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Charges & Missions- Successful Groups
- Comm. Advisory Councils
- How Clear Is Your Mission?
- Developing a Mission
- Writing an Overview
Meeting Protocol- Meeting Tips
- Parliamentary Procedure
- Types of Motions
- The First Meeting
- Problems in Meetings
Facilitation & Participation- Open Houses
- Participation Strategies
- The First Meeting
- Volunteers
Decision-Making- Consensus Management
- Decision-Making
- Levels of Consensus Tool
Levels of Consensus Tool
How Do You Know When You've Reached a Consensus?
To measure consensus, ask for a show of hands. Participants hold up their hands, with fingers extended to demonstrate their level of support for the decision to be made.
| Fingers | Level of Consensus |
| 5 | I strongly support this decision |
| 4 | I support this decision |
| 3 | The decision is OK |
| 2 | I am uncomfortable with this decision, but I can live with it |
| 1 | I dislike this decision, but defer to the wisdom of the group and promise not to sabotage it |
| 0 / fist | I veto this decision. We definitely need to discuss the matter further |
A proposal is accepted if greater than 75 percent of the potential votes (i.e., fingers) are cast, and if there are no fists held up.
Example
- 14 people have 70 total votes (fingers)
- 75 percent of this is 53 votes (fingers)
- 53 fingers and no fists are needed to accept this proposal
Adapted From: Lessons from the Field: Real Strategies for Engaging and Informing the Public (8/2/2000)
