Facilitating Conversations on Race: Strategies for Leading Group Discourse

Facilitating Conversations on Race: Strategies for Leading Group Discourse will equip facilitators and organizational leaders with the necessary tools and strategies for dealing with stumbling blocks that often arise when people are brought together to talk about some of the most difficult issues facing our country today—racism, power, and privilege. Hollins and Govan share stories and strategies they have practiced in their more than forty years of combined experience facilitating, while reminding the reader the power of bringing your authentic self. This comprehensive guide begins with the personal work leaders need to do to build their confidence, identify their style, and recognize their triggers. From there readers will learn facilitation foundations, from structuring a workshop using best practices in adult learning, to skillfully interrupting someone, to asking questions that encourage deeper reflection. The book supports increasingly advanced skill development, including naming and addressing the dynamics of whiteness as it plays out in a meeting and utilizing multiple strategies for moving through tension. This comprehensive guide begins with the personal work leaders need to do to build their confidence, identify their style, and recognize their triggers. From there readers will learn facilitation foundations, from structuring a workshop using best practices in adult learning, to skillfully interrupting someone, to asking questions that encourage deeper reflection. The book supports increasingly advanced skill development, including naming and addressing the dynamics of whiteness as it plays out in a meeting and utilizing multiple strategies for moving through tension.