Speaking: Interactive Communication C1
Mediating Discussions & Facilitating Group Interaction
The Facilitator's Toolkit 🔧
A facilitator uses specific language to manage group interaction without taking sides. Your goal is not to win, but to help *others* communicate more effectively.
1. Paraphrasing for Clarity
Listen to a complex point and restate it simply. This validates the speaker and ensures everyone understands.
"So, if I'm understanding you correctly, your primary concern is the budget. Is that accurate?"
2. Bridging Gaps
Listen to two opposing views and highlight what they have in common to find a starting point for agreement.
"It seems the common ground is that we all agree the current system needs to be improved."
3. Eliciting Participation
Actively and politely invite quieter members of the group to share their valuable insights.
"Mr. Rithy, you have experience in this area. We'd be interested to hear your perspective."
4. Managing Conflict
When the discussion becomes too heated, step in as a neutral voice to de-escalate tension and refocus the group.
"Okay, I can see we all have strong feelings. Let's take a step back and focus on the objective data."
Scenario: Mediating a Team Disagreement 💬
A project team is arguing about a new software investment. Chantha, the team leader, acts as a facilitator.
The Mediator's Mindset 🧠
💡 Neutrality is Key
To facilitate a discussion effectively, you must remain as neutral as possible. Your job is not to judge whose idea is better, but to ensure the *process* of the discussion is fair, respectful, and productive.
A good facilitator helps all parties to "save face" by avoiding direct confrontation and guiding them towards a consensus, where everyone feels their perspective has been respected.
Practice Your Skills 🎯
📝 Practice Quiz: What's the Function?
1. "So, to play back what I'm hearing: Dara's group believes we should prioritize speed, while Soriya's group is focused on quality. Is that an accurate summary?"
A) Eliciting participation
B) Managing conflict
C) Synthesizing and paraphrasing
→ Answer: C. The speaker is summarizing and combining (synthesizing) the two viewpoints to ensure clarity.
2. "It seems like we're getting a bit stuck. Let's try to look at it from a different angle. What are the potential risks of each approach?"
A) Finding common ground
B) Refocusing the discussion
C) Setting the agenda
→ Answer: B. The facilitator is identifying a roadblock and trying to get the conversation "unstuck" by proposing a new way to look at the problem.
Your Mission: The Neutral Mediator Role-Play ⭐
Your Mission: Practice facilitating a discussion without giving your own opinion.
- Work in a group of three. Assign roles: Person A and B are "Debaters," and Person C is the "Mediator."
- Choose a topic to debate (e.g., "City life is better than country life."). Person A argues for one side, Person B for the other.
- The Mediator: You must remain neutral. During the 4-5 minute debate, you must use at least three different facilitation phrases from this lesson (e.g., paraphrase one person, elicit information from the other, find common ground).
- Switch roles and try again. This exercise will train you in the difficult but powerful skill of active, neutral facilitation.
Key Vocabulary
- Mediate / Facilitate To act as a neutral party to help a discussion / To make a process easier.
- Neutral Not supporting any side in a disagreement.
- Consensus A general agreement accepted by all members of a group.
- Synthesize / Paraphrase To combine ideas into a whole / To restate something in your own words for clarity.