Trusight Inc.

Step Up Your Meeting and Facilitation Skills

9/6/2011By Dr. Diane Hinds

Meeting facilitation should look effortless. However, effective facilitation requires considerable effort. Regardless of innate ability, facilitation skills can improve with study and application.

Preparation
A key factor to effective facilitation is proper preparation. There are several steps to complete before the meeting to ensure it will be smooth-running and effective.

• Know the goal for the meeting.
• Be realistic about what can be accomplished at the meeting given the time and complexity of the topic covered at the meeting.
• Prepare an agenda. With the goal in mind, determine the appropriate order of topics and approximate time limits for each topic.
• Decide on logistics (location, room set up, etc.).
• Prepare necessary materials for the attendees. Explain unfamiliar concepts. Make documents easy-to-read. Be sure any visual aids will display properly during the meeting.
• Inform meeting participants of:
  
  • Meeting purpose: participants should understand why they are being asked to attend the meeting
  • Date, start and stop time, location
  • What they are to do to prepare
    
    • Read materials you provide
    • Review materials available through another source
    • ii. Think about……
    • Come with their recommendation for…...
• If possible, visit the meeting location prior to the meeting. Determine where you will stand and/or sit during the meeting. See that white boards, flip charts, computers, or other equipment are conveniently located so that you do not have to move around the room too much while you are facilitating.
• Rehearse what you will do at the meeting, realizing that you will have to adjust as you go. Anticipate reactions you are likely to encounter and plan how you will respond.

Getting Started

• The prevailing practice is to give participants all materials at the beginning of the meeting/presentation to avoid disruption of the meeting flow; however; it may be appropriate to keep some documents for distribution later in the meeting, if for some reason it would have a negative impact to have participants review the material prior to it being introduced.
• Have your opening remarks well rehearsed so that you can say them regardless of your nervousness or distractions.
• Start with a welcome, followed directly by stating the purpose of the meeting.
• Determine whether or not an “icebreaker” is appropriate. If you are in a large group, it is not practical. If everyone knows each other well, it may not be necessary. If you use an ice breaker, make it simple, quick and non-threatening.

During the meeting

• Avoid distracting gestures. Try to be natural in your movements, but if you are a “hand-talker” limit your enthusiasm. Ask a trusted colleague to observe you when you are facilitating and tell you about any mannerisms, movements, or other verbal or non-verbal behaviors that might be distracting.
• Project your voice so you are easily heard by the person farthest away. Use a microphone instead of yelling.
• Maintain eye contact but shift your gaze around the room.
• Use visual aids to illustrate points you are making or important pieces of information you are trying to convey. Visual aids should not overwhelm a presentation but can be effective in focusing the group’s attention on key points.
  • If you are using prepared visual aids, such as PowerPoint, don’t read every word of every slide. Talk about the material that is on the slide and make it easy for people to follow along.
  • Visual aids must be easily visible to the person farthest away.
• Involve participants. Even if the intent of the meeting is for you to convey information to the group, find ways to make your presentation interactive. Ask questions, ask for comments, ask for examples, etc.
• When responding to questions, repeat the question so the whole group hears it. Give a generalized answer first and then supply necessary details. If someone asks a question you plan to answer later in your presentation, you can provide a short answer and explain that you will address that topic in greater detail later.
• Keep a “parking lot” to record valuable comments that need to be addressed outside the meeting.
• Keep control of the room. Participants are looking to you to:
  • To prevent individuals from dominating the conversation
  • Limit side conversations that are distracting to other participants.
  • See that those who want to participate get a chance to.

Closing the meeting

• Monitor the time so that there are a few minutes at the end for questions and to summarize the main points of the meeting.
• Explain next steps, if appropriate.
• Thank the group for their participation.
• Stay in the room for a short time after the meeting to answer questions from participants.

Effective facilitation makes meetings more productive and helps ensure that the
purpose of the meeting is achieved. Trusight consultants are available to facilitate your meetings and to help you improve your facilitation skills.

For more information, contact Dr. Diane Hinds at 763.253.9184 or [email protected]