(introduction...)

TRAINING MODULE

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
Nairobi, Kenya 1986

HS/7 1/ 84/E ISBN 92-1-131012-1

Acknowledgements

Contents

GUIDELINES FOR THE INSTRUCTOR

The guidelines (blue), for the instructor only, explain the use of the course module in the training session. They list the material required, outline the timing and organization of the session, explain how the instructor has to prepare the training, and list the answers to the tasks contained in the course paper.

COURSE PAPER

The course paper (white), for distribution to the trainees, describes the use of meetings for project support communication. It explains methods of using meetings successfully in the execution of low-income housing projects.

The training module is part of a series of four, which can be used independently according to need. The titles are:

PROJECT SUPPORT COMMUNICATION (ONE): BASIC PRINCIPLES
PROJECT SUPPORT COMMUNICATION (TWO): MEETINGS
PROJECT SUPPORT COMMUNICATION (THREE): DOCUMENTS
PROJECT SUPPORT COMMUNICATION (FOUR): AUDIO-VISUALS

This training module starts with a discussion of the purposes of the various types of meetings that are part of a low-income housing project. After that, the module explains some basic principles of interpersonal communication. Then it analyzes three common types of meetings:

- the personal interview;
- the public speech; and
- the staff meeting.

The exercises which are included for each type aim at giving project staff the skills required to interview, to speak in public and to conduct meetings. In addition, exercises are included to make the project staff familiar with organizing effective meetings.

Each chapter also contains one or more tasks that can be used to test the student's comprehension.

For reasons of copyrights, it is not possible to add case studies in the form of articles or chapters from books to this module. Therefore, a bibliography (yellow) listing titles of articles and books on project support communication has been added to the course paper.

GUIDELINES FOR THE INSTRUCTOR

This course module has been prepared as a general module for a training course on project support communication for the execution of low- income housing projects. The module gives a framework for the course, but it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide additional and detailed information and to adjust the course to local conditions.

Target group

Project staff (project managers and staff involved in low-income housing projects), who, as part of their communication activities, have to:

- organize and conduct project staff meetings as;
- interview individuals and deal with complaints; and
- make occasional speeches at public gatherings.

Course participants should be familiar with the first module of the series, 'Project Support Communication (One): Basic Principles' .

Training objectives

After completion of the training session, each objectives trainee should be able to do the following as part of the Project Support Communication programme of a low-income housing project:

- define various forms of interpersonal communication;

- explain the purpose of the various types of meetings organized in the framework of a low-income housing project;

- make an effective speech in public gatherings;

- through a personal interview, deal effectively with a complaint;

- conduct a meeting effectively; and

- organize a meeting effectively.

Number of Participants
10 - 20 persons.

Duration
Three to five days.

Location
Easy access to a sites-and-services scheme, squatter settlement or a squatter-settlement upgrading project is desirable.

Equipment
Blackboard or newsprint;
Video will be useful for the exercises.

Relevant films
'The Maligakanda experience' (UNCHS - 30 min);
'Jane's First Meeting' (20 min).

Preparation

In order to link the training to the situation in which the trainees are or will be working, the instructor should organize attendance of the course participants at one or more of the type of meetings described above. The instructor should al so document local experiences with the various types of meetings used for project support communication in low-income housing projects, if any.

The instructor ought to be familiar with the training modules 'Community Participation in Squatter Settlement Upgrading' and 'Sites-and Services Schemes: The Scope for Community Participation'. In addition, he or she should be familiar with ' Project Support Communication (One): Basic Principles'.

The instructor distributes the course paper and any other relevant material to the trainees at the start of the course. Preferably, the paper should be handed out chapter by chapter so as to prevent exercises from being studied beforehand.

Training sessions

The instructor and the trainees work together through the course pa per and the exercises. The tasks contained in each chapter should be done as they come up.

Evaluation
The trainees and the instructor evaluate the training session.

ANSWERS TO TASKS

Task 1

Example of possible answers:

a. Meetings can reach the poorest and most uneducated people;
b. Meetings cost little or nothing;
c. Meetings can reach large numbers of people;
d. Meetings are a two-way channel of communication; and
e. Meetings are the most personal form of communication.

Task 2

Free answers

Task 3

Some possibilities:

- the 'thumbs up' or ' thumbs down' sign;
- wink of the eye; and
- handshake.

Task 4

Listed should be

b,

c,

f,

h,

i.

Task 5

They are left out because they represent verbal (d, e) and oral (a, g, j)communication.

Task 6

Oral:	a ,	c,	e,	g,	i.
Written:	b,	d,	f,	h,	j.

The instructor should stimulate discussion of the answers, especially for f. and j. f. depends on the use of the media. Radio might reach more or less people than books, depending on distribution. j. also depends on the situation, as the possibility of misinterpretation is always there.

Task 7

(Rules for a good speech).

The rules are divided into two sets:

One set of rules relates to proper explanation of the topic, the other set relates to proper repetition of the message.

Four rules for explanation of the topic:

1. State the topic.
2. State the problem related to the topic.
3. Say what you propose to do about it.
4. Say what you want to achieve.

The message contained in the speech is basically what has been listed above: The topic, the related problem, the action undertaken and the objective of that action.

Even in a short speech, this message will have to be repeated to make it 'sink in'. This is why there are also three rules for repetition of the message:

1. Say what you are going to talk about.
2. Talk about it.
3. Say what you have just talked about.

This means that the message will first be briefly outlined at the beginning of the speech. During the main part of the speech, it will be discussed in detail. At the end of the speech, it will be summarized.

Task 8

(Rules for dealing with complaints)

1 .Understand the other's point of view.

Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Find out what the other person's in terests are. Talk with the person in terms of her experience, expectations, and the under lying reasons for coming to your office.

2 .Let the person tell his story.

The best medicine for an upset -community member is often to let him get it off his chest, without upsetting his feelings. Draw him out with questions or noncommittal remarks. This will help him calm down. It will also reveal some points of agreement or settlement that are important in leading to a solution. The per son will not listen to you anyway until he has told his story, so devote some time to listening first.

3. Learn to listen.

It is not enough to sit passively while the community member talks. It is necessary to listen with the mind, looking for the paths that lead to under standing and solving the problem. This involves leading the speaker with apt and timely questions. It requires the ability to turn the speaker's questions back to her, so that she will tell the story fully and not be given answers before she is ready.

4. Say it with respect.

Courtesy, respect and consideration are all shown by a friendly tone of voice; a manner that shows the community member that you consider him or her a person worthy of respect and courtesy; a controlled volume to your voice - not too loud, not too soft; a choice of words that will be meaningful to your visitor - no difficult words or lengthy phrases.

5. Make the other person feel important.

You may see fifty or hundred such people every day. But that person may meet you only once. When you have other work, besides dealing with complaints, set it aside when someone comes to you. Try not to make the visitor wait until you have finished doing something else. If you are pressed for time, say so. Let the other know that you would rather tend to him but must finish this one task and will return immediately .

Learn the person's name quickly and use it. That name is important to your visitor, and he should feel it is important to you too.

6. Be prepared.

When you know a specific person is coming, review his or her file in advance. Should you not know, you can still prepare your interview by planning to draw out the person in a warm, interested, friendly way.

When you are dealing with facts, figures and other data that you give to your visitor, you must keep current. If necessary, plan to get to work fifteen minutes early and review the information you will use during the day.

