Facilitator Meeting Tips

At a meeting, it is the facilitator’s job to

  • Create a climate in which everyone’s viewpoint is welcomed and invited
  • Encourage candor and participation from everyone on the team
  • Clearly identify the meeting’s objectives and involve the group in meeting them
  • Keep the team’s efforts focused
  • Intervene if procedural difficulties or problematic behaviors arise
  • Help the team evaluate its efforts
  • Bring closure to each agenda time and summarize agreements and next steps

Planning and preparation for the meeting

  • Send out invitations
  • Identify who must attend if major decisions are to be made at that meeting and what key people must be present
  • Collect RSVPs
  • Keep the focus person and/or the host of the meeting informed
  • Clarify
  • Your objectives; What is the purpose of the meeting?
  • Have a maximum of three objectives
  • Social? Relationship building?
  • Goal setting?
  • Sharing new ideas?
  • Decision making?
  • Sharing information?
  • The structure of the meeting;
  • The order of events
  • Breaks
  • How much time for each segment
  • The desired outcomes; What would make this an excellent meeting?
  • The supplies needed for the meeting
  • Participant considerations
  • Identify the type of participants and how to connect with each type
  • Reflective (people who need time to think)
  • Conceptual (like to see the big picture, creative thinkers)
  • Practical (like the facts, can be leaders, like to stay on topic)
  • Keep cross-cultural, diversity and inter-generational perspectives in mind
  • Respect differences in personal boundaries, eye contact
  • Consider lengthening your pauses
  • Don’t use jargon, analogies or metaphors if they would be difficult for others in the group to understand
  • Identify a note taker and/or a photographer, if needed
  • Send out a meeting agenda, if desired
  • Allocate sufficient time for important items to be covered
  • Leave room for
  • Discussion, reflection questions and/or extra activities
  • Those who learn at different paces or in different styles
  • Prioritize items
  • Try to start with something that can easily be accomplished
  • The more difficult or lengthier items, or those of most pressing importance, come next. If there are several, plan to have quick breaks between them to restore energy and attention (just a stretch in place, a rousing song, a quick game).
  • A big item may be broken into several issues and discussed one at a time to make it more manageable. Or it may be helpful to suggest a process of presenting the item with background information and clarification, breaking into small groups for idea sharing and making priorities, and then returning to the main group for discussion.
  • Finish with something short and easy to provide a sense of hope for next time.
  • Be thoughtful about logistics so that the set up of the room/environment is welcoming and efficiently planned
  • Consider the chair and table locations; can everyone see each other?
  • Is there wheelchair access if needed?
  • Is there room for late arrivals/early departures?
  • Room temperature is comfortable
  • Handouts/supplies/name tags/pen and paper are available if needed
  • Food items; serving utensils, napkins, silverware, plates, cups, drinks
  • Any necessary media
  • Network contact list is handy for including updates to addresses etc.
  • Check for outlets, lighting etc. if needed

Interaction Ideas

  • Think about your mindset
  • Be a host/hostess; be welcoming and relaxed
  • Focus on the focus person’s vision and desires
  • Set a positive, welcoming one for the meeting
  • Commence the facilitation
  • Explain the purpose of the meeting and desired results, expectations, processes
  • Explain the ground rules, if any
  • Rules are useful because they are essentially neutral
  • You can head off many problems by getting the group to agree on ground rules – the "norms" that everyone agrees to about how your meetings will be conducted.
  • Rather than dictate them, have everyone agree on the ground rules (for groups that meet often, this has to be done only once).
  • Post the ground rules. Then, the leader, facilitator, or anyone else in the meeting can simply refer to them whenever another's disruptive behavior is throwing the meeting off course.
  • Examples:
  • Meetings will start and end on time.
  • There is only one meeting – no side conversations.
  • One person talks at a time
  • To make sure everyone’s voice is heard
  • To ensure that everyone who needs to speak has an opportunity to do so.
  • Stay on the subject (follow the agenda).
  • Details on how the decision making process will work
  • Personal attacks are not allowed
  • Review the agenda
  • Give a reminder of when meeting ends
  • Consider starting with a short, fun activity to gather people together (e.g. brief mention of things that have happened)

  • General tips
  • Manage the meeting’s structure, not its content
  • Keep the energy of the group alive and moving forward; focus on the task at hand
  • Help the group to think creatively to achieve desired goals and deal with any roadblocks
  • Identify those who represent input from participants who are not present
  • Use names
  • Remembering names; memory tricks
  • Repeat the name during the meeting while looking at the person’s face
  • Associate the name with something/someone you know
  • Rhyme the name
  • Think about who will be there ahead of time
  • 80% is remembered when there is a combination of visual and auditory
  • Give eye contact
  • Ensure that all ideas count and are recorded in ways that are meaningful to the group (e.g. graphics, pictures, words, electronic formats, photos, etc.)
  • Work through conflicts; points out differences as well as agreements
  • Encourage people to think outside the box and use their personal connections
  • Let go of the power
  • Involve everyone
  • Give clear instructions and timing for any activities
  • Keep the meeting on track and on time

Positive Closure

  • Summarize the events of the meeting
  • Review the action plan, if any
  • Help to create a doable and positive action plan with realistic steps for completion, including who will do what and by when
  • Advocate for and move the plan forward by building collaborative relationships among those who will act on the plan: continually focus on the person’s vision and goals and the commitments made for taking action and find ways for those involved to be accountable to each other
  • Is approval needed?
  • Identify deadlines
  • State when the next meeting might be
  • Give credit and say thank you to those who helped with the planning/execution of the meeting
  • Respects people’s time; end on time!

Follow-up

  • Send out the network newsletter
  • Send a summary of the meeting to the Facilitator Coordinator and the focus person’s parents and/or focus person
  • Regularly and frequently communicate plan and action updates, accomplishments and issues encountered.
  • Reliably bring people together to review the plan and to determine next steps in the time and manner desired by the person and family.
  • Routinely engage community leaders, members, organizations, businesses and other resources to enhance and accomplish goals and build collaborative relationships
  • Engage and advocate for appropriate paid resources as needed to accomplish goals (as directed by the person/family)
  • Navigate successfully between the networks of the services system and community; know how to build complimentary collaborations among services and community
  • Provide problem-solving support to address any barriers encountered and acknowledge accomplishments
  • Confirm what will happen next
  • Identify and celebrate milestones

Credits:

Information for “Facilitator Meeting Tips” was compiled from the following sources:

“Top Notch Facilitator Training” with Clive Shearer

“Building Careers and Community Project” W.i.S.e. Jim Corey

A three year project to engage local communities to more naturally support and welcome citizens with developmental disabilities to get desired jobs and be involved in their communities.

“Facilitation at a Glance”Online presentation:

Facilitated by Kelly Bailey, DurhamCollege

Prepared by Ruth Rodgers, DurhamCollege

Based on the work of Ingrid Bens

“Meeting Facilitation --The No-Magic Method” by Berit Lakey

Milieu Kontakt Oost-Europa

“How to Deal with Ramblers, Bores, Show-Offs and Other People Who Sabotage Your Meetings”by Charlie Hawkins, MBA

US Dept of Health and Human Services

“Ten Tips for Better Facilitation: Getting the most out your training”by Jon Miller

“Think Before You Speak” by Graham Yemm

“Tips on Meeting Facilitation” by Laurie Wilhelm

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