Effective Facilitation of Meetings Goals Review what makes a meeting effective Learn tips and best practices for hosting an effective meeting Why is this Session Important? Asking people to come together to meet and tackle a specific agenda item is a large part of our team organizing strategy. Since our model is based on teamwork, it s important to bring everyone together on a regular basis to share ideas, thoughts and best practices in a group space. That being said, finding time to organize or attend group meetings can be difficult when juggling work, family and other obligations. We ve all attended events or meetings and walked away feeling like nothing was accomplished or unsure of next steps. That s why we need to make sure that each meeting is efficient and attendees walk away feeling like they took something away and their time was well spent. In this session we ll review tips, best practices and things to think about when hosting meeting to ensure it s a success. We ll review: Different types of meetings How to prepare for a meeting Meeting agenda tips and best practices Post-meeting follow-up steps and tips Preparing for a Meeting As you know preparing for any activity is one of the most important ways to ensure you are set up for success.. Preparation will help ensure all your attendees know the important info, that they show up, that you accomplish what you need to and that folks walk away knowing clear next steps. Not only that, but since you planned ahead, you ll have the info you need to make important follow up steps easy and effective. 1
Brainstorm: Pretend for a minute you re planning a team meeting to choose a local issue to work on. This is your first meeting of its kind many people will be new to working with the team. Write down the key steps you need to take to prepare for a meeting of this kind. Let s review the basic steps of planning and executing an effective meeting. Preparing for a Meeting: STEP 1: Establish goals, audience, and location (logistics): Is this a training meeting, a strategy meeting or an issue selection meeting? As we discussed before, it s important to bring teams and volunteers together in person to tackle issues or questions. But there must always be a core focus of the meeting with clear goals; not just a meeting for the sake of meeting. Once you ve established what you want to accomplish you can draw up your invite list and decide a convenient location. Your list of attendees will depend on your goals and your location STEP 2: Recruit Help: As you know, our model is based on teamwork and delegation. Planning and hosting a meeting shouldn t be a commitment that occupies all your free time. Asking others to participate in helping will give them ownership over the success of the meeting and lighten the load on the host. Ask some other team members to help by bringing food, sending out invites, collecting RSVPS or bringing some extra chairs, materials, etc. If people know that other team members will pitch in, it makes it more likely that others will volunteer to help or host as well. 2
STEP 3: Develop a proposed agenda: A clear meeting agenda is one of the most important pieces of an effective meeting. We want to ensure the meeting stays on track, everyone gets a chance to speak, and most importantly, it accomplishes its goals. We all know meetings can easily get off track, so planning the agenda ahead of time, sending it around to attendees (so they can come prepared to discuss the topic and they know the meeting has a clear goal) and having someone manage the agenda during the meeting is key. Additionally, it s important to keep the meeting timely and efficient while also having time to include everything that we want to. Meetings that run off track not only don t accomplish their goals, but can also run way over the time allotted. People won t be as interested in participating or attending other events or meetings if they know think they will take several hours. Here s a sample meeting agenda that one might use for a strategy session: Sample Meeting Agenda (60-70 min) I. Attendees arrive and sign- In (15 minutes) II. III. IV. Welcome and introductions by Host (5 minutes) Host/Meeting Organizer tells personal story (5 minutes) Guided Discussion (25 minutes) V. Question & Answer Period (5-10 minutes) VI. VII. Review Next Steps and Thank You (10 minutes) Meeting Ends 3
STEP 4: Create a checklist of to-do s & materials you need: Now that you know where your meeting will be, who is invited and what the agenda is, it s time to take stock of what you need. Do you need writing utensils, extra chairs and print outs of the agenda, or other materials? Some people love to make lists, but if you re not a list-maker, it s a good idea to write down what you need for the meeting (and who s responsible for it) and what you need to do beforehand. Here s a sample checklist of commonly needed items for a meeting: Checklist of Materials for Community Event: ü Sign- in sheets ü Copies of the agenda ü Pens or scratch paper ü Informational Materials (i.e. photocopies of relevant newspaper articles, etc.) ü Nametags & Sharpies ü Tables for sign- in and informational materials (if host does not have) ü Light refreshments or snacks and water ü Additional chairs (If necessary) STEP 5: Confirm Your Attendees: Every good organizer knows that you must confirm, confirm, confirm! Make it easy for your guests to attend give them all of the information they need (time, address, agenda) and follow up to remind them. The best way to confirm people is by speaking to them either in person or by phone. It can be easy for busy parents and teachers to forget when the meeting is, so people generally appreciate the reminder. Also, no one wants to take time to attend something where they don t feel people care if they attend or not. Show enthusiasm for the meeting, follow up with those who don t respond to your invite, send reminders to everyone and show people that you re looking forward to their attending! 4
Here s a sample script for confirming attendees: Hi there, I m (calling/writing) to confirm you re able to attend our School Team strategy meeting this Thursday evening at 7pm. We would love for you to join us! We re going to talk about next steps in the upcoming school issue campaign we re working on. We have about 12 people joining us so far you may know some of them (include list of names of attendees they may know). The meeting should last about an hour and it s being held at my house (include address). Are you able to join? If Yes: Great, we re so happy you can make it please feel free to bring anyone you know that may interested in getting involved! I ll send the agenda for what we ll be discussing shortly. See you on Thursday! If No: That s a shame, we are sorry you can t make it! One of our agenda items at this meeting, is to gather sign ups to write a letter to the editor this month. I can send you more info but can I put you down to write a letter? S STEP 5: Host your meeting! Now that you ve spent time planning a meeting, it s time to get down to business. Make sure to have sign in sheets so you know who attended and to gather, or confirm, everyone s contact info. Have someone take notes that you can send around to all of the attendees after the meeting. This will help everyone remember what was discussed and any important decisions that were made, along with any follow up that needs to be done. STEP 6: Follow-up: Now that you ve planned and/or hosted a successful meeting it s time to follow up. Review the sign in sheet and follow up by thanking everyone for attending, sending around notes from the meeting and confirming any tasks that attendees took on. For instance, perhaps someone promised to write a letter to the editor on a specific issue. Send an email thanking them for attending and confirming that they re able to perform this function and find out when they are able to complete the task. Remind them of any important info they need to know. It may be good to pass along a good Letter to the Editor example and some other tips and pointers to help them with their task. 5
Here are some reminders on what to think about when following up post-meeting: A, B, C Always Be Closing. Make sure you follow up with the attendees! o Thank you call to host/those who helped o Thank you email to attendees with follow up information/instructions/answers to specific questions o Thank you + reminder calls/emails to those who signed up to volunteer for a specific thing 6