Task 9

Free answers

Task 10

Examples of possible answers:

- hope to get a proposal approved;
- hope to be rewarded;
- fear of being reprimanded;
- fear of being criticized;
- ambition to be put in charge;
- ambition to make a good impress on;
- expectation that the meeting will be useless; and
- expectation that the meeting will be useful.

Task 11

(Example of omission)

A bank official forgets to inform residents of a sites-and-services scheme that they are eligible for a house building loan. The reason is that the bank prefers to attract only people with a fixed salary (such as civil servants) since their loans are much easier to administer (through automatic deductions) than the loans of self-employed people who often have irregular incomes. The bank official does not want to harm anybody, just to make work easier for the bank.

Task 12

(Example of intimidation)

A municipal officer announces that squatters who do not relocate voluntarily will be denied access to the new upgrading area. The reason for this threat is that the municipality wants to avoid paying compensation to relocating households by frightening the squatters so badly that they will not even dare to ask for it.

A project staff member is on bad terms with the Residents' Committee of an upgrading area. He calls a meeting at the site office but in order to 'soften up' the members of the Committee he lets them wait outside in the rain for twenty minutes before calling them in.

Task 13

(Example of distortion)

A new decree has been issued by which squatters are not allowed to build on vacant 1 and without a building permit.

The official explaining this to the squatters expects to be deluged with angry protests, so he changes the message a little. He starts by saying that squatters have been denied the right to build on any vacant land. After the squatters have loudly voiced their protests, the official goes on by saying that he has put pressure on the municipality to allow at least for building with a building permit and that his effort has met with success.

The official is praised by the squatters.

Task 14

(Example of evasion)

A chairperson puts a very controversial item at the end of a long agenda. When it is time to discuss the item, the participants are already too tired to argue about it. They even let the chairperson postpone it until some other meeting.

Task 15

(Rules for facilitating a meeting): (DO'S)

1. Formulate the problem.

State the issues clearly so everybody under stands and agrees on exactly what the problem is. Break up complicated problems into workable pieces and deal with them separately. Clarify the kind of decisions expected from the participants.

- "Do you agree or disagree when I say that our problem can be worded as follows?"
- "How shall we formulate this?"

2. Suggest ways to eliminate controversies.
Restate controversial statements or aggressive comments in less threatening ways.

- ''Let's try to have a closer look at your differences. .. "
- "I think we can Look at this problem from several angles. Who is likely to benefit most?"

3. Relate people's ideas.
Underscore what people are saying and how it relates to what others think.

- "What you just said sounds like what John said before. Do you have the same opinion?"

4. Be conscious of group feelings.

Change the topic when discussion stalls and people are getting bored or tired, by proposing to refer the topic to a later date.

- "I think this has been discussed sufficiently for now, since we don't know enough about it yet to reach conclusions, right?"

5. Summarize statements and ideas.

Repeat briefly what each person has said in order to check general understanding and to encourage comment on its accuracy. Clarify and reformulate ideas if necessary.

- "In my opinion, this is what has been said. Do you agree or disagree?"
- "Jane, can you summarize the ideas of the group so far?"

6. Keep people on the topic.

Let people know when the discussion has drifted, and confirm every now and then the topic under discussion and the objective of the discussion.

- ''I seem to remember we decided to talk about waste disposal only, so please can you continue from there?''

7. Activate people.

Ask questions that encourage active thinking and participation in the process of decision-making.

Make sure nobody gets cut off. Encourage people who are hesitant to speak, do not finish their line of reasoning or seem otherwise disturbed. Make sure all the participants in the meeting have been consulted.

- "John, we haven't heard your ideas yet. Do you have something to add?"
- ''Now that was an interesting idea. Does somebody want to comment on it "?

8. Be neutral.

Treat all participants as equal and allow them to discuss controversial topics openly .

- ''Jane, your idea seems completely opposed to that of Peter, but you are both right in a way.

9. Confirm conclusions and decisions.

Restate conclusions reached and decisions made, summarizing the various points of view presented.

- "This is how I understand it. Does somebody have the feeling that the conclusions are different?"

(Rules for facilitating a meeting): (DO NOT'S)

1 .Do not criticize the ideas and values of others.

Do not discourage people, since it is counter productive and suppresses ideas and opinions which might be very useful. So, do NOT say:

- "You don't really believe this will have any success, do you?"

2. Do not impose your own opinions.

Do not interpret other's statements to fit personal goals. So, do NOT say:

- "You have to admit my idea is better. "
- "This is, of course, the conclusion. "
- "I think that plan has already failed."

3. Do not demonstrate lack of interest.

Avoid slouching in the chair, looking the other way, talking with others (when somebody is speaking) or playing with a pencil. It shows disrespect of the other people in the meeting.

4. Do not accuse participants or outsiders.

Avoid blaming somebody, since it will not help in solving the problem. So, do NOT say:

- "That man is such an idiot. How can we get anything done as long as he is around?"

5. Do not Produce Your own answers to the problems.

Avoid providing answers when not asked, because participants have to think for themselves. So, do NOT say:

- "Listen, I'll tell you how to do this. "

6. Do not invent or answers.

Do not try to get away with vague answers or give flimsy reasons, as it is counterproductive. So, do NOT say:

- "I think it is something like this, but it is not so important anyway. "

Instead, be frank about lack of knowledge and make good on promises to provide information.

- "Sorry, I don't know how this has been arranged, but I shall find out and tell you tomorrow. "

Task 16

1.b

2. A

3.c

4.a

5. C

Task l7

(Ten rules for organizing a good meeting)

1. Define the purpose of the meeting and determine the timing.

Why is the meeting called in the first place and is this the right time to do so? Can sufficient contributions be made to ensure a positive outcome and useful results? If the answer is positive, proceed.

2. Determine who will participate and why.

Once the purpose of the meeting is clear, it will not be difficult to determine who should take part. Think al so of persons who do not contribute substance but have to be invited for courtesy reasons. Include resource persons who can provide useful information.

However, keep the meeting as small as the agenda permits in order to make it effective. Finally, make a list of participants and the contributions they are expected to make.

3. Prepare an agenda.

The agenda states what is going to be discussed and in what order, including how long it is going to take. A good agenda also has to make provision for an unplanned item that comes up unexpectedly and needs to be dealt with instantly.

4. Inform all participants in good time.

The error most commonly made in planning meetings is that participants are informed too late or not at all. The agenda must be distributed to all participants, and mention where and when the meeting is taking place.

5. Prepare the necessary facilities.

Make sure there are enough seats and that there is enough light. Is transport assured for everybody? Will tea or coffee be served and by whom? Will the meeting room available for a sufficient period of time?

6. Provide the necessary material.

Check what kind of documentation has to be presented maps, plans, charts, reports, pictures, stencils - and how many copies are needed. Think about presentation: Nobody can read = a chart on a piece of A-4 paper pinned to distant wall. Consider using a big chart or giving each participant a personal copy.

Where possible, use a chalkboard (don't forget chalk) or newsprint (don't forget markers). If paper has to be put on a wall, don't forget pins or tape.

7. Prepare the chairperson's contribution the agenda.

The chairperson has to come to the meeting well-prepared. He or she needs to have a firm grasp of the agenda items. Do some homework and study the documents related to the agenda items. It always makes a good impression when the chairperson is able to answer all the questions and to present the facts clearly and accurately.

8. Stick to the agenda.

The chairperson has to know how to keep the meeting on track and to limit discussion to the time that has been reserved for it.

9. Specify follow-up action.

The entire meeting becomes useless when it is not clear what is going to happen next. Even if follow-up action has been specified, there is no guarantee that anything will happen if somebody has not been appointed to carry out the action.

