4 Steps to FacilitatingBetter Meetings

1. Frame the Meeting2. Establish Ground Rules3. Finalize Agenda4. Execute the Agenda

• Steps 1 to 3 up front.• Bulk of the time spent in step 4.• Step 4 becomes difficult without the previous steps. Don’t

skip them.

Introduce the Facilitator Role

• If you are a meeting owner then introducing facilitation allows you to delegate.

• Being a facilitator prepares one for leadership responsibilities.

• Delegation frees you up to focus on the effectiveness of the meeting

• A facilitator is a friendly ally to the meeting owner – together they work against backsliding.

• Meetings that have no owner need a facilitator even more so that the group doesn’t slide into ineffective behaviors.

Facilitator vs. Owner

Facilitator• Tracks to the agenda• Keeps time• Prompts attendees

(but not direct them)• Interactively

establishes ground rules, if not set.

Meeting Owner• Owns the agenda• Determines priority• Owns exceptions• Ultimately

responsible for meeting’s effectiveness.

1. Frame the Meeting• 20 to 90 seconds up front• WELCOME the attendees and try to make them feel APPRECIATED for

coming.• Set the SPIRIT or energy level for the meeting by MODELING it

yourself. • Fast paced? Careful and methodical? Jubilant? Somber?

• State the PURPOSE of the meeting• Why are we spending a dollar per minute per attendee?• PURPOSE gives the attendees a GOAL, a REASON for

engagement• Normally you shouldn’t assume everyone already knows.

• Have an EXIT STRATEGY. • Define DONE so you can END EARLY• So you can DISTINGUISH SUCCESS from failure

• All of this together puts your attendees is a COMMON FRAME of mind• Don’t want mismatched intent (E.g. Unstructured socializing

mixed with urgent decision making)• All activities are not EQUALLY EFFECTIVE all the time

• Welcome

• Spirit

• Purpose

• Exit Strategy

2. Ground Rules

• Helps provide safety• Helps provide predictable self determination

– this is liberty (I learned that in American Heritage Class)

2.1 Establishing Ground Rules

• Come prepared with rules– Make a COMPLETE LIST before hand– Do NOT present your list first

• Brainstorm rules with group– Write where all can see

• Refine list based on group and own rules– CIRCLE rules that match your own idea– CIRCLE unexpected, helpful rules– Respectfully strike out any rules that CAN’T WORK– ADD any missing from your list and ask if group will accept them

• Keep posted in easily seen area– Physically in space is better than electronic. Allows informal gesturing

toward the rules.

2.2 Default Ground Rules

• Respect Priority– Start on time– Finish on time– Stay on agenda– Use a “parking lot”

(write down off-topic things and get to them later if time allows)

• Engage Here Now– Silence electronics– Participate– No phone-calls or emailing

in the room– One at a time (no sidebars)

• Respect the Group– Trust by default (assume

integrity & competence)– Be respectful

3. Finalize Agenda

•Some meetings start with a properly formed and COMPLETE Agenda

•If not complete, complete it first off•Can’t hold to a plan that

•Didn’t EXIST•Was AMBIGUOUS•Or wasn’t ANNOUNCED

3.1 Agenda Must-Haves• Order

• PRIORITY order• Must be FREE to end on time

REGARDLESS of progress• Get important things DONE

FIRST• Owner

• Responsible for delivering VALUE for that agenda item

• Responsible for meeting time DEADLINE

• Responsible for PREPARATION• Topic

• Decision, training, briefing, etc.• Cue attendees on what is

expected of them

• Time Limit• Agenda topics are WORK DELIVERABLES• Deliverables have DEADLINES• Ask people how much time they need, then hold

them to it.• Don’t just give them what they ask for, make a

value judgment.• If they don’t know how long then give them 5 or

10 minutes and say we’ll get what we can in that time limit.

• Time limit includes all ACTIVITIES needed to complete the agenda item• Hooking up PROJECTORS• Distributing PAPERS• TALKING• Answering QUESTIONS

4. Execute Agenda

• Where planning bears fruit.• Of course, must have plan in place in order for

this step to work.

4.1 Principles of Agenda Execution

•Stay ON TASK• Keep OWNER and GROUP on task•Use PARKING LOT to suspend tangents

•Fairness to all• Prompt. It’s all about prompting• Even prompt meeting owner (but they can override you)

•Deliver on time• Parkinson’s law: Work expands to fill the time allotted. • By corollary: work contracts to fit in the time allotted

4.2 Polite, Effective Time-Management

• Announce Topic, Owner, and Limit– Yes: their time-limit includes setting up technology– The first couple of times I did this it surprised folks.

• Now they know to plan for the technology tax, and• that they have to finish on time no matter how temperamental the projector is.

• Multiple warnings as time runs out– Silent warning at 5 minutes left (5 fingers)– Silent warning at 3 minutes left (3 fingers)– Spoken warning at 1 minute left (“John, one minute.”)

• Interrupt at 0 – automatic is effective– I make my timer loud and abrupt.– My employees tell my wife, “when I get the one minute warning I finish up because I don’t want that

alarm to go off on me.” But they also say they appreciate the meeting keeping pace– It may distress the topic owner, and it will gratify everyone else in the room.

• Express gratitude to the owner and wrap up by restating the resulting assignments from the topic.

• The meeting owner can always approve an exception to the time limits. That’s where the buck stops.

Put it all together: 4 Steps to Facilitating Better Meetings

1. Welcome the attendees and frame the meeting to ensure common PURPOSE

2. Establish ground rules to provide SAFETY3. Finalize the agenda to allow

ACCOUNTABILITY4. Execute the agenda to turn planning into

VALUE