Meetings can be stressful for everyone. Often, we spend the time leading up to a meeting thinking of all of the other things we could be doing during that meeting time. And it is frustrating when we leave feeling as though we have not accomplished anything during the meeting time. So, I started researching tips and ways to make a meeting more productive for all members involved.
I found the following information from a website titled Center for Participatory Change. The address for the website is http://www.cpcwnc.org/resources/toolbox/how-run-good-meeting
Here are the tips from the site:
1. Make sure you need to have a meeting. Meetings are
needed when a group of people must be involved in an action or a
decision.
2. Set a goal for the meeting. Be very clear about why
you’re having the meeting, and what needs to get done or be decided.
Break that task into steps, or divide the discussion into
sections—that’s the agenda for your meeting. At the start of the meeting
say, this is our goal, and if we can get this done, the meeting will be
a success. At the end of the meeting remind them that you achieved your
goal. This lets everyone leave feeling successful, and they’ll be glad
to come to your next meeting.
3. Put decisions to the group. The participants own
the meeting. Let them set the agenda before the meeting, or at least add
to it when you begin. If decisions need to be made about the process
(whether to end a discussion that’s going too long, for example) then
ask that question to the group.
4. Stay on schedule. Remember that every minute a
person spends in your meeting, they could be doing other things. They’re
with you because they’ve decided your meeting is important, so treat
them like their time is important. Start on time and end on time!
5. Pay attention to what’s important. Set a certain
amount of time for each item on the agenda, based on how important it
is. If the group starts spending a lot of time on details, ask them “Is
this what we want to spend our time talking about?” A lot of details can
be worked out by individuals or committees—meetings are for the
decisions that need to involve the whole group
6. Keep the meeting on track. Your agenda is the tool
you use to make sure you’re on time and on the right topic. When side
issues come up, help the group get back on track. If the issue sounds
important, check with the group. “We’re talking about a new issue—is
this something important that we should take time to discuss?”
7. Make sure people participate. People think a
meeting is useful based on one simple thing: whether or not they talked.
So everybody should have a chance to share their ideas. It’s okay to
ask specific people what they think! You should also be prepared to
gently remind people when they’re talking too much.
8. Have good facilitation. The facilitator is the
person who runs the meeting and acts on all the steps listed above. It’s
a big job, and it usually doesn’t fit well with participating in the
discussion. So if you need to have your views heard, let someone else
run the meeting! Good facilitation doesn’t just happen—it’s a skill that
comes with training and practice.