10. Establish record of the meeting..

In order to refer back to a meeting at a later date, somebody is a appointed to make minutes.

This record will keep track of all commitments made in previous meetings. This is absolutely indispensable when people have to be reminded of their duties.

Task 18

ABSTAIN

Voting neither FOR nor AGAINST a MOTION. Not voting.

ADDRESS THE CHAIR

When speaking in a meeting, members must speak to the Chairperson and not to other members.

AGAINST

A vote in disagreement with the motion. The opposite is a vote in favor. (FOR) the motion.

AGREED

Said of a motion which has received a vote approving it.

AMEND

Changing the wording of a motion by taking out or adding words to it. An AMENDMENT needs to be PROPOSED, but to be discussed it needs a SECONDER and is then PUT TO THE VOTE before the motion it seeks to change.

If an amendment is CARRIED, the motion AS AMENDED replaces the original motion. If an amendment is defeated, then the original motion STANDS.

More than one amendment can be put forward to any motion but each should be discussed separately and voted on in the order in which they are received.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Usually the last item on the agenda. With the consent of the chair, any member can raise issues not already discussed which should have been on the agenda.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Members who are unable to attend should let the Secretary know. A list of members who have sent apologies is read out at the start of the meeting and recorded in the minutes.

CALL A MEETING

To send out notices inviting the members to attend the next meeting.

CALL FOR ORDER

At the start of the meeting, the Chairperson calls for order, at which time all members should be seated and ready to begin the meeting.

CARRIED

Said of a motion when it has been voted and AGREED.

DEFEATED

Said of a motion when it has been voted and decided AGAINST.

MOTION

A proposal which will be discussed and may be PUT TO THE VOTE at the meeting.

NOMINATION

The assignment of a member as an officer to the meeting (for instance as Chairperson, Secretary or Treasurer) or as member of a committee.

ORDER

The proper conduct of a meeting.

OUT OF ORDER

Not conforming to the RULES OF PROCEDURE (STANDING ORDERS) or the proper conduct of the meeting.

POINT OF ORDER

A point one of the members wants to make related to the proper conduct of the meeting.

PROCEDURE

The stage-by-stage sequence of events before and in a meeting.

PROPOSER

The principal speaker for a motion. The proposer speaks first and may speak again, if he or she wishes, immediately before the motion is put to the vote.

QUORUM

The minimum number of members required to be present for the meeting. This number should be stated in the RULES OF PROCEDURE.

RESOLUTION

The actual wording of a motion that has been PASSED.

RIGHT OF REPLY

The right of the proposer to speak again immediately before the motion is put to the vote.

RULES OF PROCEDURE

The written instructions governing the way the meeting is managed. These may be stated in the organization's constitution, or may be determined by the annual general meeting. A more formal name is STANDING ORDERS.

SECONDER

The next person to support a motion following the proposer. The seconder may formally second by saying "I second the motion." Unless a motion has both proposer and seconder, it cannot be discussed.

SECRETARY

The person who keeps an accurate record of all meetings, writes the minutes, calls the meetings, and deals with correspondence.

SHOW OF HANDS - Voting by counting hands raised.

Task 19

1. C	2. M	3. S	4. S	5. C
6. M	7. C	8. S	9. C	10. M
11.M	12.S	13.M	14.C	15.S
16. S

Task 20

1. Causes: Secretary has not provided basic information on the topic to be discussed.

· Action: To distribute documentation/info together with the agenda.

2. Cause: The Chairperson is not guiding the discussion.

· Action: The Chairperson has to keep the discussion on track.

3. Cause: The Secretary has not reminded the members of follow-up action to be taken by each of them.

· Action: In the minutes of the meeting, the Secretary has to remind all members of the tasks assigned to them.

4. Cause: The Secretary has not made sure that enough members would show up at the meeting.

· Action: The Secretary has to make sure that members confirm attendance to the meeting.

5. Cause: The Secretary has prepared a heavy agenda with too many topics, or the Chairperson allows too many topics outside the agenda to be discussed.

· Action: The Secretary has to prepare a reasonably short agenda; The Chairperson has to limit discussion of topics not on the agenda.

Chapter 1: Introduction

THE OBJECTIVE OF MEETINGS IS TO HAVE ALL PROJECT PARTICIPANTS TAKE PART IN DECISION-MAKING.

Why is it important to make decisions with the help of meetings? As we have seen in Volume One of this training module, PARTICIPATORY COMMUNICATION is the cornerstone of sound decision-making, and meetings are the easiest way of achieving participatory communication.

Task 1

As a group, discuss why meetings are the easiest way of achieving participatory communication.
Write four reasons in the space below.

a._________________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________________

Although the decisions made in meetings are not always the best or the most efficient ones from the project staff's point of view, it should be borne in mind that it is usually better to have a less-than-optimal decision carried out well than to have an optimal solution rejected by people who were not consulted on the matter.

Although they accept the importance of meetings, and use them frequently, many public officials, project staff and community leaders know little about the art of conducting a good meeting. Thus many meetings are run poorly, waste everyone's time and leave people dissatisfied and frustrated. As a result, most people do not enjoy meetings and feel a sense of relief when one is cancelled.

The purpose of this training module is to show how meetings can be made useful and effective. Three aspects of meetings will be discussed:

- their purposes,
- how to conduct them, and
- how to organize them.

Chapter 2: Who has to meet: and for what purpose?

There are several types of meetings to be held regularly at different levels of authority and at different phases of a low-income housing project.

The most common meetings project staff have to deal with involve:

- project staff (internally);
- central and Local Government officials;
- community leaders;
- local prominent residents;
-the local community in general;
- the Residents' Committee;
- special interest groups; and
- non-governmental organizations.

The various categories listed here also constitute the most common PROJECT PARTICIPANTS or ACTORS in a low-income housing project.

Task 2

Before reading what is to follow, discuss as a group what you believe the purpose of staff meetings is. Then, discuss what the purpose of staff meeting with the other project participants is.

(The instructor will lead a brief discussion before proceeding with this chapter).

Project Staff (internally)

In project staff meetings all lines of action come together. The proper functioning of the project staff meeting is crucial to successful project planning and implementation. Communication has to be intensive, since it is here that all the other types of meetings are organized and evaluated. Staff meetings are the channel through which information from all project participants passes al though there are also other communication channels outside the project structure.

A weekly meeting is usually the minimum required for project staff to cover all matters related to the project. It is normally the project manager's responsibility to ensure that matters related to all phases of the project are adequately discussed in staff meetings and that, consequently, all other types of meetings are planned as required. Yet he may not always recognize the need for a certain type of meeting at any particular phase of the project. It then becomes the responsibility of the unit in charge of PSC to ensure that the right types of meetings are held at the right moment.

Central and Local the government administration Official's

No project can manage without the support of the government administration. The Ministry of Health has to approve the plans for a health centre, the Council has to approve plans for a new marketplace, the Ministry of Public Works has to agree to executing the proposed drainage works, and so on.

It is not always easy to establish two-way communication at this level. Many officials know very little about squatter settlement upgrading and sites-and-services schemes; they become interested only after it dawns on them that there is much political goodwill to be gained from supporting such projects. Even then, officials hardly ever meet directly with the low-income community, so two-way communication can often only be established by project staff (the unit in charge of PSC) shuttling back and forth between the two.

Officials consider the administrative, financial and legal procedures connected with a project an additional burden, especially if they bring about changes in existing practice and require numerous problem-solving exercises.

