Mediator Tips
The Role of a Facilitator

A mediator can be considered a facilitator in a mediation, but the skills used in a mediation can be used to facilitate larger meetings like neighborhood open forums and collaborative geto-togethers. However, the role of the facilitator is somewhat different from a mediator in several respects, largely because the focus of the meeting is often different from a mediation. While a mediation tries to reach an agreement between parties in a disagreement, facilitation tries to open a dialogue between a group without necessarily pushing for a resolution. What is similar is having a discussion where issues are raised and ideas are brainstormed. A faciliator helps this dialogue in the following ways:

• Bring focus to the group
• Effect change and improvement through team empowerment
• Encourage team decision making
• Encourage team problem solving
• Work for consensus
• Group dynamics
• Active listening
• Clarifying, sharing, disseminating ifo
• Organize, handle details, closure