This post has been generated using ChatGPT as part of an ongoing experiment. See the outline used for generation at the bottom.

Moderating technical discussions can be challenging, especially when there are a lot of different opinions and ideas floating around. To make these discussions more productive and effective, it's important to follow a structured approach.

Here's a 4-step process that can help:

1. Establish a common baseline of facts. Before diving into potential solutions, it's important to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to the problem at hand. This includes understanding what the problem is, who is experiencing it, and when it is happening.

2. Agree on possible solutions to the problem. This is where the real brainstorming begins. Don't forget that doing nothing is always an option, so be sure to consider it alongside any other ideas that are put forward.

3. Agree on the tradeoffs of each potential solution. It's important to consider the pros and cons of each option, as well as how difficult it might be to implement. For example, Option A might be good for large customers, but bad for small ones. It might also be relatively easy to implement, but Option B might be better for both large and small customers, even though it is more difficult to implement.

4. Choose an option. Once you've weighed the pros and cons of each potential solution, it's time to make a decision. As the moderator, it's your job to facilitate this decision-making process and ensure that everyone's voices are heard.

One of the great things about this structure is that you don't need to be an expert in the technical details of the problem to effectively moderate the discussion. By the time you reach Step 4, any leader should be comfortable making a decision. In many cases, however, the discussion will resolve itself before you even get to Step 4. By following this structured approach, you can help ensure that technical discussions are productive, effective, and focused on finding the best solution to the problem at hand.

Original outline:

You will need to go through the following

1. Establish common baseline of facts (reference Obama)
    - What is the problem?
    - Who has the problem?
    - When do they have the problem?
2. Agree on possible solutions to the problem (doing nothing is always the first option)
3. Agree on the tradeoffs of each potential solution
    - Option A is is good for large customers, but bad for small customers, however its easy to implement
    - Option B is good for both but difficult to implement
4. Choose an option

The great thing about this structure is that there is absolutely no requirement to anything about the technical details you are discussing to moderate the discussion. By the time you have reached point number 4 any leader should be comfortable making a decision. However I have found that in a lot of cases the discussions resolve themselves even before we reach number 4.