The most effective way of gaining the support of officials, therefore, is to present them with solutions rather than with problems. Meetings with officials should be geared as much as possible to the discussion of well prepared proposals that can meet little objection and require only minor adjustments. Such meetings should also clearly spell out the roles of the various officials involved, minimizing additional workload.

Community Leaders

The approval of local leaders, such as party representatives, is equally crucial to the success of the project. If such approval is not obtained, leaders will feel their status and authority are being undermined and may organize resistance in the community.

If they can be persuaded of the project's benefits, however, they are often of great assistance in persuading their constituents to go along. Leaders may believe that their own positions will be strengthened if they are able to show other residents that they were involved in bringing improvements to the settlement.

Contact with these leaders can start informally (prior to a joint meeting) to discuss the project in detail. Where a community has several leadership levels (e.g. area chiefs, section heads, block leaders), these can be consulted in descending order rather than in mass meetings where the lower echelons will refrain from giving their opinions. Meetings with local leaders can also serve to receive feedback from the population about initial proposals. Frequent contact with these officials through out the project phases may help the project staff understand the reasons for any problems which arise and may even help in overcoming them.

However, leaders cannot always be depended upon to convey to their constituents the facts they have heard in meetings. (This can be either because they prefer to monopolize such information so as to maintain as much power in their own hands as possible, or simply because they misunderstand the facts or forget parts which they then fill in for themselves.) If the people to whom this inaccurate information is conveyed then transmit it amongst themselves, there is a good chance of a totally distorted and confused representation of the original facts. One of the common problems is local leaders' presenting undecided but attractive project options as facts in order to increase their standing with the community.

In general, the unit in charge of PSC should not rely too heavily on community leaders for identification of priorities; often they do not really know what their constituents are thinking. When local leaders meet with their constituents, it is recommended that project staff be on hand to answer any questions which the leaders cannot cope with adequately themselves.

Prominent Local Leaders

Communities, whether or not they have an established leadership, often have a number of individuals (e.g. teachers and religious leaders) who enjoy a great deal of respect from and authority over other residents.

They can do some of the things local leaders can not. Teachers for instance, being relatively well-educated, are more likely than the average resident to understand the benefits of a project and its implications. In a way their Job is related to community improvement and as they are insiders in the community, there is a fair chance they are willing to discuss the project with their pupils, the parents' association and other prominent members of the community. Religious leaders might have the additional advantage of actually mobilizing the population.

Meetings with these people should be complementary to those with officials and community leaders in order to avoid the impression of 'going behind the back' of the official leadership. A problem arises if formal and non-formal leaders are in conflict with one another. Here, care should be taken not to take sides and become involved in ideological disputes or power plays, as this can be disastrous to mobilizing the community.

The Community

At some stage, the whole community needs to be informed that a project is planned or that some important event is taking place. A general meeting open to all households is not always feasible because of the numbers involved.

General meetings mainly serve to inaugurate something, to introduce people related to the project and to give high officials an occasion to make their presence known. It is also a good way of pulling separate project activities together to make everyone aware of the overall implications. This kind of meeting cannot be much more than a one-way communication exercise: feedback from the community in such a large gathering is impossible to obtain. It will even be difficult to know from such meetings whether the community agrees with the project at all - as lack of public dissension is no evidence of approval. People may appear to agree simply to hide the fact they do not really understand, or to be polite to the meeting's organizers.

A public meeting at the beginning of the project will not convince all project participants of the project's worth. Any project means changes in their lives - perhaps resettlement, perhaps a new house, certainly new problems - so everybody will need time to think about it. The people will not absorb details; they just want to know what the project is for, rather than how it will work.

The Residents' Committee

In most squatter settlements some form of established leadership already exists and can be used as the basis of a Residents' Commit tee. In sites-and-services schemes, however, Residents' Committees have to be elected, since no community yet exists at the beginning of the project. There are great advantages in having such a committee, as it represents the entire community and takes over much of the project staff's burden of informing the community and getting information from the community.

A Residents' Committee constitutes a group with which two-way communication is possible, since it can generate ideas and strategies, better than prominent residents alone. In principle, it is the ideal link between the community, project staff and local officials in all matters related to project planning and implementation.

Yet a Residents' Committee cannot perform smoothly under all circumstances. It is subject to pressure from various sides and will only be as effective and dynamic as the other project participants let it be. A Residents' Committee can also be undermined by internal strife. Finally, it cannot work in isolation from other power structures, - which is why a committee usually includes some local leaders in order to give it legitimacy.

Special- Interest groups

In the course of a project, special-interest are created, develop their activities and are disbanded when their function is terminated. In some cases, they develop permanent activities which may eventually be taken over by local government.

Special-interest groups are created for three main reasons:

- to perform a specific task for the interest of the community, occurring only once in the lifetime of a project, e.g. through a Road Planning Group in a squatter settlement upgrading project;

- to provide public services considered necessary for a successful project but which cannot yet be provided for by local government, e.g. by means of a Drainage Maintenance team or a Refuse Collection Group; and

- to develop social and economic activities from which only the members of the group benefit, e.g. through a Building Association or an Economic Promotion Board.

The main characteristic of any such group is that it concentrates on one single project component and is action-oriented. It undertakes, manages and builds.

Meetings with such groups do not differ much from meetings with other groups, except that the topic of discussion is specialized. The advantage of such groups is that:

- they can take over some of the project staff's responsibilities and even develop activities of their own;

- group size allows for more effective two-way communication; and

- special forms of communication, such as demonstrations, can be more easily used;

However, all special interest groups lobby for time, attention and funds and can drain resources away from the mainstream activities of the project. As in any organization, having too many committees can be counterproductive, mainly because of breakdowns in co-ordination and communication.

NGOs

Non-governmental organizations or NGOs usually operate at the national and sub-national level in a number of settlements. Their involvement in a project is normally based on certain social and economic activities such as health promotion, education and small-scale industries.

NGOs can play an important role in low-income housing schemes by organizing community development activities fitting in with the physical improvements carried out. Their close ties with the community will sometimes enable them to get messages across-more effectively than project staff.

Meetings with NGOs will focus on the type of contribution that NGO is making to the project; they should take place at the earliest possible stage of the project. These meetings are usually of a specialized nature, depending on the role of that NGO in the project.

They should take place regularly in order to ensure proper co-ordination between the NGO and the staff of the housing scheme. For instance, if the project is building a clinic, and the NGO is responsible for training the medical staff to operate that clinic, activities should be co-ordinated in such a way that the medical staff is ready to operate as soon as the building is finished.

Chapter 3: Interpersonal communication

Although some people are better natural speakers than others, speaking knowledgeably, clearly and concisely is basic to being an effective speaker. Personal experience in speaking in public creates confidence, and a confident tone will make the audience listen.

Speaking and listening are both part of interpersonal communication. In interpersonal communication, a distinction is often made between verbal, non - verbal and oral communi cation. They mean the following:

ORAL COMMUNICATION IS COMMUNICATION WITH THE USE OF SPOKEN WORDS.

VERBAL COMMUNICATION IS COMMUNICATION WITH THE USE OF WRITTEN AS WELL AS SPOKEN WORDS.

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IS COMMUNICATION WHICH DOES NOT USE SPOKEN OR WRITTEN WORDS.

