Note: Thanks to Stephanie Lahar for helping to develop this post – and for modeling this skill so effectively.

Imagine the following situation.

You’re sitting through a long board meeting or planning retreat. Colleagues offer ideas and suggestions; others dispute those ideas and add more layers to the suggestions. Words are literally bouncing off the walls. The discussion goes off in multiple directions, some of which look like dead ends. Everyone feels frustrated.

As the energy rises and recedes, you begin to wonder: How can we create something coherent from this messiness?

If you’re lucky, a facilitator emerges – ideally, dressed in tights and a cape – to wield their secret superpower: the summarizing statement.

What are summarizing statements?

As the name implies, summarizing statements literally sum up the conversation. Summary equals brevity: they are concise, clear, and easy to grasp.

With the understanding that brevity can be challenging – yes, some of us talk too much – that’s the easy-ish part of the equation. When artfully done, an effective summarizing statement creates a kind of alchemy. By knitting together diverse ideas and perspectives, the statement lifts the discussion to a higher level, resolves some of the muddiness, and points a way forward.

An all-purpose facilitation strategy

If you’re leading or chairing any sort of gathering – a planning retreat, board meeting, staff meeting, or educational workshop – you can use summarizing statements to:

• Simplify complex issues into a few salient points.
• Affirm shared priorities while incorporating a variety of perspectives and ideas.
• Verify common understanding and test for agreement.
• Lower the emotional temperature.

The last point is crucial. As a facilitator, you need to hold space for conflict while also having tools to address and resolve conflict. This is one of those tools.

Hallmarks of effective summarizing statements

To help organize complex conversations, a good summarizing statement captures a few key points while landing at the right altitude: neither too vague nor too detailed.

To cut through conflict, these statements frame the concerns of all as a shared problem, rather than assigning blame. Indeed, effective summaries use neutral, unbiased language. It’s literally presented as the work of the full group, rather than one participant or a subgroup. 

The skills you need to be good at this

Let’s start with self-awareness. How are you feeling? How are you responding to the discussion? What biases are you bringing?

Next, deep listening and concentration. Pay attention to everything: Words spoken (and unspoken), body language, who’s taking space and who’s stepping back … everything. Indeed, I avoid my phone when working with a group – even during breaks – so I can be fully present.

When you pay deep attention, you can read the room and track the group’s emotional energy and flow. The best summarizing statements sum up what’s been said while also acknowledging and incorporating the vibe in the room.

Scientists sometimes talk about distinguishing the signal – what’s important – from the noise – all that background chatter. As a facilitator, you need to sort the big picture from the details and separate the foreground from the background.

Finally, keep testing and adjusting the language until the group says, “Yes, that’s it.”

It’s not about you

Despite the intention of neutrality, facilitators carry a certain amount of power and influence. (See Hats, History, and the Myth of Facilitator Objectivity.) Indeed, you might have opinions about what’s being discussed and may want to express those opinions.

This is obviously a slippery slope, because – in most situations – your job as a facilitator is to serve the group and the development of their ideas, not yours. Having said that, I’m not an absolutist. There are times when I will gently offer an opinion or suggestion if I think it can “unstick” the discussion.

The bottom line: Strong self-awareness and self-management will keep you at the proper emotional distance. Be present, pay attention, and understand your own triggers.

Let the group do the work

A consulting colleague has a mantra: The consultant should never work harder than the client. I would offer a corollary: The facilitator should never work harder than the group.

If you’re lucky, some of the best summarizing statements can come directly from the participants. If that happens, acknowledge the effectiveness of the summary, honor the group – and celebrate.