It’s common for individual decision makers to be nervous ahead of appearing at public events on contentious issues. Many imagine worst case scenarios of angry participants and some create for themselves nightmare premonitions of being mobbed by hordes of placard-waving protestors that could keep any reasonable person awake at night.

The factors that affect the likely behaviour of participants in any public event are many and varied. You might not have control over every element of the planning, or outside influences might be causing the course of your consultation programme to be running a little unpredictably, whatever the cause, consultors can influence the behaviour of participants by modifying their own. So what are some of the key things you can you do as an individual to encourage informed discussion and avoid passion for much-loved local services spilling over into aggression and confrontation?

1 – Be clear on why you are there

Understand your role in the event and the purpose of the event in the consultation programme. If you are a decision-maker in the consulting body, it’s quite likely you’re there to share information on your proposals and learn from members of the public things you don’t know about the impact those proposals might have so that you can make a better decision. Tell them that.

2 – Prepare

Understand the proposals and the evidence behind them. Familiarise yourself with the key messages. Nothing gives a participant less confidence that their view is going to be heard quite as well as talking to a representative who isn’t on top of their brief.

3 – Listen actively

Focus on the value the participant you’re communicating with brings to your process and your non-verbal behaviours will demonstrate to them that their view is important. Ask them to expand on the points they are making, ask them how they reach their view, and seek to understand what evidence they have to back it. In short, learn from them.

4 – Be human

Welcome them, introduce yourself, make it clear that you have time for them. Explain the process, how important their views are and how those views might influence the eventual decisions. Thank them for participating and let them know what will happen next.

The realities are, happily, that open aggression and confrontation is the exception rather than the rule. The vast majority of participants engage constructively. It’s often said that the only behaviour you can change is your own and where there are strong characters or strong feelings, the way consultors react and respond will be a key factor in making those contributions constructive. These individual exchanges often leave the most lasting impression and are a critical factor in participants being confident that their views have been heard and will be taken into account.

Institute advisers offer training, advice and support to clients about to undertake public consultation programmes. If you’d like your team to be more confident in public meetings, please get in touch, we’ll be happy to help.