Task 3

The last one, non-verbal communication, includes body and sign language.
In the space below, write three examples of non-verbal communication which you believe are understood by most people:
a._________________________________________________________________________
b._________________________________________________________________________
c._________________________________________________________________________

Task 4

From the following examples of communication choose those that represent non-verbal communication by ticking them off.

a. Singing a song to a crowd
b. Blowing a whistle to start off a game of soccer
c. Showing a photograph to a friend
d. Writing a letter of reprimand
e. Reading a notice at the entrance of a building
f. Waving at a departing friend
g. Reciting a poem to a group of people
h. Sighing in relief
i. Beckoning someone to come to you
j. Calling out a friend' s name

Task 5

In the previous task you did not tick off all ten forms of communication. Why did you leave some of them out? Write your reason in the space below:

(The instructor will briefly discuss answers.)

When communicating with people, we normally do not use verbal communication alone. We may use pictures, gestures, miming and other bodily movements to convey our thoughts. We may also use grunts, which are very useful (for instance on the telephone) to let somebody know you are still there (because he cannot see you). These are all forms of non-verbal communication. They do not rely on spoken words, although they may be accompanied by words.

When speaking in public, we use mainly oral communication, but it is usually supported by some written words and some non-verbal communication.

Task 6

Oral and written communication each have their advantages and disadvantages. Check for each of the advantages listed below whether they belong to oral or to written communication. Tick the appropriate column.

	Oral	Written
a. You can adjust it while using it.
b. It is more binding.
c. It is easy and fast.
d. It is a permanent record.
e. It allows immediate feedback.
f. It can reach more people.
g. It is flexible.
h. It is more accurate.
i. It is better remembered.
j. It cannot be misinterpreted.

Verbal, non-verbal and oral communication are combined to enhance the clarity and accuracy of inter personal communication.

Other factors are involved as well in making interpersonal communication clear and accurate.

Speaking and listening

A person normally speaks at a speed of 125 words per minute. This is slow compared to the speed with which the human brain can 'digest' the words spoken by somebody else. Someone who is concentrating and who is not tired can absorb about 500 words per minute. This means that a person who is listening to someone else has 'extra' time which can be used to analyze what is being said, to think of appropriate answers, and to reach conclusions. There is even time to make notes.

However advantageous this may seem, in reality people tend to feel they do not need to hear all that is being explained, especially if they know that they will not be asked to comment on what is said. Good listening is tiresome because it requires concentration, but it is important in order to improve the quality of the discussion and to get results from it.

Good speaking, in turn, makes concentration on what is being said easy.

Therefore, listening carefully and speaking clearly reinforce interpersonal communication.
But even when people are capable of listening carefully and speaking clearly, confusion and misunderstanding do occur. A speaker may:

- not take time to organize his or her thoughts before speaking;

- pack too many topics in a single statement or make vague statements; or

- ignore points made by the previous speaker, and therefore not actually respond to what has been said.

A listener may:

- make notes (mentally or on paper) and thereby not concentrate on what i s being said;

- get lost in the details and lose track of the main message; or

- decline to ask questions to avoid being considered ignorant - and therefore stop short of wholly understanding the discussion.

The purpose of the exercise on the next page is to eliminate this kind of shortcoming by concentrating on listening carefully, speaking clearly and precisely, and on explaining a simple topic accurately.

EXERCISE ONE

SPEAKING CLEARLY, LISTENING CAREFULLY, EXPLAINING ACCURATELY

Duration:

Depending on the number of teams in the group and whether video is used for feedback. (Approx. 1 to 1.5 hours).

Instructions for trainer

1. Make teams of two persons.

2. Give each team a topic for discussion, one on which participants are able to take opposite sides and on which they can make clear statements. Some suggestions are given below.

3. Explain the main rule of the exercise: Each person is to summarize what has been said by the previous speaker before he is allowed to reply with his own statement. If the previous speaker is not satisfied with the way the other has interpreted his statement, he will object to it.

4. Give the teams ten minutes to prepare their opposed positions on the topic.

5. Call on the first speaker of the first team to make the initial statement.

6. Give each team three minutes to complete its exercise. Monitor proceedings and check whether each team member is satisfied with the recapitulations made by the other team member.

7. After all teams have taken their turn, evaluate the exercise by reviewing the performance of each team.

Note: Best results are obtained when the discussions of each team are recorded on video and played back for evaluation at the end. If no video is available, each team should prepare a list of teams and give each one a rating of: good, average, or poor.

In addition, they should make notes on the specific strong or weak points they observed in the presentations of the other teams. Teams should not give a score to themselves.

___________________________________________________________________________

Examples of topics for discussion

- Are men more professional than women?
- Should poor people pay for services provided by the state?
- Is squatting illegal?
- Is traditional medicine still useful?

Chapter 4: Giving a speech in pubic

What is a good speech?

A considerable part of meetings consists of speeches in which participants explain their point of view (or that of their superiors) or make other statements related to the items of the agenda. These speeches are often improvised and confusing. The point made is sometimes lost on the other participants.

Assuming a confident speaker and reasonably clear and accurate speech, there are still rules to follow that will greatly improve the audience's understanding of the speech.

Task 7

As a group, discuss what should be golden rules for a good speech. Use your imagination freely and only select the best proposals when the group runs out of ideas.
List your rules in the space below.

1.________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________
3 .________________________________________________________________________
4 _________________________________________________________________________
5 _________________________________________________________________________

(The instructor will discuss the answers before proceeding.)
Apart from respecting the rules for a good speech, the speaker has to master some techniques to make the speech sound attractive and to deliver it smoothly:

Preparation

Write down in simple words what it is the audience has to know. Avoid stating the topic in vague terms that can not be fully understood by the audience.

Make notes of the key points of your speech. Avoid w rising out the entire speech, because then you will read it from the paper and the audience will be bored. Instead, use notes from which you can make up sentences spontaneously.

Test your notes by delivering the speech once or twice to an imaginary audience in your room.

Delivery

Use audio-visual aids if appropriate. Make sure they are set up or put in place before the speech starts.

When speaking, use language that corresponds with the level of education of the audience.

Avoid using jargon which can only be under stood by the people in your own profession.

If you speak to people who are more educated than you, do not try to impress them by using difficult words or by imitating their way of speaking.

Make an interesting start to the speech (an 'entry line') that will catch the audience's attention. It can be a little joke or anecdote related to the topic. A dull start i s a sure way of losing the listeners' attention.

Example: Instead of saying: 'Today I want to talk to you about the quality of copy-typists in our department', say 'I will talk to you about girls' (assuming that you audience likes that type of joke).

Use signals (sometimes called 'signposts') to mark key points of your speech and to introduce the next part of it.

Common signposts are:

- 'I'd like to make four main points ...........'
- 'There is another point to consider.........'
- 'Let us now look at ...........................'
- 'Now, what do we mean by this?'
- 'How do we actually do this?'
- 'And so that illustrates ........................'
- 'This is why .......................................'
- 'To conclude......................................'

Make an interesting last sentence to your speech (an 'exit line'). It should summarize the speech, and, if possible, amuse the audience at the same time.

Finally, show enthusiasm for your topic and courtesy to your audience. If you are scruffylooking and yawn all the time, your speech will most probably fail.

EXERCISE TWO

GIVING A SPEECH

Duration:

Depending on the number of groups and whether video is used for feedback.(Between 3 and 4.5 hours).

Instructions

1. On the day before the exercise, the trainer assigns a topic to each participant, or allows participants to select topics according to their own interest. In order to make the topics realistic, they should relate to a problem that needs to be solved.

2. Participants prepare a 5 - 10 minute speech for which they can do library work and make other preparations over night.

3. The next day, the trainer gives each participant time to deliver his speech to the whole group. If the group is large, several listening groups are formed and use separate rooms simultaneously. For this, additional trainers/resource persons will be required.

