Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Consensus Decision Making Using a Digital Platform

[Dick Margulis (dick]

Rocky Corner is a whisker's breadth away from move-in (Xeno's Paradox in 
real life), and we have been using Zoom for meetings for a few years now.

Main takeaway: meetings work much better with everyone on Zoom than with 
half the people in the room and the rest on the screen. That arrangement 
was perennially maddening, because the remote people missed much of what 
transpired in the room (too far from the mic, mumbling, crosstalk, body 
language, you name it).

With everyone on screen, as we are now, we all have an easier time 
seeing everyone, the facilitator has better control of the process (and 
can mute people at will), we conduct rounds efficiently, and sociocratic 
decision-making goes smoothly.

We use the chat feature for things like posting links and passing 
nominations in confidence to the facilitator (rather than slips of paper 
we would use in an in-person meeting). We use Google Drive for sharing 
the agenda and the meeting notes. People can screen share to present 
complex information, graphics, etc.

Overall, I recommend Zoom or any equivalent platform for meetings 
anytime someone whose consent is required cannot be physically present. 
If you have good enough tech that one or two people can be remote and 
still participate fully with everyone else in a meeting room, go for it. 
But if you're jury-rigging a half-assed solution in someone's living 
room, it's better to have 100% of the participants on screen.

Dick Margulis
http://www.rockycorner.org/


On 4/26/2020 12:02 AM, Ann Zabaldo wrote:
> Hello all —
>
> For those of you using a digital platform to conduct meetings, how are you handling 
> consensus decision making?  I’m not talking about discussion but the actual 
> time you are moving towards consensus on a proposal.
>
> What challenges have you had or do you foresee?
>
> What has gone well w/ your consensus process via a digital platform?
>
> Do you have suggestions for communities starting to use a digital platform?