“Be absolutely clear on the outcome (s) wanted and stay out of content. These are my two top tips.”
John Brooker
Facilitating a team of MBA students
If you want to enhance your meeting facilitation, here are some tips I provide people on my courses.
This week I had a note from a reader. He has several meetings to facilitate and asked if I could send him a copy of my “top ten tips for facilitation” that he had accidentally erased from his computer.
I thought this might be the trigger for a new blog. Unable to find a previous article on this topic, it is with thanks to Tariq that I provide you with those top ten tips and a few more. I trust you will find them useful.
Know your outcome and output
Be absolutely clear on the required outcome, (e.g. “The Group will have created clear options for improved service in key areas”) and output of the meeting, (e.g. a report detailing those options). Be clear overall and for every session in it. This is the first tip, as everything flows from this.
Focus on process not content
Your role as a facilitator is to focus on the process. If you get involved in the content, you become a participant and that makes life difficult. If you have a stake in the content, if this project is your baby, ask someone to baby-sit for you!
Think PACE Maintain pace
As a facilitator you should consider PACE when designing and facilitating a meeting.
Process – Attendees – Content – Environment
Maintaining pace is important too! Your meeting should pulse with energy like a good film or play.
Prepare to reduce risk
One role of the facilitator is to manage risk. Careful preparation reduces risk; the risk that something will go wrong with the Process, that Attendees will disrupt your meeting, that Content is wrong and the Environment poor. Briefing the attendees about the meeting and enabling them to feedback thoughts and concerns before the meeting really does reduce the risk of difficult attendees.
Invest time to focus
Just before a meeting, people might be frazzled by their commute, embroiled in a discussion on the mobile, dealing with negative e-mails on their Blackberry or all three. I have had two managers having a loud and furious argument in the corridor outside the meeting room and two people who had come to blows in the morning.
Giving people the opportunity to focus on the meeting is vital. A short relaxation exercise, an opportunity to get to know a new person, clarity on the purpose and outcomes and a relevant energiser will help distracted people to focus.
Get over yourself
The meeting is not about you, it’s about the participants. Focus on making it a great meeting for them and many issues will disappear.
Use CHER
If you set out with a mindset that people will be awkward, they are likely to be. Care, Help, Empathise with and Respect the attendees and you will find they respond better. Yes, even the challenging one from IT!
Design well, energise less
Spend time on your meeting design and make it active and participative. Find a variety of ways to generate, share and feedback information. In this way you’ll reduce the need for energisers. If you would like an article on energising groups, please click here.
Think group dynamics
Look for how well members of the group are working together, how energised they are and if all are involved. Whole group “discussion” usually means the loudest speak while others play with Blackberries or catch up on sleep; vary group size and composition constantly to maintain a fresh perspective.
To avoid cynicism or despair, keep the group focussed on the positive, not the negative, the bright future not the gloomy past.
Pass the pen
It is a school of thought that the person who holds the flipchart pen has the power. That’s not true. If you are writing, how are you in touch with the group? Get someone else to scribe while you focus on the group’s energy.
Learn to dance
No matter how good your design is, it is likely that you will need to be flexible, to “dance” as my colleague, Caroline Harvey, says. Being inflexible as a facilitator leaves the group frustrated that they cannot explore new avenues. The design is a script on which you improvise.
Grow your toolkit
The more tools you have to work with, the easier it is to deal with different situations and maintain interest. If you would like several Gorilla articles specifically on facilitation tools, please click here.
Have your own supplies
I can’t believe the number of company meeting rooms I use that have no marker pens or dry marker pens on the flipchart holder. Ensure you have your own supply of marker pens and Post It notes. That way you are not dependent on people who put dry marker pens back on the holder. [Deep breath; pet niggle surfacing here!]
Make the environment right
In my experience, having a room with enough space (15 feet by 30 feet for twelve people), natural light, fresh air and water makes for a much better meeting. Music helps too! Avoid the room with a Board table; it is a barrier to good communication and a wonderful screen to hide Blackberries. “Chairs only” is a good format unless you have much individual writing, in which case use small tables. And if you are stuck with the environment you have? Your job will be harder. (Please see “To Close”.)
Small Action
Choose one tip from the list, apply it for your next meeting and add more over time.
To Close
On Friday I facilitated an afternoon meeting for a client. The team meeting in the morning over ran, I had no time to set up and we started an hour late. The room was tiny, awkwardly shaped with a large table and space for only one flip chart.
We shoved the table out of the way and got on with it, swapping to a slightly larger but equally awkward room later. Even so, the client said in a note after, “Very many thanks for an excellent session yesterday afternoon.”
Lesson? As long as you use as many of these tips as possible, your meeting can be successful.
John Brooker I Yes! And. Think Innovatively.
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