PSF flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Facilitator vs. participant role

The facilitator designs and runs the process and stays neutral on content; participants supply expertise and make the decisions. A facilitator who argues for a solution compromises group ownership and perceived fairness.

Desired outcome statement

A concrete, verifiable result a session should produce, expressed as verb plus object plus success criterion. It lets the group judge at the end whether the session succeeded, rather than judging by time elapsed.

Agenda-outcome mapping

A design check requiring each agenda item to trace to the desired outcome. Items with no traceable contribution are deferred or handled asynchronously, keeping the live session focused on work only the group can do together.

Timeboxing

Assigning a fixed maximum duration to each activity and enforcing it. Timeboxes create productive urgency, protect quieter voices from open-ended debate, and leave room for the closing step where decisions are recorded.

Divergent thinking phase

The stage where the group expands options without judging them. Evaluation is deferred so participants generate freely; premature critique anchors the group on early ideas and discourages less senior members from contributing.

Convergent thinking phase

The stage where the group narrows options against explicit criteria. It follows divergence and uses a stated method such as dot voting, ranking, or consent, so the selection is transparent rather than decided by who spoke loudest.

Dot voting

A prioritization technique where each participant gets a fixed number of votes to distribute across options, often cumulatively. It surfaces aggregate preference quickly and is most useful when many options must be reduced to a shortlist.

Fist of five

A quick consensus gauge where participants hold up fingers from one (block, serious concern) to five (full support). It reveals the strength and distribution of support so the facilitator knows whether to proceed or discuss objections.

Roman voting

A binary signal using thumbs up for approval, thumbs down for disapproval, and thumbs sideways for neutrality or a need to discuss. It is fast and suited to go/no-go checks rather than ranking multiple options.

Consent versus consensus

Consensus means everyone agrees; consent means no one has a principled objection that the proposal harms the group's aims. Consent-based decisions are faster and are common in self-organizing teams using sociocratic methods.

Decision rule disclosure

Stating before debate how the outcome will be decided: consensus, consent, consultative, or majority. Explicit rules prevent post-meeting disputes about whether a decision was actually made or who held authority.

Parking lot

A visible list of off-topic but valuable items raised during a session. Each parked item gets an owner and a follow-up time, which protects focus without dismissing the contributor's concern.

Round-robin check-in

Structured turn-taking where each participant speaks in sequence. It guarantees airtime for quieter members and prevents the first confident speaker from anchoring the group's framing of the problem.

Silent writing before discussion

Participants draft ideas individually and in writing before any verbal exchange. It reduces anchoring and production blocking, and in hybrid settings it equalizes participation between remote and in-room attendees.

Action item ownership

Every action must have one named owner, a due date, and a defined output. Items assigned to a team or left ownerless rarely progress, because accountability is diffused across everyone present.

Decision log

A running record of decisions with date, decision rule used, rationale, and owner. It prevents re-litigation of settled questions and gives new team members the reasoning behind current choices.

Working session versus status meeting

A working session produces a decision or artifact collaboratively; a status meeting broadcasts information. Status content is usually better delivered asynchronously so live time is reserved for joint problem-solving.

Groupthink suppression tactics

Techniques such as anonymous input, assigning a devil's advocate, and polling before discussion. They surface dissent that social pressure hides and improve decision quality on high-stakes or irreversible choices.

Psychological safety in facilitation

A climate where members can raise doubts, admit confusion, or disagree without punishment. Facilitators build it through explicit invitations to dissent, acknowledging their own errors, and consistent turn-taking.

Conflict as content signal

Disagreement often points to unstated assumptions or missing data. The facilitator surfaces the underlying interest or criterion rather than suppressing the conflict, then returns the group to the decision rule.

Process intervention

A facilitator's move to address how the group is working, such as naming that the discussion has drifted or that a few voices dominate. It is stated neutrally and paired with a proposed adjustment.

Neutral language reframing

Restating a charged comment in descriptive, non-judgmental terms so the group can examine it. It lowers defensiveness and keeps the facilitator from appearing to take sides in a content dispute.

Session opening contract

An explicit agreement at the start covering desired outcome, agenda, decision rule, and ground rules. It aligns expectations early and gives the facilitator legitimate grounds to intervene when the group drifts.

Closing the loop

Ending a session by restating decisions, confirming owners and dates, listing open questions, and setting the next checkpoint. Without it, groups leave with different memories of what was agreed.

Hybrid airtime equity

Deliberate practices ensuring remote participants contribute comparably to in-room ones, such as a shared digital board, remote-first speaking order, and a dedicated online moderator. Unequal airtime produces weaker commitment.

Meeting cost awareness

Estimating the cost of a session from attendee count, hourly rates, and duration. It justifies cutting unnecessary attendees and shortening sessions, and it focuses the group on producing a tangible output.

Pre-work and pre-reads

Material distributed before a session so participants arrive informed. It shifts information transfer out of live time, allowing the session itself to be used for discussion, decisions, and co-creation.

Facilitator neutrality boundary

The facilitator may advocate for process quality, safety, and inclusion but not for a particular content option. When the facilitator holds a stake in the outcome, an external or rotating facilitator is preferable.

Consensus check sequence

Ask for agreement, then for objections, then for abstentions, in that order. Asking for objections explicitly legitimizes dissent and reveals reservations that a simple 'any objections?' often fails to surface.

Timebox overrun handling

When an activity exceeds its box, the facilitator names the overrun and offers a choice: extend by a stated amount, cut scope, or park the remainder. Silent overruns erode trust in the agenda.

Large-group breakout design

Splitting a large group into small teams with a clear question, a fixed output format, and a time limit, then merging results. It increases participation and produces comparable outputs for convergence.

Follow-up cadence

The scheduled rhythm for reviewing action items and decisions after a session, such as a brief weekly check. Visible follow-through sustains the group's willingness to commit in future sessions.