Meeting Facilitation

Introduction

How to lead fun and effective meetings that keep people coming back.

Overview

Principles, guidelines and consultants who can help your group run effective meetings for any purpose.

Page Index

  • Key Issues
  • Common Problems and Solutions
  • Successful Strategies
  • Annotated Web Resources
  • Topic Library
  • Sub-Topics and Vendors


    • Key Issues Related to this Topic

  • Citizen participation is an art. Involving citizens in reflecting on and acting for the common good is the main function for which most neighborhood associations have become incorporated. It is helpful for neighborhood leaders to understand the theory and practical skills of group facilitation to succeed in their role of fostering citizen participation.

  • Well-run meetings keep people coming back. Given the many demands in people’s lives, they have little patience and willingness to participate in meetings that are poorly run. On the other hand, when people leave a meeting feeling that their ideas have been heard and that they have come to know their neighbors better, they will feel motivated to come back.

  • Establish basic ground rules for your meetings. Many neighborhood associations find it helpful for committee members and board members to agree on basic ground rules for how they will conduct meetings (start and end meetings on time, respectful listening, one person speaks at a time, offering a chance for multiple views to be heard, etc.) Most groups find it helpful to create a poster of their ground rules, which is visible at meetings so that the facilitator and group can keep the ground rules in mind.

  • Thinking ahead is key to participation. Planning for and facilitating participatory, productive, and enjoyable meetings may be the key to unlocking the gifts and talents of new volunteers. To plan for an effective meeting, the facilitator must first clarify the purpose and desired outcomes of a meeting, and then choose the facilitation methods which can lead the group, step-by-step, to the desired outcome. Remember to plan for both an experiential goal for the meeting (how will people walk away different from the meeting) and a practical goal of the meeting (what decisions, outcomes and actions are to be completed.)

  • Balancing the head and the heart in meetings can make it easier to find common ground and shared directions for action.

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    Common Problems and Solutions

  • Low turn out. Common knowledge and research tells us that 20% of the people produce 80% of the results in businesses and community organizations. Your neighborhood association should be proud when you engage 20 % of residents on a block on a project. We have all heard the famous quote from Margaret Mead- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed it’s the only thing that ever does.” Neighborhood groups often work to also involve the 80% of residents who are not yet active with civic improvement efforts. Offering ways for residents to get involved without attending meetings, and making sure that the meetings that people must attend go well, are two ways to engage the silent 80% of residents.

  • Getting bogged down by Robert’s Rules of Order. When Robert’s Rule of Order is used to limit participation or to force the will of the majority on a minority, conflicts are bound to re-occur in a group. It is important for a facilitator to model and set a respectful & listening tone for a meeting, to “pay attention to the spirit, not just the letter of the law.” It is helpful to see Robert’s Rules of Order as one useful tool among many in a good facilitator’s toolbox. Many of the consultants listed in the Meeting Facilitation Resources section can teach your staff and volunteers new meeting facilitation methods which can be used in tandem with, or instead of, Robert’s Rules of Order.

  • Working with “difficult people.” Many neighborhood associations struggle with one or two “difficult people” who disrupt meetings and bring down the morale of others. Implementing good facilitation methods in your meetings can prevent residents from turning into “difficult people” and/or help a group strengthen the good will and wisdom of the whole, even when a “difficult person” is present. It is also OK to enforce consequences for people who consistently violate group meeting norms. When a disruptive individual threatens the overall health and functioning of your group, the group can send them away.

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    Successful Strategies

  • Get things done without meetings. The Powderhorn Park Neighborhood has a wonderful list of “10 things you can do to help your neighborhood without attending a meeting." Often residents can plan events or projects over a meal, in a coffee shop or via e-mail. Think carefully about why and when you choose to call people together to attend a meeting.

  • Take time out for fun. Social time before and after meetings and neighborhood celebrations and parties help community members to get to know one another as people, beneath the roles they play in the community.

  • Use small groups to allow for more air time. When a group is large and time is tight, small group discussions can help participants each have time to speak and be heard. The data collected by each small group can be presented back to the group as a whole for everyone to benefit from what was shared.

  • Use visuals to add focus. The creative use of visual recording at meetings (recording decisions on flip charts with bold lettering and drawings) can add focus to a meeting, help participants feel heard, and make it easier to make decisions and record them.

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    Annotated WebLinks

  • Meeting Facilitation Training and Consultants
    Institute of Cultural Affairs   03/28/03
    Excellent two day facilitation training. Offers in-house training and facilitation consultants as well.

  • National Resource- Facilitation
    International Association of Facilitators   09/24/01
    International professional association with trainings, certification, publications and a Disaster Intervention manual to help facilitate healing in times of crisis.

  • Meeting Facilitation Training and Consultants
    MN Facilitators Network   09/24/01
    Minnesota Facilitator's Network (MFN) is a non-profit association made up of people interested in facilitation both as a skill and as a profession. Ours is a learning network, providing ready access to programs and resources within a collegial, nurturing environment.

  • Meeting facilitation training
    U of MN Extension Service   03/28/03
    Written handbook an excellent trainings for volunteer facilitators. Facilitation Resources, available as a set of eight volumes, is an effort to enhance volunteers’ group facilitation techniques.

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    Library

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    Vendors by Sub-Topic

    Meeting Facilitation Training  
        Community Leader Development Program- Family & Children's Service
        Institute of Cultural Affairs/ MN Facilitators Network
        League of Women Voters of Minneapolis
        League of Women Voters of St. Paul
        Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program
        Minneapolis Training Program for Neighborhood Organizers
        No Limits for leaders


    Meeting Resources  
        Express Solutions
        League of Women Voters of Minneapolis


    Professional Facilitators  
        Batica and Associates
        Clarity Facilitation
        Institute of Cultural Affairs/ MN Facilitators Network
        Laxdal Consulting
        Port, Krueger & Associates


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