A meeting facilitator is a person who guides a group toward a particular decision or process. This role is typically filled by an individual who has a genuine interest in ensuring the best results for all the participants. If you are interested in becoming a meeting facilitator, there are several skills and qualities that you should posses.
Facilitation is not the easiest task, but you can learn it through hands-on experience and formal training. These can help you cement your skills and prove your credibility to clients and colleagues. You can also get educated by reading books, blogs and podcasts.
It’s a good idea to have a clear agenda. Agendas should be distributed ahead of time so that everyone is aware of what is expected of them. They should include all the topics to be discussed and a time frame for each. Having an agenda can also make it easier for team members to make decisions.
A well-planned agenda will allow the group to get their work done. In addition, it will allow time for questions to be asked and suggestions to be made. For example, it is usually a good idea to include some fun activities in the meeting to give people a chance to take a break from more taxing tasks.
A good facilitator will have a knack for listening and observing their peers. Often, groups can over focus on the task at hand and miss out on the relationships that are important to getting things done. By paying attention to the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of a particular situation, your team can make better decisions.
Taking the time to read the body language of your fellow teammates is a great way to understand what their full communication voice is. When you can identify this, you can use it to determine if their ideas are truly aligned with what you want to accomplish.
Some of the most important meeting facilitation skills are empathy, motivation, assertiveness and listening. These can be learned by experimenting with different facilitation tools and practices. Even though you might not be an expert, you can improve these skills by reflecting on past experiences and learning from others’ mistakes.
A good facilitator will be able to set the tone of the meeting and encourage participation. They should be able to identify non-productive conversations and engage the group in meaningful discussions. One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a ‘time keeper’ for the day. This person will keep track of the time and ensure that all points on the agenda are addressed.
Good meeting facilitation is often the result of a lot of practice and luck. If you are new to the game, you might find it difficult to get everyone on board. However, you can always draw on the expertise of your team to implement the techniques you’ve learned.
There are many meeting facilitation skills to learn, but the most important is to be a good listener. By noticing how your peers respond to your suggestions, you will be able to come to better decisions.