What are the most effective ways to ensure stakeholder dialogue sessions are respectful?

I find it useful to create a stakeholder map as it helps to understand the relationships between stakeholders and their influence on the project, including any potential conflicts of interest or alliances that could impact the dialogue session.

- Appreciate other people's time by giving out infomation based on the need to know basis only. This will save time for everybody. - Encourage Q&A session especially during the on-going interaction to understand and/or clarify doubtful issues. This will motivate the audiences to achieve the common goal/s set earlier. - If conflict arises (more often than not), let the unsatisfied person expressed his/her issues unconditionally without any interruption. Sometimes, there are hidden "gems" in his/her grudges. - Ground rules are a MUST. Without those rules, the interaction; if not controlled properly, might end up in conflict and worse still rage/anger up to a point of physical abuse. - Always THINK positive outcomes and also BE PREPARED.

Stakeholder management involves having a thorough understanding of what is important for each of them and how the matter in question is relevant for them. Having this in mind, for any session it is essential to create a session's goal that provides clarity to those involved on why they are being required. Then, set up an agenda and encourage them to make comments if the agenda needs to be adjusted. Additionally, in my experience, I've found useful to do some previous work with key people e.g. chatting about how their participation is important.

Effective dialogue begins with mutual respect and humility. Too many corporates bring an arrogance or box ticking attitude into stakeholder discussions. This will naturally not produce an environment where people will feel open to share honestly and usefully. Understanding that whatever feedback is given is helpful even if negative, and mainating that attiude throughout the proces is crucial. Finally being explicit on what you want to achieve will create trust and a more targetd conversation. Companies should be explicit abotu why they are engaing and what they could get out of it. Hiding motivation will destroy any trust built over time.

Demonstrating that you understand the wants and needs of stakeholders and demonstrating that you are really hearing what they are saying is a key to respectful stakeholder dialogue. It's not enough to nod your head and say "I understand...." Why not complete a feedback loop and articulate back to them what you think they are saying and stay there, until they acknowledge, you actually do understand what they are attempting to say?

To choose a suitable format depends mostly on the number of audiences to whom we want to share the information with. The more valuable the information is, the less people need to know.

Careful planning and facilitation are crucial to fostering respect in stakeholder dialogue sessions. Employing neutral facilitation, which involves using an unbiased moderator to lead discussions, is effective. This neutral facilitator helps maintain balance, ensuring all voices are heard, and intervenes if discussions become disrespectful or unproductive. By incorporating this approach, stakeholders can participate in a constructive and respectful dialogue, fostering collaboration and the exchange of diverse perspectives.

It’s also helpful to establish a clear agenda for the dialogue session, this might look like: -Introduction -Setting the ground rules -Presentation of the project -Stakeholder input -Discussion and deliberation -Summary and next steps

The follow up step is often forgotten. It takes discipline to recap conversations and next steps. Having a dedicated person or online assistant to do this task goes a long way. When using AI, always remember to personalize your messages.

Don't delay the follow-up. It’s important to send the summary and any next steps as soon as possible after the session. Also, if appropriate, consider sending a follow-up survey. This can provide valuable feedback on how the session was perceived by the stakeholders, and can help identify areas for improvement in the future.

Active listening is the key to ensure successful stakeholder meetings. It demands humility and patience. Only when we are ready to to sincerely listen to the other sider trust, respect and collaboration can start.