Seven Steps to Facilitating a Great Meeting JBell 2

7/24/2019 Seven Steps to Facilitating a Great Meeting JBell 2

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Seven Tips to Facilitating a Great Meeting | JessicaBell.org

Seven Tips toFacilitating a

Great Meeting

Jessica Bellcampaigns | facilitation | training

jessicabell.org


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A facilitators job is to help the groupreach the best outcome possible. You getto decide when and for how long the groupwill talk about each agenda topic, as wellas who talks. You also decide how the

group will discuss each topic. Do you wantto have a debate? Do you want the groupto talk in small groups or one large group?Do you think its time to vote?

Own that power. If you let the group dis-cuss and decide how to proceed on pro-cess, then you could lose control of themeeting. People generally dont want to

make decisions about how to make deci-sions. They want you to lead that processso they can get on with the important stuff

making the decision.

That said, you can still ask for advice onhow to proceed. For instance, you cansay something like are we ready to do avote on this? If you need extra help then

call a ve minute break and ask one skilledperson to help you decide on next steps.Good facilitators constantly read the groupto ensure the team feels good with theirprocess-decisions. But ultimately, the deci-sion on how to proceed is yours.

Despite all this talk of power, youre not adictator. A facilitator does not make deci-sions for the group, and usually facilitatorsdont even share their own opinion. In otherwords, the facilitator does not respond di-rectly to a meeting participant with a com-ment like I disagree with your proposal tohost a workshop next week. If you have

a vested interest in the outcome, its proba-bly best not to take on the role of facilitator.

Youre fretting about that upcoming

meeting youre facilitating. Yourescared youll lose control, thatyoull go overtime, or that no deci-sions will be made. Bad meetingsare unfortunately very common inthe non-prot and charity sector.

This is despite the fact that manynon-prots and charities strive to

be accountable, collaborative, andinclusive, which are hallmarks ofa good meeting culture. But yourmeetings dont have to be bad.

Here are seven tips that can helpyou lead an effective meeting.

1. Know your

role and own it


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A lack of preparation into agenda-settingis a key reason why meetings go sour. Pre-pare!

Steps to preparing an agenda

1. Set the agenda in advance. Ask mem-bers for agenda items at least a week be-fore the meeting so they have time to thinkof some topics and develop a thoughtfulproposal to email to people prior to themeeting.

2. Collate the agenda items, add yourown, and send your proposed agenda to

members prior to the meeting so they cangive feedback.

3. Prepare people to speak to their topic.Ask them to do their research, prepare theirpresentation, bring handouts and be readyto answer questions. It is surprisingly com-mon to have folks suggest agenda itemsyet not be prepared to speak to the matter.

4. Dont overload the agenda. Topics usu-ally take longer than allocated, and peoplelove a facilitator who concludes the meet-ing early.

5. Put the most important agenda itemsnear the start of the meeting. This ensuresthe topic is discussed and you debate thematter while energy is still high.

A typical agenda

1. Introductions

2. Review and approve the agenda

3. Assign roles (e.g. note taker,stack)

4. Establish ground rules

5. One or two non-controversialquick and easy topics

6. Difcult agenda items, starting

with the most important so youdont run out of time before ad-dressing it and energy in the roomis still high.

7. Review decisions. Who is doingwhat? What are our next steps.

8. Set the time and location of thenext meeting.

2. The agenda

is key


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Eliminating logistical problems requiresattention-to-detail. Dont be the facilitatorwho has everyone waiting half an hour be-cause someone has to buy that Mac con-nector cord that your presenter forgot tobring.

Make sure the room is appropriate and ascomfortable as possible. If using an off-sitemeeting room, it should be located nearpublic transit and/or parking that is easy tond. Its distracting when people frequently

leave to ll their meter. Meetings should

take place in a quiet room, meaning cafesand restaurants are not good choices. Do

the chairs move or are they nailed to theoor in classroom format? Is there air con-ditioning? I once organized an 80-personevent in a government building and foundout just before the event through a casualconversation with a receptionist that thebuildings air conditioning was off on week-ends and it cost $2,000 to have it turned onfor that day. Dont repeat my mistake.

If you are showing a PowerPoint presen-tation, have it saved in three formats (PCMac, and PDF). Collect, order and/or con-

rm all AV equipment, laptops, and con-nector cords. Bring a USB stick and anextension cord. Check that markers workand that you have ip chart paper and/or

whiteboards available in the room.

Arrive 30 minutes early to set up.

3. Logistics

matter

I once organized an 80-personevent in a government buildingand found out just before the eventthrough a casual conversation witha receptionist that the buildings airconditioning was off on weekends

and it cost $2,000 to have it turnedon for that day. Dont repeat mymistake.


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Know and abide by the groups formaldecision-making structure. Make sure ev-eryone else in the group understands thedecision-making process as well. Dontpretend that everyone has the authority tomake a decision.

