Facilitating Meetings Don Laackman for IBH and Career
Facilitating Meetings Don Laackman for IBH and Career Services May 14, 2009 1
Agenda Why facilitate? Facilitation methodology Concluding thoughts
Why Facilitate? Good meeting facilitation maximizes the collective human capital in the room and achieves greater results A little bit of planning can Go a long way toward meeting objectives Make people feel better about their participation Help you win friends and influence people Def: facilitate -- 1. a. trans. To render easier the performance of (an action), the attainment of (a result); to afford facilities for, promote, help forward (an action or process). Oxford English Dictionary
Facilitation Methodology Setting up the meeting Introducing the meeting Conducting the meeting Closing the meeting and follow-up
Setting Up the Meeting What is the purpose of the meeting? Make decisions Educate Plan for follow-on actions Depending on the purpose, think about prep and agendas (static vs. dynamic) Distribute background material if necessary Be clear on logistics (time, place, dress code, food)
Introducing the Meeting Roles Facilitator vs. Boss Participant’s roles – spectators, contributors, collaborators Rules for the meeting Time contracts Responsibility and authority of the facilitator How decisions are made (boss vs. majority rule) “Ninety percent of the world’s problems are caused by role confusion” - Don Laackman
Conducting the Meeting Remember who is in charge Remember the goals Gently, but forcefully, guide the meeting Honor your time contract Call time-outs The “one conversation” rule How to make everyone feel heard How to cut someone off
Closing the Meeting and Follow-ups Summarize the meeting results Re-cap who is doing what Discuss how the meeting results will be communicated Thank the participants Off-line, solicit feedback on your performance Follow-up with an email, blog entry or some other type of record of the meeting
Concluding Thoughts Good facilitators listen well, are respectful, and push the agenda forward Well-facilitated meetings let people know their ideas were heard and respected Think carefully about when you should play the facilitation role – and when you do, don’t go half in Facilitation helps a team achieve more and uses time more productively
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