Claire writes: “I’ve always joked that in facilitation, the power is in the pen. You are the one who gets to write on the flipchart.

In dialogue, who is taking the notes? If it’s you, what power is that giving you?

• Notes help you listen better? Maybe!

And

• The facilitator of every other dialogic conversation who takes notes is gathering data with which to make an expert decision/ recommendation/ case 
• What is your notetaking accidentally communicating to them?
• If you’re writing you may well not be looking
• Notes are always in the past – unless you are preparing a line of enquiry
• If you are using a notebook and keeping the notes what are you planning to do with them?
• Even if you want to remember what you did this time for next time, things will have changed

Try

• Using a tiny piece of paper instead of a notebook
• Invite them to write it down if that’s useful?

And if you are working with someone who brings their notebook because that’s how they think, involve the notebook: “How much needs to be in your notebook by the end of this conversation for you to know that we have done enough today?”

Ⓒ 3D Coaching Ltd 2023

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