Cohousing-L Mailing List: Delphi Method [was Consensus, Majority vote, blocks

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 29 Sep 2011, at 6:55 AM, R Philip Dowds wrote:

> I also think that structured iterations — rather than just speak your piece, 
> now we move on to something else — would help in either consolidating 
> consensus, or clarify conflicts.

I agree. I'm a writer so I'm biased but I think written responses are sometimes 
better than off the cuff reactions in a meeting. After the first round, members 
would have the ability to use the words of others to express their own — this 
can be very helpful. We have a members for whom English is a second language. 
No matter how good they are at understanding it, they are still uncomfortable 
speaking out in meetings.

The responses can also be organized more logically than in a queue. It is also 
an opportunity to record a the beginning the 'facts' of the issue. Whenever I 
am the lead on a project that needs decisions, like painting the CH interior, I 
spend most of my time correcting assumptions and misinformation. 

If summaries are too fraught with difficulties, the whole of the responses 
could be compiled and attached to the summary. A A summary can also state the 
ideas & opinions, not the number of people who hold them. One point of 
listening to everyone equally is that the majority is often wrong because they 
are misinformed, if informed at all.

I'm always surprised to find that members of the community consider Membership 
Meetings and the Members Only email list to be "public" forums. I consider them 
to be private, between-us forums in which one can talk openly and ask 
questions. 

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org