What I really enjoy at work is facilitating a meeting. I believe that facilitation plays an important role in an effective meeting and building a good team.
For me, a good meeting is when the objectives are realized, the participants engage in the discussion, and the team is connected. Facilitation can help.
1. Solid agenda
Meeting facilitation begins before the meeting. We need to define the purpose - why there should be a meeting? objectives - what are the expected outcome of the meeting?
Topics - what topics should we discuss to realize the objectives of the meeting
2. Pre-work
To prepare for a good discussion, the facilitator can send the participants some relevant materials, short survey questions, etc. so that participants are well-prepared for the meeting.
3. Check-in and ice-breaker
For a meeting, where participants don't know each other, the icebreaker session plays an important role in building common ground, building rapport so that they can have a safe environment to discuss, engage in the conversation.
While within an established team, short check-in is also helpful to create the energy for a better engagement in the meeting.
4. Active listening
Active listening is one of the most important factors of a good facilitator. As a facilitator, you need to ensure that
- Everyone has a safe environment to express their ideas
- Everyone can engage in the discussion
- Participants are heard
With active listening, you can enable participants to talk and feel appreciated. How?
- Pay attention to what they are saying
- Ask questions to clarify
- Summarize the ideas.
5. Close a meeting
It is important to close a meeting by checking against the expected outcome and agree on an action plan: Who What When
With such an action plan, you can easily do follow-up activities after the meeting.
Do you have other tips for facilitating a meeting? Please feel free to comment.
I wish you a lot of effective and joyful meetings.
