You know, from earlier articles, that the facilitator's job is to keep the meeting focused on the objective and to proceed at a pace that will achieve the objective within the scheduled time. This requires a focus on four components: the people, the content, the process and the time. Let's start with the most complex component, people.
People
An important key to remember is that everyone is not like you. There are a variety of different types of people who with a variety of needs.
Some people tend to be big picture thinkers who may be less enchanted by the details. (These people are necessary to supply ideas and strategies.)
Some people are action oriented and think that all of this talking and planning is a waste of valuable time. They want to get to it. (These people supply the energy.)
Some people require more detail to feel comfortable before moving forward. (These people supply the planning and need to fill in the gaps before proceeding. They help to prevent surprises.)
Some people are relationship oriented and require some schmoozing to feel comfortable. (These people keep the other three types from killing each other.)
[Myers - Briggs, DISC, others can give you more information on this].
The facilitator should also keep in mind that people come to meetings carrying a lot of other personal baggage as well: egos confidence/fears, likes/dislikes, optimism/pessimism, personal situations, etc. The skilled facilitator takes all of these factors into account when adjusting the focus of people toward the objective.
When dealing with the people in a meeting, keep in mind that you want their cooperation and their goodwill. You need to have positive energy. You need them to keep moving toward the objective. You will not get this if you embarrass them, point out the shortcomings in an obvious manner, or back them into a corner.
You should handle problems indirectly, where possible. A soft touch maintains the goodwill of the person. A direct, forceful, heavy-handed approach has a high potential to cause the person to shut down, thereby removing their value from the meeting. This type of action also interjects a negative tone into a meeting. Positive energy is much more helpful in achieving the objective.
Effective meeting facilitation requires all of the communication skills that you've learned in many other places.
Active listening.
Reflective listening
Positive reinforcement.
Open ended questions (find out what they think.).
Closed ended questions (confirm what you think).
When you have a different point of view, do not confront the other person by telling them that they're wrong. This sets up a win/lose situation. Don't address their "story". Instead, respond by telling them how it looks from your point of view, how you saw it, from the information you have, etc. Simply tell your "story". Now you have two different versions of the same story. This is easier to deal with than a contest between two individuals.
Keep in mind that you can not reach the objective of the meeting if the people do not interact with the content and each other around the content. Your job is to keep them cooperative and contributing.
Content
Everyone does not know what you know, and vice versa. Therefore it is important for everyone to contribute their piece of knowledge to the discussion. When that happens, everyone has the same level of knowledge about the subject. This put you in a better position to hit your objective. So you must encourage quiet people to speak and control the discussion dominators.
There will be times when the discussion takes a side road. In your facilitator role, you need to recognize whether the side road is a shortcut to the objective or is it a detour that takes the discussion somewhere else. When you determine that it is a detour, I recommend that you do not just shut it off. Instead ask a question like, "This story is interesting. But how will it help us to get to (state objective)?" This is a soft approach to getting the person to shut off the story themselves without you having to jerk them back onto the main road. On the other hand, you may find out that it does apply and you simply didn't recognize it. The soft approach keeps you from making a misstep.
Process
Keep It Moving.
The facilitator needs to continuously scan the room.
Is the content appropriate and will it lead to our objective?
Are all of the people engaged with the content?
Will the current path achieve the objective?
Time
Will the current pace allow you to hit the objective within the meeting time?
If yes, carry on. If no, make the appropriate corrections. If the appropriate corrections are not obvious, be willing to ask the participants what they see as the path to achieve the objective.
Summarize and Close.
You should summarize the meeting. A summary increases in importance with the length of the meeting.
Review the points covered.
Restate the objective.
Restate the criteria for success
State the data that demonstrates that the meeting has achieved the objective.
Restate Action items and responsibilities
You must, MUST restate decisions made and action items with responsibilities. Repeating them makes it clear what you think happened; reminds people who may have forgotten decisions and action items from earlier in the meeting; and gives them an opportunity to speak up if they disagree.
If there are next steps, they should be listed here. If there is time, ask the attendees, what worked well and what didn't. This is necessary information to improve you next meeting. Thank the attendees and close the meeting.
End the meeting on time!
Respect the time and scheduling needs of your attendees.
People will leave the meeting with a clear understanding of what was accomplished. They will have a consistent idea of what was decided and who has what action items.
And, best of all, they will know that they came here to accomplish something important and they leave having accomplished it!
Most people think that they are done at this point. However, you still have two things to do After The Meeting to cement the success of your meeting. Stay tuned.
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