Meeting facilitation involves the process of designing, running, and evaluating meetings and other group activities. It includes the preparation of an agenda, identifying outcomes desired by the participants, ensuring that people have a positive experience, and fostering openness and trust.

Developing Product Concepts or Solving Issues

A successful meeting should help the group come to a decision that is well-supported by all involved and that meets a company’s needs and goals. This requires effective interaction, communication and decision-making skills that are often only developed through a facilitator’s work with the group.

Getting All of the Right People Together

You need a diverse range of attendees to ensure everyone can have their voice heard and contribute to discussions. This is especially true if you are hosting an event for an audience of many different types of people, such as a conference or training workshop.

Having the right people in the room is also crucial to maintaining a positive atmosphere and keeping things flowing effectively. For example, it can be challenging to get people to discuss a project if the majority of the group are not experts in the area or don’t have any prior experience.

This is why it is vital to invite attendees that have the experience and knowledge necessary to take on the task at hand, such as experienced managers or designers with strong subject matter expertise. By identifying who is needed and who is not, you can save yourself time and effort by planning the agenda and making sure everyone has a chance to participate.

It’s also important to keep the discussion moving by limiting over-talking and using a variety of techniques that help people express their ideas. For example, dividing the group into small groups to discuss different points can be an excellent way to break down big concepts and make them more digestible for the participants.

Being able to listen is an essential skill for any facilitator. Good listening means you are listening carefully and making an attempt to understand where the other person is coming from without trying to change what they have said, or putting your own opinion into words.

Power dynamics are always present in any group, but can be addressed through facilitation tools such as go rounds and reflection time that allow everyone to contribute equally. You can also challenge problematic behaviours and micro-aggressions that might be affecting participation in the group.

Check-ins

A great way to encourage participants to share their thoughts or experiences is through a check-in session. These are short exercises that ask individuals to write down a few sentences about their thoughts, feelings or experiences on an issue they’re having.

The aim is to elicit a wide range of feedback from the team, and you can use these to develop your skills as a facilitator and improve future meetings.

Creating an Effective Agenda

As the meeting begins, the facilitator should take some time to establish the topic for the discussion and the outcome that the group will be working towards. This gives the participants an opportunity to think about what they want to discuss and ensures they are clear on the purpose of the meeting.