Facilitating a Meeting
OVERVIEW
As facilitator, It's important
to be explicit about the purpose of the meeting, what's going
to happen, how the meeting is going to run, who will attend, what
roles each will play, and the outcome of the meeting.
NAME OF THE GROUP. The name of the group can help to build a sense
of identity, and give a sense of importance to build a bond among
members to achieve a common goal.
TITLE OF THE MEETING. A title for the meeting identifies the topic
of the meeting, and distinguishes it from other meetings that
the group may be planning to hold.
MEETING CALLED BY. Participants want to know who called the meeting
and who to contact for questions, the agenda, directions and other
issues.
DATE AND PLACE. Where and when
the meeting will be held are essential pieces of information.
People have to calculate the distance to travel and consider other
meetings or work when planning to attend a meeting. It's important
to distribute a map and clear directions to find the meeting room.
STARTING AND ENDING TIME. Meetings should last between one to
two and half hours. If meetings last too long, participants get
weary or restless, they may leave early or the meeting dribbles
to an ineffective end. Participants appreciate starting and stopping
on time: it communicates respect for their time. A too full agenda
increases the risk of not completing business effectively and
the meeting running over time.
MEETING PURPOSE OR TYPE. It's
important to communicate the purpose or type of meeting: (1) define
or understand a problem (2) related issues, concerns and interests
of people affected by the problem (3) develop objectives, criteria
or participatory process (4) develop an alternative solution (5)
evaluate and compare alternative solutions (6) achieve consensus
on a solution, plan or action.
DESIRED OUTCOME. A clear purpose should lead to the desired outcome.
It't better if specific outcomes are stated. The outcomes may
be derived from the previous meeting, the person who is convening
the meeting, or the participants themselves. Questions to ask;
What would success look like? What would have been accomplished?
What problems solved, waht decisions made? What other kinds of
sharing and learning would have made the meeting successful?
BACKGROUND MATERIALS. The success of a meeting may be dependent
on participant presentations or preparation. In a timely way,
remind participants about presentations and make sure you have
working audiovisual equipment for them. With the agenda, distribute
reading materials one-week in advance of the meeting and keep
the material short. Remind participants to bring documents and
other items to the meeting.
IDENTIFY MEMBERS. List
the names of participants on the agenda: Chairperson, facilitator,
recorder, and members. A list of names and roles give structure
to the meeting. List observors and resource persons and their
roles to alert participants that others will be attending the
group.
MEETING METHOD. Develop ground
rules for the conduct to the meeting: (1) rules that emerge
from the group (2) Robert Rules of Order, etc. Communicate how
decisions will be made: consensus, majority vote, nominal group
technique or by the chair or other administrator.
ORDER OF ITEMS ON THE AGENDA. For each agenda item, list the person
responsible for it, the time allotment, and the outcome desired.
Make sure that the time set aside is adequate to accomplish the
task. Place action items first, and other items for discussion
and exploration last. Entire meetings can be set aside for problem-solving,
while others can be designated for day-to-day affairs.
Materials on group process are adapted from
Carroll, Nea. Facilitating the consensus process.
Carroll, Nea. The meeting facilitator's guidebook.
Doyle, M & Straus, D. (1976). Hos to make meetings work. New
York: Jove Books.