4. The instructor distributes as many copies of the rating sheet to each participant as there are speakers to be rated. The audience is requested to listen like an average group of people not familiar with the topic under discussion.

5. The participants comment on the performance of each speaker and suggest way s to improve it. This is done on the basis of the rules for a good speech. The instructor has to make sure that the participants filling out the rating sheets are not too forgiving to the performance of their colleagues. If the instructor feels that speakers are being 'protected' by their colleagues, he should do the scoring him self.

6. In a plenary session, participants summarize what they have learnt from the exercise. If the scores of the speakers are not satisfactory, the instructor may decide to repeat the exercise until all students have at least an average score.

Best results are obtained when the speeches of each participant are recorded on video and highlights are played back for evaluation at the end.

EXERCISE TWO

RATING SHEET

Instructions

On each of the following scales, give a score for the performance of the speaker.

NAME OF THE SPEAKER: ..................................................................

1. How would you rate the speaker with regard to clear explanation of the topic?

Explain briefly in the space below why you gave this mark to the speaker:
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(tick one)

Good	___
Average	___
Poor	___

2. How would you rate the speaker with regard to attractive delivery of the speech?

Explain briefly why you gave this mark to the speaker:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(tick one)

Good	___
Average	___
Poor	___

3. Now give

2 points for each 'Good' mark,
1 point for each 'Average' mark,
and 0 points for each 'Poor' mark.

Points	__
Good	__
Total:	__

The overall rating for this speaker will be found by adding all the points and dividing them by the number of persons giving a score.

Total of points from all sheets: - - - =

Number of persons scoring:

Chapter 5: Conducting an interview (dealing with complaints)

Why interviews?

The interview is, together with staff meetings and speeches in public, one of the most common and frequent types of interpersonal communication.

Interviews are required, for instance, when personnel has to be recruited, when candidates in a low-income housing project come to apply for a plot, loan or some other service, and when allottees want to lodge complaints about the services rendered.

We will not discuss how all these interviews are conducted, but only look at dealing with complaints, as this is usually the most sensitive type of interview and requires the most skill.

Why to deal with complaints?

An important aspect of PSC is the possibility of lodging complaints. This possibility not only opens up a very important channel of communication but also creates confidence in the project. It gives project participants, much more than anything else, the feeling that they are being heard.

Authorities usually distrust this means of communication, assuming that it allows people to abuse the system and that it creates a lot of extra work. There may be some truth in this, but it is still a good investment. The chances are that, through consultation about complaints, frustrations can be avoided which would be much more damaging to the project than any abuse of the consultation system itself.

Effective procedures

For a consultation system to be effective three conditions have to be fulfilled:

1. The procedure for lodging complaints has to be well-established, so that the complaints are promptly examined and decisions taken in a short time, for instance within 10-14 days. One month should be the absolute limit for complicated cases.

2. There should be a suitable venue for lodging complaints, such as the project's site office, and it should be open after working hours and during the weekends.

3. The person dealing with the complaints should be skilled in doing so.

When the above conditions cannot be fulfilled, the system for lodging complaints will probably be perceived by the project participants as a clever way to DIFFUSE complaints.

The first two conditions can be met by proper organization of the project, including clear and simple procedures for following up on complaints.

Since the third condition is very much related to skill in interpersonal communication, there are some pointers that can help the person dealing with complaints to become an effective 'public relations' agent for the project and the community.

Task 8

As a group, list five golden rules for helping a person deal effectively with complaints. Use your imagination freely and only select the best proposal s when the group runs out of ideas.
List your rules in the space below.

1._________________________________________________________________________
2._________________________________________________________________________
3._________________________________________________________________________
4__________________________________________________________________________
5._________________________________________________________________________

Task 9

As a group, discuss which procedures for lodging complaints you know from your own experience and where they are being dealt with.

Then write in the space below why you consider local procedures adequate or inadequate in relation to the housing needs of the low income people.

___________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISE THREE

DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS - ROLE PLAY

Duration:

Depending on the number of teams in the group and whether video is used for feedback. (Approx. 1 to 1.5 hours).

Instructions for trainer

1. Make teams of two persons.
2. Explain the situation to the whole group:

The role play is about an angry housebuilder who has come to the municipal office to complain about being harassed by a Building Liaison Officer (BLO). (The BLO is the person charged with controlling construction progress in a sites-and-services scheme.) The housebuilder believes the BLO is unfair in his inspections, that the regulations are too strict and that the BLO is favoring the other builders by being less strict with them. The role pl ay begins when the angry housebuilder walks into the office of the municipal officer who supervises the BLOB.

3. There are two roles available, housebuilder and municipal officer. Let each person in each team decide which role to play.

4. Give each team member ten minutes to study his or her role. Emphasize that participants should be creative in their approach, drawing upon their knowledge of this type of situation.

5. Let the first team act out the situation, while the other teams observe. Give each team three minutes to complete the discussion.

6. When all teams have played, reverse the roles and repeat the exercise.

7. Evaluate the exercise.

Note: Best results are obtained when the discussions of each team are recorded on video and played back for evaluation at the end by the instructor and participants together. If no video is available, each team should prepare a list of teams and give each one a rating of: good, average, or poor.

In addition, they should make notes on the specific strong or weak points they observed in the presentations of the other teams. Teams should not give a score to themselves.

Chapter 6: Conducting a meeting: the hidden agenda

Interpersonal communication in meetings is not always easy because there tend to be a number of hidden elements in meetings. They constitute the unofficial (often ignored) agenda, called the 'hidden agenda'.

THE HIDDEN AGENDA IS THE SUCH OF HOPES, FEARS, AMBITIONS AND EXPECTATIONS BROUGHT TO THE MEETING BY THE PARTICIPANTS.

Task 10

As a group, discuss possible hopes, fears, ambitions or expectations that participants to a meeting might have.

Write five examples in the space below:
a._________________________________________________________________________
b._________________________________________________________________________
c._________________________________________________________________________
d._________________________________________________________________________
e._________________________________________________________________________

(The instructor will briefly discuss answers before proceeding.)

The success of a meeting depends to a large extent on how well these hidden agenda items have been taken into account, regardless of the topic of discussion of the meeting.

When participants to a meeting have something on their 'hidden agenda', the fact can usually be recognized by a sharp observe Persons with a hidden agends tend to manipulate, and it is very useful to recognize this and to be able to deal with it.

Manipulation

People manipulate in order to deal with their hopes, fears, ambitions and expectations.
Manipulation is a deliberate effort to influence the outcome of an event to one's own advantage.

One can distinguish ' soft' manipulation (which does not hurt anybody and is in the common interest) from 'hard' manipulation (furthering one's self-interest regardless of what damage it does to the others). In between, there is a wide field of 'so-so' manipulation, where some advantages are gained and some damage is done.

Nearly everybody manipulates meetings once in a while, even without realizing it, in order to get a favorable outcome. This can be tempting when it provides an opportunity to get things done quickly and w ell without upsetting anybody too much.

The most common forms of manipulation are:

1. Omission

Omission is forgetting to tell something that might reflect badly on oneself or might be favorable to somebody else; withholding certain information to keep people in the dark and to weaken their position (while at the same time increasing the power of the holder of the information).

Task 11

Discuss as a group examples of such manipulation through omission that you know from your own experience or that you can imagine.

(For tasks 11 through 14, the instructor can use the examples from this paper if trainees have problems finding one.)

2. Intimidation

Intimidation is making other people feel stupid or ridiculous for not agreeing with the manipulator's point of view. An extreme case is threatening people to get them to agree.

