Title: Achieving Consensus in Technical Meetings

• Abstract: Imagine this: The design session has been going great. The participants are engaged, significant progress is being made, and the project sponsor is well pleased. You are in facilitator's heaven! Suddenly, without warning, a major disagreement erupts. While some are vehement about one position, several people take an opposing stand; and still others believe the entire discussion is a waste of time. Voices get louder, people stop listening, others check-out. You know you have to take control and help the group move to consensus. What do you do? What techniques do you use? What are the key underlying principles for reaching consensus? This session will equip you with a clear understanding of the three reasons people disagree and four techniques for getting to yes when disagreements occur.

   

• Bio: "In my career, I've seen many, many facilitators. He is the best.”
  
  “He is hands down the most talented and effective facilitator with whom I have ever worked.”
  
  Comments like these are worth noting, especially when they come from Len Roberts, the CEO of RadioShack, and Brian Gallagher, the CEO of the United Way of America.
  
  Mr. Wilkinson is the Managing Director of Leadership Strategies, Inc. - a leadership training and strategy consulting firm specializing in group facilitation. He is considered a leading authority on facilitation.
  
  • He is the author of The Secrets of Facilitation and The Secrets to Masterful Meetings.
  • He is a board member of the National Institute for Facilitation, the founder of the National Facilitator Database, and one of the first five Certified Masterful Facilitators in North America.
  • In 2003, he was named Facilitator of the Year by the Southeast Association of Facilitators.
  Active in both the private and public sectors, he has provided leadership training and strategy development assistance to such diverse organizations as The Coca-Cola Company, Unisys, Sears, EPA, CDC, the American Cancer Society, and the United Way.
  
  Mr. Wilkinson is a much sought after facilitator, trainer and speaker, both in the U.S. and around the globe. He has completed international assignments in Bangkok, Brisbane, Glasgow, Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Milan, Singapore, Sydney and Wellington. Past participants have commented that his dynamic presentation style, combined with his unique insights, make for an intense, power-packed session.
  
  Prior to Leadership Strategies, Mr. Wilkinson spent six years with ADP and eight years in the information technology practice of Ernst & Young's Management Consulting Group. He is a High Honors graduate from Dartmouth and resides with his wife and two children in Atlanta, Georgia.