: Meetings


WebChat#6: Facilitation Techniques

Submitted by Coho US Staff on
In our most recent WebChat, Alan O’Hashi shared techniques for facilitation in consensus cohousing groups. His approach is to shift from the transactional methods common in the greater culture, to methods focused on transformation. Watch the video at this link: https://youtu.be/ZQnz8X_7DME Alan gives detailed explanations and interesting stories that demonstrate four major strategies for fac
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WebChat #5 Keeping Meetings Short(er)

Submitted by Coho US Staff on
Ted Rau Sociocracy for All Making Meetings Shorter Much appreciation to Ted Rau for presenting WebChat #5 earlier this month. We had a great audience who were drawn by Ted’s enticing topic “Keeping Meeting Shorter. After reminding us that meeting are about connection and that long meetings can breed resentment and lower participation, Ted offered... Read More

Webchats are Coming!

Submitted by Karen Gimnig on
This fall The Cohousing Association is rolling out another great opportunity to learn about cohousing. We will be hosting sessions with process and facilitation professionals to share their expertise and answer your questions. We hope you will take advantage of this no-cost opportunity to receive support from your greater cohousing community. Each session will be... Read More

The Art of Facilitating: Fishing at Deep Water

Submitted by Laird Schaub on
Join Laird Schaub at the 2017 National Cohousing Conference where he is presenting several sessions, including this intensive: Building a Better Meeting: Facilitation Skills for Everybody The art of facilitation is analogous to a set of nested Russian dolls: it’s as many-layered as an onion. Casual observers may not notice that meeting facilitators—especially skilled ones—are... Read More

Pushing Versus Inviting

Submitted by Laird Schaub on
There’s a prevalent style of facilitation that’s mostly passive—where the person running the meeting isn’t doing much more than deciding who’ll talk next, punctuated by the occasional need to blow the whistle, perhaps to signal that time has expired or to announce a restart, either to referee moments of fulminating tension or to cut through... Read More

Facilitating by Intuition

Submitted by Laird Schaub on
I’m traveling to Durham NC where I’ll be working with a cohousing community (my 61st if you’re keeping score at home). I’ll be using one of my favorite approaches: a four-day intensive immersion. After arriving Wed evening I’ll get a good night’s sleep and then begin work in earnest in the morning. My time with... Read More

Do You Feel Safe & Secure? Continued

Submitted by Alice Alexander, Coho/US Executive Director on
In response to my Do You Feel Safe & Secure? blog, I received this thoughtful comment. I applaud the community’s plan on hiring an outside facilitator. I also encourage those with similar concerns to attend our Dealing with Diverse Personalities Retreat. Since last exchanging emails with you (National Cohousing Open House Day), there have been... Read More

“Sense of the Meeting” Minutes for Plenary

Submitted by Philip Dowds, Cornerstone Village Cohousing (Cambridge, MA) on
When I do minutes, I do not try to provide court transcripts; I don’t have the training or the equipment, and in any event, modern audio recording devices often do that as well or better than a typist. The bigger issue, however, is that in court proceedings, the dialogs and exchanges follow a vigorously regulated... Read More