Allies experience differences

…dialogue, conversation, discussion, debate on questions that matter.

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Forces:

when people make controversial statements, they risk being ignored, coerced, or attacked, causing them to abandon the conversation and task;
making sure that no obody becomes a scapegoat for saying something out of the ordinary keeps groups whole and working on their task (witness the TED psi wars about Sheldrake)
diagnosing a group's behavior is futile;
only become active in those instances where disagreements might end productive work;
experience differences as a creative opportunity to keep people working without their having to agree instead of dreading conflict;
it is our lot to categorize people before we know them;
subgrouping goes on all the time in the meeting; knowing this phenomenon gives you the leadership options you never had before;
with a few well-chosen words, you can change a stereotypical subgroup into its functional—contributing to growth—equivalent;
as long as each person has an ally, people maintain their independence;
as long as there is a subgroup for every viewpoint, every voice is hear, and people add new information, the whole group is more likely to keep working on their task;
getting people to differentiate themselves—to heighten their awareness of their differences—holds the key to integrated problem solving and decision making;
every contribution has value, even though it might not be obvious;
groups and individuals usually ignore a person's stumbling;

Therefore:

help people experience functional differences when stereotypes might prevail—group members will take care of the rest;
Just Stand There as long as people stay with the task by:
- putting out their own ideas;
- asking questions;
- answering questions;
- asking for or giving information;
- building on each other's ideas;
point out if a the flow of conversations flows away for several comments in a row—“Let’s pause and see were we are. I think I’m losing the thread.”
find anyone who has wandered far alone and is at risk of not coming back, and ask, “I know there is a connection between what you are saying and the topic we are discussing. How does it connect up for you?”

Therefore:

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Key techniques