Group consensus method

Group consensus and consensus decision-making methods seek the consent of all members of a group, even when some members of the group do not agree. Consensus methods require that all members of the group must be given time to speak their views, to provide alternative solutions, to express disagreement, and to vote. The group must resolve disagreements to the extent that no one continues to argue strongly against a major aspect of the decision. The process may require a unanimous vote or, at least, a super-majority, but also requires an acknowledgement of dissent and points of disagreement, unlike groupthink. Unlike groupthink, an individual or minority group may hold the rest of the group hostage by demanding the entire group accept its view. The basis for consensus methods dates from tribal decision-making in ancient times to pre-modern village and religious groups and may include formalized hand gestures and vocal cues to signal desires to speak, rules of order, or relative consensus. Modern electronic and statistical methods can indicate how close or how far a group is from agreement. One may consider the Delphi technique to be a consensus method, in that it allows all members to provide their views anonymously, to receive feedback from the entire group, and to change their views after they see all of the responses, which often results in a narrowing of opinions.