Three facilitator anti-patterns to avoid

1. Anchoring with the first vote

The first reveal sets a mental anchor. If you always go first, the team converges on your number — not the right number.

Fix: rotate who reveals first, or use the "all-cards-down" pattern (which is the default here).

2. Letting the loudest voice carry the round

Strong personalities on a small team distort consensus.

Fix: ask the highest and lowest votes to explain first, before opening the floor.

3. Re-voting until everyone agrees

Repeated re-votes erode honest dissent. After two rounds, accept the median or split the issue.

Fix: treat the third round as decision time. The PM (or facilitator) picks; the team learns to commit.