You can also identify the individuals whohave special authority or inuence over

specic agenda topics. For instance, if

youre talking about implementing a com-munications plan for a fundraising event,both the fundraising director and communi-cations director should be comfortable withthe proposal.

At the start of the meeting its useful to beclear about expectations: Were makingdecisions using consensus today or Thisis an advisory meeting; Bob and Farahover here will be listening to your feedbackand nalizing their decision in the next few

days.

4. Respect the

rules

Common decision-making

structures

Consensus. Everyone agrees, or

everyone agrees not to oppose adecision.

80% voting majority. The decisionis approved if 80% of people votefor it.51% majority. The decision is ap-proved if 51% of people vote for it.1 or 2 people hold the power. Thisis fairly typical in hierarchical deci-sion-making environments, such asmany large nonprot organizations.


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Theres more to decision making than justknowing a groups ofcial decision-making

process. Each group has their own uniqueway of dealing with meetings. Observethe meeting culture and match it.

Heres some examples of how meeting cul-ture can vary.

Some groups LOVE creative exercises,

such as theatre of the oppressed tools andfun introductions. This could be answer-ing questions like whats something thatno else in this room knows about you? Atmore formal meetings, this often does not

work. Some professionals wont want totalk about their personal lives or do any-thing more innovative than small groupwork.

Some groups like to make decisions in ad-vance. For instance, many community andlabour groups have staff interview repre-sentatives from key groups and craft pro-

posals based upon these interviews. Theproposal is usually developed, adapted,and informally agreed upon prior to themeeting. Approval of the decision at themeeting is often just a formality. Contro-versial decisions that wouldnt get approvalhave already been discarded. Other groupsmight see this process as undemocratic.

Some groups have a culture of loose fa-cilitation, where the facilitator rarely inter-venes and allows for members to stray a

little. Other groups have a culture of tightfacilitation, where the facilitator might keeprigid track of who is speaking and how longthey can speak for. For instance, RobertsRules of Order is a very formal decision-making code that is often used by legisla-tive bodies and some groups that abide bya 51% majority decision making systemRoberts Rules of Order would be inappro-

priate in an activist group that makes all de-cisions using consensus.

Some groups assign limited power to thefacilitator and expect the facilitator to justgently nudge the group along, while othergroups grant the facilitator a lot of powereven allowing on some occasions for thefacilitator to go beyond his or her traditiona

role and provide direction into the groupsdecisions. The Levels of Intervention dia-gram shows the range of options availableto facilitators.

The variations on meeting culture are end-less. The best way to nd out a groups cul-ture is to ask questions and observe theirother meetings. Then abide by the code.

5. Respect the

culture and thecode


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Silence

Supports

I understand you. Keep going.

Ask questions to clarifyCan you give us an example?

Asks questions to changeWhats missing in your proposal?

Asks questions to moveCan we spend another 10 minutes on this topic an

then we move on?

Suggests choicesIt seems like we have two proposals here that cap-ture what people are saying; would it be okay if wefocus on these two proposals?

Suggests processHow about we brainstorm some ideas about thisproposal and then we use our criteria to decide

which of these proposals is best for us. Is that okaywith folks?

Sharing ideasIve been in this situation before, and I have foundthat option C can be a wise choice, provided youhave the funding.

GuidanceMy recommendation is that you try this proposalout and then review your decision in six months.

Choosing for the groupLooking at the next steps that weve brainstormedhere. I think we should move forward on these threaction items. Who would like to do this action?

DirectingAnil, could you write a fundraising plan by the 1stof next month? Tank you.

Levels of Intervention

Jessica Bell slightly adapted revor Bentleys handout in Facilitation: Providing Opportunities for Learning New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994, p.63.

Gentle Intervention

Persuasive

Directive


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For each agenda time follow this simple,three-step process: get the information out,track solutions, then make decisions. Letsexplore these three points.

First, ensure everyone has the informationthey need to make a good decision. Youcould encourage the sharing of informationby having a participant offer a one-pageproposal or deliver a PowerPoint. Its alsouseful to allow other participants to shareany additional information they know about

the topic. Finally, allow participants to askclarifying questions. If there are some gap-ing holes or unanswered questions thenconsider postponing the item so the need-ed information can be collected.

Second, allow for debate and discussion.The most common way to do this is for ev-eryone to stay in one group and discussand critique possible solutions. This stageis messy. Sometimes people will suggestnew ideas, while others will critique currentproposals.

During this discussion you should be doinga few key things:

1. Track for solutions. That means youshould be writing down any solutions thatpeople are proposing.You could be writingthese ideas on ipchart paper for everyone

to see, or you could be keeping track on apiece of paper that only you can read.

