TY - JOUR

T1 - Examining Group Facilitation In Situ

T2 - The Use of Formulations in Facilitation Practice

AU - Franco, L. Alberto

AU - Nielsen, Mie Femø

PY - 2018/10/1

Y1 - 2018/10/1

N2 - In this paper we examine how the talk of the facilitator shapes group workshop interactions by using the conversational object ‘formulation’. The data consist of video recordings of a corpus of four facilitated workshops held with management and development teams. By adopting an exploratory video-based investigation using conversational analysis to examine our data, we highlight the significance of three distinct set of formulations used by facilitators in workshops. Specifically, our findings show how formulations that encourage reflection or facilitate action, together with those collaboratively produced, enable sense making and the achievement of a temporal conversational order among participants. This research contributes to the study of facilitated workshops by offering a more nuanced approach to the understanding of the craftsmanship of doing facilitation, its effects on the workshop process and, ultimately, workshop outcomes.

AB - In this paper we examine how the talk of the facilitator shapes group workshop interactions by using the conversational object ‘formulation’. The data consist of video recordings of a corpus of four facilitated workshops held with management and development teams. By adopting an exploratory video-based investigation using conversational analysis to examine our data, we highlight the significance of three distinct set of formulations used by facilitators in workshops. Specifically, our findings show how formulations that encourage reflection or facilitate action, together with those collaboratively produced, enable sense making and the achievement of a temporal conversational order among participants. This research contributes to the study of facilitated workshops by offering a more nuanced approach to the understanding of the craftsmanship of doing facilitation, its effects on the workshop process and, ultimately, workshop outcomes.

KW - Conversation analysis

KW - Facilitation

KW - Formulations

KW - Practice

KW - Video-based research

KW - Workshops

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047662200&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10726-018-9577-7

DO - 10.1007/s10726-018-9577-7

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85047662200

VL - 27

SP - 735

EP - 756

JO - Group Decision and Negotiation

JF - Group Decision and Negotiation

SN - 0926-2644

IS - 5

ER -