Developing and Maintaining Trust

It is critical for a group to trust the facilitator. When trust starts to break down it is very hard for the facilitator to be effective. What follows is a list of behaviors to help build and maintain trust within your group.

1. When using flip charts, record using the words of the people in the group. If you change their wording participants will sometimes conclude that you are promoting your agenda and not really listening to what they have to say.
2. Paraphrase and summarize often so that the group knows you are tracking the conversation
3. If you put something aside in order to keep the group focused, be sure to come back to it. Especially if you say, “let’s address that later”, don’t forget to do what you say.
4. Be present and listen well. If you miss something ask participants to repeat it. If you don’t understand something ask them if they can say it in a different way. People would rather say something twice than not be understood.
5. Encourage everyone to participate, but try not to put individuals on the spot. Creating a space for “people who have not participated in this conversation yet,” is okay. Asking Bob what he thinks might not be okay with Bob.
6. Encourage and support those who have bad news to report. It takes some risk for those who have bad news to speak it to the group. You can help insure that the group deals with their concerns which will help others in similar circumstances to communicate more openly.
7. Reframe unconstructive conflict and support constructive conflict. While you can’t really “protect” people in conflict, you can check out how people are feelilng and make sure they are focusing on what really matters to them.
8. Stay present and listen some more.

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