Article Review
Of
“Say What?”

By:

John Daley

August 14, 2010

Marquette University

BUAD6107
Meeting Facilitation Skills Class

Say What?, Butler, C., Successful Meetings; July 1993; 42, 8; ABI /INFORM Global pg. 32..

The article that I chose to review, Say What?, studies several popular talk show hosts in regards to the methodologies that are used to facilitate their television shows and identifies the findings to be a better facilitator. Although the article written by Charles Butler is older, as it was written in 1993, it provides an interesting perspective of the usage of facilitation and practical applications relevant to the class material. The following is a review of Butler’s article which focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the content and correlates the authors’ findings to applications that could be used in meetings that I facilitate. Butler’s article examines four different styled television talk show hosts Geraldo Rivera, Maury Povich, Sally Jessy Raphael and Phil Donahue. He reviews each of their television program’s structure and uncovers independent facilitation focuses that each use to successfully interview and deliver a successful show. Butler reviews sample topics these celebrities present and some interfaces that occur on their shows by providing a backstage perspective, followed by an insight from each host. A summary of facilitation skills is included at the end of the article that identifies 14 skills and the role they play in being a good facilitator. The purpose of Butler’s article is to introduce the reader to different facilitation styles used in talk shows and demonstrate the importance that each host places in facilitating their talk shows. Butler does an admirable job introducing talk show facilitation that is being used by these hosts and identifies a high level message from each based on from his observations and interviews. Rivera’s message advises the reader to relate to the meeting attendees and find a common chord; Povich’s tell us to have curiosity and develop instincts to ask the appropriate question at the correct time; Raphael instructs a facilitator to relax attendees in order to encourage participation from all and do not confine the discussion that is underway, but be prepared to adjust a stalled meeting; while Donahue defines the need to create an atmosphere for debate, if not resolution. Parallels of these talk show messages can be found in handouts that we studied on Process Analyzing Group Behaviors and Facilitation Interventions. I currently apply these concepts that Butler defines in meetings that I facilitate at Harley-Davidson; however, I now have more cognitive recognition of these skills based on the perspective that Butler provides on the effectiveness of each and need to place more emphasis on skills that will support these concepts. While the content of Butler’s article was very interesting and well done, I found myself looking for more facilitation content to be addressed in the article. Butler spends a great deal of the article explaining the methodology that he used to identify why these individuals are successful and topics of the talk shows rather than looking into additional content and specific facilitation skills that are being used. It is left to the reader to interpret the specific tools used based on the limited description of the television programs that Butler presents. The article could have been more effective if specific and clear examples would have been discussed and identified. The article’s focus had more of a tendency to discuss the style of the interview rather than skills to support the style. The lessons were captured, but how the talk show host’s applied their overall message was not clear. I was very intrigued by this article and it was an interesting read on the use of facilitation in talk shows that I had not identified with. Butler engages the reader and delivers a competent, high level overview of facilitation used by popular talk shows and identifies a general tendency of each host’s style. As I watch a limited amount of talk shows, I now find my self observing the style of the host and how the interview is facilitated as a result of reading Butler’s article. The article was well written and content was applicable to meeting facilitation; however, I was left looking for more content at the conclusion of the article.