What I Do

The gist of what I do is to work with groups to help them get where they want to go.  If I am mediating or facilitating, I want to listen to what the group wants and needs.  I use that information to inspire the type of structure that will help them get there.  And if I am teaching, what I really want to do is to draw out the skills and gifts of the people in the room and see if they can be burnished and expanded—sometimes by what I know and sometimes by what other people in the group know.  Either way it is a relationship of mutual respect.

Facilitation

A skilled facilitator thoroughly understands the objectives of the meeting and designs an efficient and fair process to accomplish them.  She then (usually) helps that to happen or (sometimes) thinks really fast on her feet to make sure something else fair and clear happens that will accomplish those objectives, or (rarely, but perhaps most importantly) helps the group clarify why those objectives are foundering and what they want to do about it; then helps them do it. 

The best meetings not only accomplish their objectives but also leave people more energized and with stronger relationships and clearer communication than before.  The design fits the people and the type of problem-solving needed.  It is varied enough to keep people’s interest and to appeal to different learning or communication styles.  And what the facilitator does should never feel like it gets in the way.

Mediation

Mediation is a confidential conflict resolution process in which a trained, impartial third party facilitates the search for a mutually acceptable, self determined, durable agreement among disputants.

When hiring a mediator, there a a few things to think about: the mediator's style, her education and experience, and the right "click" between the mediator and the parties. More about mediation.

• Previous facilitation and mediation projects
• Carie's approach to key concepts in mediation and facilitation

Workshops & Training

I teach mediation and facilitation itself to would-be mediators and facilitators, but many of my workshops are designed for ‘parties’—for the people who will take part in complex negotiations or who wish to enhance their communication or analytic skills.  I say ‘enhance’ because my approach to teaching is to present a concept, to ask the participants to reflect on and share their experience with that concept, and to practice the concept.  Workshop learning is participatory. More about workshops & training.

"Your presentation was very good. I received many comments — ALL GOOD!! Hopefully you can come back to speak to our group." — Gail Waibel, City of Hillsboro.