Task 12

Discuss as a group examples of such manipulation through intimidation that you know from your own experience or that you can imagine.

3. Distortion
Distortion is presenting the facts in such a way that it makes the situation look better
(or worse) than it really is, or to make the manipulator look better than he or she really is.

Task 13

Discuss as a group examples of such manipulation through distortion that you know from your own experience or that you can imagine.

4. Evasion

Evasion is avoiding controversial subjects, for instance through delaying tactics.

Task 14

Discuss as a group examples of such manipulation through evasion that you know from your own experience or imagination.

Manipulation, even when done with the best of intentions, can backfire. Suppose someone 'forgets' to mention some negative aspect of the project during a meeting, in order to have certain proposals approved more easily. This person might run into trouble as soon as the negative aspects come to the surface, because then he will be blamed for not revealing them sooner. As a result, participation in the project by the people concerned might become seriously com promised.

The chairperson of a meeting has to be aware of the fact that manipulation is taking place.

Recognizing this fact already provides some weapons to fight it.

Role playing

Another typical form of behavior the chair person of a meeting should be familiar with is the role playing participants tend to do.

People tend to be have in a well -defined way according to a set of 'characters'. Some of the most common characters are:

The one who listens carefully.

This person listens carefully, asks a good question once in a while, and makes sensible comments. This person is certainly the most pleasant to deal with. However, a chairperson should avoid the temptation of concentrating attention on that person and should concentrate instead on the others who are difficult to reason with.

The one who knows everything already.

This person has all the answers, and is convinced that long discussions are a waste of time since people only need to accept her solutions. The chairperson will have to be careful in dealing with such a person: The 'solutions' proposed usually step on many people's toes and the person herself is usually narrow-minded and aggressive. Such a person should not be allowed to dominate the meeting.

The one who does not say anything.

This person hardly opens his mouth during the entire meeting. There can be several reasons for this behavior, even good reasons. The person might be bored or shy, or maybe afraid of some body else who is al so participating in the meeting. The person might even be in the wrong meeting! It is the duty of the chair person to find out the reason for this lack of participation.

The one who is never contented.

This person always wants to discuss personal difficulties, regardless of the agenda. He is often not very reasonable and may sidetrack the discussion. Although it $s the duty of the chairperson to be polite and attentive, the meeting should be kept in focus and on schedule.

The one who likes meetings.

This person uses meetings to talk endlessly and pointlessly whenever the agenda provides the opportunity. Although the person probably means well, most of the audience already knows all the anecdotes and would rather proceed with the meeting. The chairperson should be firm and not give the happy talker a chance to waste everyone's time.

The one with a hidden motive.

Hidden motives may be revealed by stubbornness on certain points, unexpected answers and strange arguments. For the chairperson, it would be desirable to find out what the hidden motive is, for instance by asking the person straight out.
Knowing these characters and what can be expected from them makes them less threatening and easier to deal with.

The chairperson as facilitator

In trying to deal with the hidden agenda, the chairperson becomes a facilitator, one who has the task of making meetings (or any other type of organized activity) proceed as smoothly as possible.

In the case of meetings, the chairperson has to perform a set of 'hidden' activities to deal with the hidden agenda. These activities can be divided into four categories:
Telling, selling, solving and salving.

Tell, sell, solve and salve

TELL

Provide information not just about the topic of discussion but about everybody's position, obligations, rights and opportunities. All participants in the meeting desire to know where they stand, even if this feeling is not expressed. They want assurances and confirmation or need rebuttal.

SELL.

Win the group's acceptance of a policy or idea, not just by making a fair presentation of the issues and arguments, but also by being convincing. Everybody has to be sold on a policy or idea, since nobody will ever accept something without having heard what he or she wants to hear. Being convincing means not only talking easily but al so having answers to possible objections ready.

SOLVE.

Remove non-personal obstacles which prevent the group from achieving its aims. None of the participants likes obstacles, but not every body is able to remove them. Most obstacles consist of technical or organizational problems which cannot be solved unless the participants assume their responsibilities. In each meeting, the chairperson will notice a tendency in the group to shy away from problems. Participants will try to avoid problems by pushing the responsibility for solving them to the next higher level of authority.

SALVE.

Eliminate differences, controversies, conflicts and misunderstandings at the personal level in order to enable the meeting to achieve its aims. As is the case with technical problems, participants tend to avoid controversy. The chairperson will notice again the tendency to push the responsibility for solving conflicts to the next higher level of authority .

As a rule of thumb, one can say the hidden agenda has been dealt with successfully when:

- participants get the feeling they belong to the group;

- participants gain full understanding of what has to be done, by whom, and why it has to be done;

- participants are fully committed to what has to be done;

- participants can fully judge the importance of what has to be done; and

- participants understand their own position and the position of the others.

What can the chairperson do in practical terms to deal with the hidden agenda successfully?

Task 15

As a group, make up a set of golden rules (DO or DO NOT) for the chairperson. Use your imagination freely and select the best proposals only when the group runs out of ideas. Suggested time: 15 minutes. Write your rules in the space below:

1._________________________________________________________________________
2._________________________________________________________________________
3_________________________________________________________________________
4._________________________________________________________________________
5._________________________________________________________________________
6__________________________________________________________________________
7__________________________________________________________________________
8__________________________________________________________________________
9__________________________________________________________________________
10.________________________________________________________________________

(The instructor will discuss the answer s an d explain the reason for and importance of each of them).

Task 16

In each of the five situations described below, the chairperson is required to say something to correct the situation. For each, three possible answers are given. Tick the one you consider most appropriate in each case.

1.

One member, Mr. Tabo, speaks for a long time, boring the others. The chairperson says:

a. 'Please shut up and give others a chance to a peak. __

b. 'Thank you very much for your point, Mr. Tabo, but could someone else take it up from there?'__

c. 'We have listened enough to Mr. Tabo. Can we have other people's contributions please?'___

2.

One member, Mr. Banda, never says anything at meetings, and this time is no exception. The chairperson says:

a. 'Thank you, Ms. Kama. Now, Mr. Banda, what do you think about Ms. Kama' s point?'___

b. 'Some of us are too silent. Can we say something please?' ___

c.' Contributing at meetings is very important. Mr. Banda, can you say something on the topic being discussed?'___

3.

The chairperson disagrees with what Ms. Kondo is saying during a discussion. The chairperson says:

a. 'I don't agree with you. '___

b. 'Your point does not sound very practical, but what do the others think about it? ___

c. 'Yes, I see your poi nt Ms. Kondo, but what do you think of the other point raised by Mr. Mulenga?'___

4.

The meeting is too noisy and members are all speaking at the same time. The chairperson says:

a. 'Please ladies and gentlemen, can we listen to Mr. Mulenga who is making a very important point. '__

b. 'Please ladies and gentlemen, this is not a bar. Can we speak one at the time?' __

c. 'You seem to have forgotten that I am the chairperson. I gave the floor to Mr. Mulenga and not to any body else.'___

5.

Members show up late for the meeting or not at all. The chairperson says:

a. 'Ladies and gentlemen. You are late again today. I will recommend that you be replaced by others who are more duty-minded.' __

b. 'Those members who have developed the habit of coming too late to meetings should improve on their punctuality.'

c. 'I do understand that most of us have problems in finding transport to the meetings, but we can discuss arrangements to overcome this problem so that future meetings can start on time.'

Chapter 7: Organizing a meeting: the written agenda

The difference between the hidden and the written agenda is that the hidden agenda deals with people, while the written agenda deals with items.

