Given the non-authoritative and flexible nature of facilitation, it is not unusual for situations to arise that can compromise the effectiveness of the reflection. Facilitators need to stay alert to these possibilities and be prepared to deal with them. Following are suggestions for handling such situations:

1.) One person dominates the discussion or continually interrupts it.
Make it clear that you want input from everyone: “Can I hear from someone that hasn’t spoken yet?” “I’ve noticed that no women have said anything about this issue. Would anyone like to say something about this?”

Use activities that require everyone’s participation, i.e., gathering questions and ideas. If a person consistently talks for long periods of time, without singling out that person specify that you would like everyone to be brief.

If someone continuously interrupts, don’t become defensive or ignore them, instead acknowledge the value of their input. Point out that in the interest of the group, interruptions should be kept to a minimum. Offer to speak to them at length at the break or after the session.

If someone keeps their hand in the air while others are talking, explain that when your hand is up your mind is processing what you will say so that you are not listening to the person talking. Keep track of people who wish to speak by “stacking” (verbally list names of people who have raised their hands, indicating the order in which people will speak).

2.) Several people refuse to talk or participate.
If some people refuse to participate in the large group, you might try dividing the group into pairs, threes, or fours. People who will not speak up in front of the full group will sometimes feel more comfortable sharing in a small group.

Distribute index cards and ask participants to respond to a question on the card. This is more comfortable for those who are shy in groups; you can shuffle the cards and have each person read someone else’s response. In this way, everyone participates, but no one has to know who wrote what.

3.) The group becomes distracted and loses its focuses.
In refocusing a group, it sometimes means interrupting someone or interrupting a two-way argument that is going nowhere. Although you may be hesitant about this, remind the participants of the original topic and put the tangent on hold, at least until the first topic is resolved.

4.) An offensive comment (e.g., pertaining to race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) from a participant evokes angry reaction or shocked silence from the group.
If anyone makes an offensive comment, expect conflict. Your job is to control the processing of what happened and allow the workshop to continue. You can ask people to vent, but without argument.

5.) Someone asks you if you’re prejudiced, against who, and tries to test you.
The best response is honesty. Acknowledging that you—like everyone else—have learned prejudice and are working against it, will establish respect and lack of pretense in the group.

6.) Someone verbally attacks your leadership and completely throws you off.
If someone verbally attacks you, they may be very upset or activated. This may have nothing to do with you. Do not take the attack personally. Explain your rationale. Discuss it with the person privately during a break. If you actually erred, apologize and continue.

7.) Someone presents inaccurate information or strays away from the focus of discussion.
Allow participants to point this out and/or reject the comment. You should invite the participants to correct the misinformation; if they don’t, correct it yourself. If you don’t know the answer, acknowledge and commit to looking into it. Don’t leave the group with any misinformation.

8.) Group participants states: “It’s all hopeless anyways; you can’t change people’s attitudes. Why even try?”
Acknowledge their feelings. Point out the hopelessness, without buying into it yourself. Point out the hopefulness of the training itself, and that you have seen attitudes change and grow by doing this work. Don’t get into a debate about whether the work makes a difference—you wouldn’t be doing it if it didn’t.

9.) You find yourself disliking a participant.
Remember that you are a human being and entitled to your own personal likes and dislikes. However, you must also keep in mind that as a facilitator, your neutrality is essential to the success of a workshop. Acknowledge your feelings to yourself and move on.

It’s helpful to practice responding to challenging situations by role playing them with others. As you gain experience as a facilitator you will discover additional responses to these and other situations and will develop your own style.