“Relationship is the pre-condition for change. Every meeting has to get people connected first. Otherwise, the content falls on deaf ears."
-Peter Block
JEFF SHARES HIS INSIGHTS
"Humanizing Public Conversation is an excellent read with practical advice for public servants committed to engaging the public and creating a government that truly serves its people. I highly recommend this book as a valuable guide for earning public trust.”
Lea Eriksen, Director of Technology & Innovation; Chief Information Officer, City of Long Beach, California
Services
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Paradigm Introduction
This 90-minute experience will illuminate the Humanizing paradigm while helping you better understand your situation.
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Public Facilitation
Let me take the heat for you – I can settle emotional public battles and find common ground and compromise in complex situations.
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Team Training
Looking to generate public trust? Let me train your team to humanize conversations through practice and performance coaching.
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Team Retreats
Through mindfulness and vulnerability, participants clarify their strengths and improve collaboration to confidently navigate change together.
Testimonials
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Meet Jeffrey
Jeffrey is a certified mediator (from his time as a practicing family lawyer) and certified public participation facilitator who helps leaders navigate complex problems involving diverse community and staff stakeholders.
FAQs
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A Community Facilitator helps guide conversations, build consensus, and foster collaboration within communities or organizations to address key issues and goals. They act as neutral parties to ensure all voices are heard, and they help communities create actionable plans for positive change.
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Leaders should hire neutral facilitators because their power will bias the dialog, and they might get defensive if attacked. Let someone else ask the tough questions and take the heat.
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Through the following principles, I foster vulnerability, the key to building high-trust groups who find resilience in each other...
Connection before content
Through small group discussions and powerful personal questions
Understanding before debate
Through the Five Whys and Needs Mapping processes
Co-creation rather than argumentation
Through asset mapping and consideration of trade-offs
Cooperation rather than isolation
Through mutually supportive roles that serve the whole
My facilitation style helps everyone feel heard and inspires them to contribute...
I'm curious about what really matters to people and dig deep into people's motivations.
I hold space for and empathize with everyone's emotions so we can process them together
I focus on gifts rather than deficiencies.
I foster self-discovery and collective learning.
I reframe conflict as an opportunity for understanding.
I clarify complex issues by organizing concepts and illuminating details
I energize the room as inspiring possibilities emerge from difficult polarities.
Results in MUTUAL TRUST, SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
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I bring a deep understanding of community dynamics, urban planning, and sustainable development, combined with a passion for equitable outcomes. My experience working across diverse communities allows me to adapt to different settings and create customized facilitation strategies that work.
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The length of a project depends on its complexity. Some projects, like a single workshop or town hall meeting, may only take a day, while larger community development projects may require ongoing facilitation over several months.