1. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net1 Nucleus of Entrepreneurs How to deal with difficult participants Nucleus-International.net

2. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net2 General Considerations Convey confidence Always be attentive Do not insult Breathe deeply and think before speaking Stay calm

3. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net3 Difficulties in the Nucleus can be caused by Interested / positive participants Dominating participants Aggressive participants Clown participants Negative participants Silent / shy participants Endless speaking participants

4. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net4 Interested / positive participant Absorbs Contributes Is open to new ideas

5. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net5 Positive participant : What to do ? Do not emphasize him / her too much Put him / her in weaker sub-groups for support, but before doing so talk to him / her about his / her task Do not overload him / her...

6. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net6 Dominating participant Wants to dominate and lead the group in his / her own manner Wants that his / her opinion gets precedence Tries to quell quickly the discussion by presenting the “ideal” solution Uses frequently scientific terms The other members withdraw, they may react aggressively

7. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net7 Dominating participant : What to do ? Confirm the statement of the dominator But ask the other members for contributions and invite them to express their opinions Indicate through a summary that the dominator’s statement was understood but that not everyone might share the same opinion and that there are other points of view

8. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net8 Dominating participant : What to do ? Invite the dominator to elaborate his / her proposal for a presentation in plenary In case the dominator presents his / her view as the only right one, elaborate in group the advantages and disadvantages (flipchart or cards) The general strategy : Analyse the dominator’s statement / opinion / proposal in an analytical way

9. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net9 Dominating participant : What to do ? Delegate a special task to the dominator during the meeting … keeping him / her busy Examples : writing cards, preparing a synthesis, Apply other techniques Examples: marking time, passing the ball …

10. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net10 Aggressive participant Contradicts arguments, procedures, participants and counsellor Speaks with irony or aggression when his / her arguments are not followed Reacts sensitively to critics Blows up and calms down quickly, speaks without thinking previously

11. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net11 Aggressive participant : What to do ? Try to identify the causes of the aggressive behaviour –Identify under which conditions the agression occurs – Always? Only sometimes? –Inform yourself more about his life, personel problems, eventually talk to him individually and offer help Take care not to offend. Do not confront him / her, treat him / her with respect Ask others for help, eventually also other Nucleus members

12. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net12 Aggressive participant : What to do ? Make the meeting attractive and motivating and do not lose focus on the aggressive participant – Recognizing emotions: "I'm feeling that you are upset... " – Repetition, summary: "You mean..." – Concretisation: "Give examples..." – Praise : "I'm glad you're addressing..." – Interest: "Your argument seems to me..." – Return: "What do you think..."

13. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net13 Aggressive participant : What to do ? In the worst case and the aggressive participant disturbs the Nucleus’ work continuously : –Discuss individually with the formal and informal leaders about the aggressive participant’s behaviour –Check carefully whether the opinion prevails that s/he should be excluded from the Nucleus –Initiate a debate about the expected communication forms in the Nucleus

14. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net14 Aggressive participant : What to do ? –The proposal for the exclusion of the aggressive participant from the Nucleus should come from Nucleus members –In case the aggressive participant does not quit voluntarily start a vote General rule : Better an end with horror than horror without end !

15. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net15 Clown participant S/he tries to draw attention with tricks or actions This becomes controversial when the tricks annoy –involved persons –the whole group –the proper application of the methodologies

16. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net16 Clown participant : What to do ? If the group responds well, no need for action Use him / her in appropriate moments for the vitalization of the group “It’s ok, but now we will return to the subject …” “What do you want to say?” – in case of an aggression Ignore him / her and the jokes

17. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net17 Clown participant : What to do ? Demonstrate the fallacy of this attitude (tricks / individual attacks), confirming the seriousness of the Nucleus’ work

18. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net18 Negative participant S/he has the talent always to identify the negative or dark (pessimist) Tries to prove that something does not and cannot work, even without trying Provokes with irony and derision the antipathy of the other participants

19. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net19 Negative participant : What to do ? Accept his / her point of view in a neutral way When it makes sense oppose with arguments and different visions In case of justified critics, search for clarifications and let discuss the group Generalized critics answer with “What do you want to say with this?”

20. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net20 Negative participant : What to do ? Counter irony with the request for detailed explanation Show that exist different solutions Integrate him / her in group work, where s/he might reevaluate the position Cite experiences of other colleagues / institutions / enterprises

21. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net21 Silent / shy participant Hides in the background Neither the group nor the counsellor perceive much his / her presence Eventually exist communication, inferiority, etc. problems Often likes to participate actively but expects help from the counsellor

22. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net22 Silent / shy participant : What to do ? Talk to him during breaks, encourage Define pairs for special works and take care that s/he will get the “right” partner Encourage self-confidence, convey success stories Assign to him / her specific tasks in the Nucleus Adress directly to him / her “easy” questions

23. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net23 Silent / shy participant : What to do ? Start an activity that participants learn to know another better Find out his / her potential, strengths, experiences, capacities in order to use them in the meetings Request his / her participation at appropriate moments during the meeting

24. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net24 Endless speaking participant S/he has no difficulty in being a “transmitter” Inable to listen Looses the objective of the discussion, therefore looses the respect of the group In this case the group expects interventions from the counsellor

25. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net25 Endless speaking participant : What to do ? Let him / her talk and interrupt at the appropriate moment Repeat his / her statement in a clear, concrete and short manner Delegate a specific function to him / her that requires him / her to listen Example: Writing cards about the different points of the discussion

26. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net26 Endless speaking participant : What to do ? Request from him / her to respect the others Start a list of control of everyone's participation Apply techniques during the discussion Example : 30 seconds, small ball … Talk with him / her in order to use his / her potential in favour of the Nucleus

27. 04/2012Nucleus-International.net27 Nucleus-International.net This file is part of our material to present and illustrate our activities to professional and elected officials of business associations, personnel from technical cooperation projects, and other people with an interest in this field. We are involved in a constant process of elaborating and improving this material, and targeting it to the demands of specific groups. You may use, copy, and change this file as you like (we do not insist on a copyright). We would, however, like to ask you for the following: please send us a copy (as a file or printout) and additional information if you use the file or parts of it. Thank you! The Nucleus-International.net team