THE WRITTEN AGENDA IS THE LIST OF ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED IN A MEETING AND THE TIME PROVIDED TO DO TH IS.

A meeting needs purpose and structure to be effective. It is not enough just to have a list of the items to be discussed; it is also necessary to know how those items are to be dealt with.

As with the hidden agenda, there are a number of things a chairperson can do to deal with the written agenda successfully.

Task 17

As a group, make up a list of ten golden rules for successfully organizing a meeting. Use your imagination freely and select the best proposals only when the group runs out of ideas.

Suggested time: 15 minutes.

List your ten rules in the space below:

1. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
4. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(The instructor will discuss answers and explain the reason for and importance of each rule) .

Task 18

Below you will find a list of terms often used in meetings. For each one, w rite in the space provided what you believe is its correct meaning. The instructor will discuss answers.

ABSTAIN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ABSTENTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ADDRESS THE CHAIR - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AGAINST - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AGREED - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AMEND - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ANY OTHER BUSINESS (AOB) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CALL A MEETING - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CALL FOR ORDER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CARRIED - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

DEFEATED - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

MOTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOMINATION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ORDER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

OUT OF ORDER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

POINT OF ORDER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PROCEDURE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

PROPOSER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

QUORUM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

RESOLUTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

RIGHT OF REPLY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

RULES OF PROCEDURE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SECONDER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SECRETARY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SHOW OF HANDS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Functions

For any committee to function efficiently, every member should be able to perform his or her role properly. What are the functions to be given to each person taking part in a meeting?

Task 19

Below is a list of functions belonging to committee members. Five functions belong to the Chairperson, six functions belong to the Secretary, and the remaining five belong to the other committee members.

Next to each function, mark who is responsible for it. Put C for Chairperson, S for Secretary and M for Member.

1. Guides the committee to make progress.__
2. Knows what the responsibilities of the committee are.__
3. Assists the chairperson in conducting the meeting.__
4. Arranges everything in preparation of the meeting. __
5. Performs his or her duties with tact, courtesy and firmness.__
6. Makes meaningful contributions during the meeting.__
7. Directs, limits and controls contributions by members during the meeting. __
8. Takes notes during meetings. __
9. Steers the discussion towards decisions. __
10. Carries out the committee's decisions. __
11. Prepares him/herself thoroughly for a meeting. __
12. Deals with all correspondence. __
13. Helps the chairperson to make progress. __
14. Knows the rules of procedure and implements them. __
15. Prepares notices and agendas for the meeting. __
16. Writes minutes for circulation. __

Task 20

Carefully read the following situations. Each situation is an example of a problem arising from a committee member not carrying out his or her function effectively. For each of the five situations, decide which member caused the problem and what action should have been taken to prevent the problem from happening.

1. The topic being discussed at the meeting is new to the members. As a result, some of them cannot follow the discussion.

Cause:
Action:

2. Members raise too many irrelevant points during the meeting.

Cause:
Action:

3. Most of the resolutions passed at the previous meeting are not implemented because the responsible members do not know or have forgotten the tasks assigned to them.

Cause:
Action:

4. The meeting has to be postponed because the committee failed to raise enough members to form a quorum.

Cause:
Action:

5. Too many things are discussed and as a result the meeting takes too long.

Cause:
Action:

EXERCISE FOUR

ORGANIZING AN EFFECTIVE MEETING

Duration: Approx. 1.5 hours

Instructions

1. Distribute one copy of the task sheet to for trainer each participant.

2. Explain the task to the group and allow for time to ask questions.

3. Let each participant work individually on the task for about 30 minutes.

4. Let one person make a presentation of his or her solution on the chalkboard. The other participants will comment and add their own suggestions.

5. Allow for time to have another person make a presentation if requested.

6. Summarize the main features of the solutions presented by the group and relate them to the ten rules for preparing a meeting.

EXERCISE FOUR: ORGANIZING AN EFFECTIVE MEETING

TASK SHEET

Instructions for trainee

You have been asked to organize a neighborhood meeting for beneficiaries of a self-help low-income housing scheme. The participants want to organize a building materials production co-operative. They know very little about co-operatives and therefore will need some information before they can start working towards such a goal. You cannot provide them with the information yourself because you are not an expert on co-operatives, but you are responsible for organizing the meeting.
With the ten rules for organizing a good meeting in mind, answer the following questions:

1. What do you hope to achieve with this meeting?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2. Who should be involved? (Think of the various functions to be fulfilled and of the degree of involvement of each party)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3. What would be the role of each of the participants?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4. What would the agenda look like?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

5. Where will the meeting be held? What day of the week and what time of the day? How will participants be informed? Do you need any special facilities?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6. What decisions should be the result of this meeting if everything goes according to your agenda?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

7. How will you ensure that there will be a follow-up to the decisions that are going to be made during the meeting?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

EXERCISE FIVE:CONDUCTING A MEETING

Duration:

Depending on the number of teams in the group and whether video is used for feedback.

(Approx. 2 to 2.5 hours).

Instructions

1. Form groups of four to five people. for the trainer

2. Give each group a different topic for discussion which it will take as its main agenda item.

3. Explain that each group has to appoint a chair per son.

4. As soon as the chairpersons have been chosen, have them leave the room for ten minutes to prepare their role.

5. While they are out, explain to the others that each group now has to appoint the following persons:

- a member with a hidden motive;
- a member who knows everything already;
- a member who does not like to talk;

These persons will be known to everybody except the chairperson.

6. Let them work out their roles for the remainder of the ten minutes.

7. Call the chairpersons back into the room and distribute copies of the rating sheet to each participant. Each participant should receive as many copies as there are groups to rate. This sheet will be used for marking the performance of each group and each chairperson.

8. Let the first group hold its meeting while the other groups look on and make notes on the performance of the group as a whole and of its chairperson in particular. When the first group has finished, the second group starts, and so on until all groups have taken a turn. Each group should complete its meeting within twenty minutes.

9. Evaluate the exercise with the help of the rating sheets. If video has been used to make a record of the meetings, select only those parts for playback which highlight important points.

EXERCISE FIVE =CONDUCTING A MEETING

RATING SHEET

Instructions for trainee

On each of the following scales, give a score for the performance of the group that just finished meeting.
NAME OF THE GROUP
(tick one)

Good	___	1. How would you rate the chairperson' s handling of the member with a hidden motive?
Average	___
Poor	___
Good	___	2. How would you rate the chairperson' s handling of the member who knows everything?
Average	___
Poor	___
Good	___	3. How would you rate the chairperson's handling of the member who does not talk?
Average	___
Poor	___
Good	___	4. How would you rate the chairperson's qualities as a facilitator?
Average	___
Poor	___	(Keep in mind the ten golden rules for dealing with the hidden agenda.)
	___	Explain briefly in the space below what your main reasons were for giving this mark to the chairperson.
Good	___	5. How would you rate the quality of the meeting in general?
Average	___
Poor	___

Explain briefly in the space below what your main reasons were for giving this mark to the meeting.

Points
Good	___	6. Now give 2 points for each 'Good' mark,
Average	___	1 point for each 'Average' mark,
Poor	___	and O points for each ' Poor' mark.

The overall rating for this group will be found by adding all the points and dividing them by the number of persons giving marks.

Chapter 8. Bibliography

J. Stanley Re a Tlhloganyana - - We Speak the Same and Language, A Handbook for Facililators, Applied

K. Rick Research Unit, Ministry of Local Government and Lands, Gabarone, Botswana. (1982)