Reading List: Beware the Vocal Minority

How many times have you heard a meeting facilitator ask a question, receive a single answer and go with it?

It’s a question raised by Michael Wilkinson in this short but thought-provoking piece by Leadership Strategies. He refers to this particular facilitation faux pas as going with “the vocal minority” and proposes an interesting case for sticking with “the informed majority.”

As we state in Best & Worst Facilitator Practices, it is important that facilitators remember to treat all participants equally. Decision-making becomes dangerous when a minority is allowed to dominate.

Wilkinson's post successfully highlights specific examples where it is easy to forget that facilitators can often allow many voices to go unheard, perhaps without realising. Well worth a look.

Estimated Reading Time:  2 minutes

Standout Quote:

“Facilitator: It sounds like we may have landed on a solution.  Are people okay with this solution?

Joe: It’s a great compromise.  Let’s do it.

Sylvia: I agree.  It looks good.

Facilitator: Okay then, let’s move.”

Reading List is a new kind of post for our Effective Business Communication blog. Each week, we’ll point to an article, video or graphic that has taken our interest. The posts that made us stop scrolling and listen. We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.