One of the topics that comes up frequently in my workshops is the subject of MEETINGS. Seems that everyone is ‘busy’ participating in or running a meeting nowadays. It doesn’t matter whether you work in the public or private sector, chances are you attend meetings on a regular basis. Meetings, however, aren’t only for business professionals. Facilitated sessions—whether a staff meeting, planning session, community-based meeting, or a brainstorming session—take place in many different aspects of life.
I’m sure we all have attended some less than optimally run meetings. You know the ones; they seem to go on and on forever and still do not accomplish anything. I know I’ve been in a few of these. Yet running a successful meeting – or session – doesn’t just happen. In fact, successful meeting/session facilitation takes place in four phases: planning the session, opening the session, facilitating, and closing the session. In this posting, we’ll explore the planning phase.
A good meeting/session requires good planning. But how much planning? I’ve heard it said that a typical model is 10% planning, 80% meeting, and 10% follow-up. A much more effective model is 50% planning, 30% meeting, and 20% follow-up. One of my favorite quotes is, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” No one has time to waste, so putting a bit of time and effort into planning can help ensure your meetings/sessions are meaningful and productive. Below are suggested guidelines for planning effective meetings:
Determine the Purpose or Desired Outcomes of the Session:
Survey the people who will attend the meeting for topics they would like to have included in the meeting and ask for a brief description of their topic. Upon receipt, look for commonalities among the topics and prioritize accordingly. Better yet, once you’ve obtained a list of proposed topics, let the attendees prioritize the list! (Our Facilitation Skills for New Facilitators course has some excellent techniques for doing just this!)
Create an Agenda:
Once you have prioritized the topics, create objectives or agenda points for the entire session. Langevin emphasizes that clear, simple objectives should be written as an action verb followed by a noun. Also, declare start and end times for the session along with time limits for each topic as a courtesy for those attending. Generally, you can stay on track and achieve your outcomes if you adhere to time limits and keep the discussion flowing in an orderly fashion!
Post a “Parking Lot”:
Trainers use “Parking Lots” in their classrooms as a way to “bench” an issue/question until it can be addressed. This technique works well for meetings, too. Plan to use a flipchart page or whiteboard on which attendees can write their issue/question until the end of the meeting. This keeps the session flowing more smoothly, allowing attendees to have their questions answered at specified times of the meeting.
Consider Room Set-up:
Believe it or not, this is an essential part of planning your session. The room set-up can make or break your meeting by allowing it to flow the way you need it to—or not! You have a few options:
- Round Tables: great for brainstorming sessions. Fosters a ‘team’ environment and encourages participation among small groups.
- “U” Shaped: use this set-up when you want the attendees to see each other and interact only when needed.
- Lecture Setting: chairs are in rows, like a theater. This set-up establishes the speaker as the main focus and works well when the main purpose of the session is solely imparting information.
Finally:
I encourage you to send out reminders about your meeting. They should go out a day or two before the meeting.
Whether you are a manager, team member or HR professional, you may be called upon to facilitate/lead a meeting. So remember, it all starts with planning. And I’d love to hear what you’re doing around the Planning phase. Feel free to share! For more how-to’s on facilitating meetings, consider our new Facilitation Skills for New Facilitators workshop. The press is that it is a winner!
Melissa
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Comments RSS