Rounds are useful because they prevent the group from assuming that everyone holds the same view about an issue. The team should make certain to go around the table and have each person speak on the issue. The appreciative inquiry technique is a series of focused rounds that help team members share information about what each member appreciated most about a meeting and what would add to members appreciation at following meetings. Appreciative inquiry provides a constructive process for gathering data about individual perceptions of how a group is functioning and ways to improve team processes. Appreciative inquiry is usually done at the close of a meeting so the group can obtain information about what worked well in a meeting and what could be improved at future meetings.
Appreciative inquiry is conducted in a series of two rounds.
A straw poll is a tool used by teams to keep the consensus process moving forward. This tool helps speed up the consensus process by helping a team separate issues they agree upon from ones they still must work on to reach consensus. After the group has discussed the issue, the facilitator conducts a straw poll by asking each member to hold up fingers to indicate the range of their consensus. If some fingers are down, find out what would have to be changed to reach consensus. If some fingers are sideways, initiate discussion to answer the concerns.