2. Gauge where people are at on the solu-tions that are being identied. For instance,

if a proposal is suggested do people nodin agreement or cross their arms and lookstony-faced? Do people keep talking aboutone proposal in a positive way?

3. Make sure people stay on topic. Itsyour job to keep everyone on track. Letone person go off topic and soon others willstray. If someone goes off topic I let themnish and then say lets deal with that later.

Right now lets focus on this topic.

6.Moving

through anagenda item


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Third, when you sense the group is readystart moving toward an actual decision.

Once youre reached this point, state theproposals out loud and, ideally, write themdown so people know what the options are.If necessary, you can amalgamate com-mon proposals.

Then vote. If there are multiple proposals,

it can help to ask everyone to vote once fortheir favourite proposal. If theres a clearwinner then youre home free.

If you dont have the votes to approve aproposal then it can help to ask the peoplewho are opposing the most popular pro-posal to suggest ways this proposal couldbe improved so that they would support it.

You could either make alterations at thispoint or send it to a designated team tocome up with a better proposal to presentat a future meeting. Delaying a decision isaways better than implementing a bad de-cision.

Its wise to gauge whether the proposalhas the support needed for successful im-plementation. Important decisions suchas deciding the groups priority politicalcampaign should get the groups nearunanimous support, even if 51% is all thatsneeded for formal approval.

How do you know when

the group is ready to

decide?

more than a few people are talk-ing about implementing an idea.

theres lots of nodding whensomeone talks about a proposal.

a clear proposal or series of pro-posals have surfaced

people are repeating them-selves.


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Difcult people might speak out of turn,get unnecessarily angry, talk too much,take over the meeting, or sabotage deci-sions.

As the facilitator, it is your job to deal withthem and keep the rest of the group ontrack.

Here are some tips:

Know in advance if there are people attend-ing who can be resistant to new ideas orthe decision-making process. This gives

you time to mentally prepare.

Use the power of the group. You could aska few of the more inuential participants to

back you up if you need to ask the disrupterto change their behaviour. For instance,I once was in a situation where one par-ticipant kept trying to take over the agendaand change the topic. Instead of trying to

engage in a power struggle over the agen-da I asked the group if they wanted to stayon the current topic or move to the topic thisperson was suggesting. The group saidthey wanted to stay on the current topic.

Refer to the ground rules. For instance, ifsomeone is constantly interrupting othersit is helpful to go back to the ground rules

that were presented at the beginning of themeeting. Two of those ground rules couldbe 1) no interrupting others and 2) makesure everyone has a chance to voice theiropinion. If they break the rules then youcan remind them that the group agreed thatthese were the rules of the meeting.

You or someone in the group could

even have a one-on-one conversation withthe problem person so that you are awareof their concerns and they know that dis-ruptive behaviour is detrimental to the pro-ductivity of the meeting. Sometimes peo-ple simply dont understand how effectivemeetings work.

Sometimes difcult people have genuine

concerns and the groups failure to act ontheir ideas has prompted this person to bedifcult because they feel ignored or mar-ginalized. These larger issues should beaddressed by the group.

7. Deal with the

difcult people.


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Anderson, M., Anderson, SR, L., Laeger-Hagemeister, M., Scheffert, DR. (1999) Vol-ume 6 Dealing with Group Conict Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs and

the University of Minnesota Extension Service, Minnesota, MN.

Anderson, M., Anderson, SR, L., Laeger-Hagemeister, M., Scheffert, DR. (1999) Vol-ume 7 Utilizing Diversity, Power, and Ethics Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public

Affairs and the University of Minnesota Extension Service, Minnesota, MN.

Bens, I (2005) Advanced Facilitation Strategies: Tools and Techniques to Master Dif-cult Situations, Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA

Bens, I (2012) Facilitating with Ease! Core Skills for Facilitators, Team Leaders andMembers, Managers, Consultants, and Trainers Ed 3. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA

Freeman, J (1970) The Tyranny of Structurelessness Online at: http://www.jofreeman

com/joreen/tyranny.htm

Ghais, S (2005) Extreme facilitation : guiding groups through controversy and complex-ity Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA

Hogan, C (2002) Understanding Facilitation: Theory and Principles Kogan Page, Lon-don, UK

Hogan, C (2003) Practical Facilitation: A Toolkit of Techniques Kogan Page, London,UK

Kaner, S (2003) Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision-Making New Society Pub-lishers, Gabriola Island, BC. Pp18-19, 47-91, and 123-136.

Lakey, B, Lakey G, Napier, R & Robinson, J (1995) Grassroots and Nonprot Leader-ship: A Guide for Organizations in Changing Times, New Society Publishers, BC. Pp64-80.

Polleta, F (2002) Freedom is an Endless Meeting: Democracy in American Social Move-ments University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Il

Great books and

guides on facilitation.


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NOTES

Documents

Seven Steps to Facilitating a Great Meeting JBell 2