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When a group of people get together in
one place there needs to be some protocols on how to best work
together as a group. There are different ways to organize your group
meetings so the time you spend together is fullfilling and useful.
Which ones you use will depend on the size and make up of your
group. This chapter deals exclusively with business meetings, which
are different than sharing meetings. An effective meeting is one
where the participants feel good about themselves and the group,
willingly and openly share their ideas and concerns, work together
constructively and postively and leave the meeting feeling
fullfilled and glad to be part of the group.
Facilitation is the key to
success
The facilitator has a crucial and demanding
role, directing the flow of discussion, resolving roadblocks,
summarizing points, and keeping the discussion on track, capturing
ideas and digressions, sheparding the emotions of the moment,
keeping the spirit positive and productive. Having a well trained,
excellent faciliator will create a high quality experience and
outcome for your meetings. Putting your meetings in the hands of an
untrained facilitator can lead to ineffective and less than
satisfying results. You should have at least 2 people in the group
who have the commitment and skill to run your meetings. Encourage
facilitation training and learning.
The facilitator is not the leader of the
meeting, rather a tool of the group, responsible for directing the
process so the partipants can focus on the content. A good
facilitator is everyone's ally and no one's friend. If the
facilitator contributes to the discussion, he or she should speak
last and attempt to summarize what has been said. The facilitator
must remain neutral on whatever issue is on the floor. A good
facilitator gets a discussion going, keeps it on track, draws out
everyone, and summarizes the key elements of the discussion. The
facilitator may also assign tasks and set completion criteria such
as when a task needs to be done. A great facilitator captures the
emotions of the participants, delves into the roots of concerns and
feelings, and uses positive reforcement, drama, and numerous other
tricks to keep the partipants happy and functioning at the optimum
level. Some groups rotate facilitation so each member gets a chance.
Other groups use a small group of members that have had facilitation
training. It is a large benefit to the group if one or more people
specialize in facilitation and become expert facilitators. Becoming
an excellent facilitator takes considerable time and dedication.
Sometimes being impartial is difficult for the facilitator,
especially if the issue under discussion is one the facilitator
really cares about. Having a small team of facilitators gives the
group added benefits and lets any facilitator who is conflicted step
aside.
An excellent facilitator does many things in
a meeting and needs to have lots of practical and
theoritical understanding of how groups work.
A Facilitators
Checklist
Before the meeting:
At the beginning of the meeting:
As the meeting begins:
I. Review the agenda and prioritize. Ask
for any additions or deletions.
II. Set times for
discussions and assign each item an owner.
III. Be sure that
items on the agenda are appropriate for large group discussion
rather than small group work.
As the meeting runs:
As the meeting ends:
Launching the meeting: creating a
positive meeting environment
At the beginning of a meeting, members have to
make a transition from being an individual to being a member of a
group. Some sort of warm up activity is good to do before a meeting
starts. By doing an activity which creates a feeling of joining
together, it helps everyone move into the process of thinking as a
group, not as an individual.
The
beginning of the meeting is crucial. It is the launching point for
the whole energy of the meeting. Many groups use this time to do
personal check ins. While this sort of sharing is a good idea, it
can really effect the energy of the meeting, and somebody with a
real personal problem can really effect the meeting energy in a
negative way. This does not mean you should not share these things,
but right before an important meeting might not be the best time. A
meeting launch should be light and lively and get people energized.
A group that starts into a meeting laughing and sharing will be have
a better shot at handling agenda items with a positive attitude.
Above all, make it FUN. If you start each meeting with something
fun, people will come on time because they don't want to miss the
fun part of the meeting. As you plan your facilitation and examine
the agenda items, think about ways to present the items that are
creativee, interactive and fun. Be creative! For example, one way to
transform the boring annual budget discussion is by giving everyone play money equal to an
equal share of the budget dollars, and holding a mock, chairity
auction. People auction off budget items, with people spending their representative play
money on the budget items they want to support. The total dollars
in play money determines the budget for that item for the
year.
Make it fun! Use story telling, games, role playing,
drama, mystery and adventure regularily to break out of the routine
rut of the meeting process. Your goal is to make meetings so
interesting and fun that people look forward them and want to come.
Sound like a lot of work? Absolutely. Is it worth it?
Absolutely.
Some ideas for launches and fun:
Resource: Games Trainers Play: Experiential
Learning Exercises.; More Games Trainers Play
Edward E. Scannel and
John Newstrom 1981 McGraw Hill. Lots of good ideas for meeting
openers and games to play in meetings.
© Consensus Works!
Reprinted with permission from http://www.infoteam.com/nonprofit/nica/cw1.htmcom
Rob
Sandelin
Robert Sandelin offers
two day, one day, or half day workshops for groups on how to use
collaborative processes effectively. "I do these workshops as a
service to non-profit, social change groups and charge a very modest
fee. Each workshop is custom designed to meet the needs of the
group. Bring your group to its best by learning about consensus
process, facilitation and group member skills." To get more
information, or to book a workshop, it is best to email him at
[email protected]. You can reach him by phone at
360-668-2043. Visit Community Works! www.infoteam.com/nonprofit/nica/cw1.htm for info
about workshops.
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