Want to be a better facilitator? Here’s where to start
Do you want to improve your facilitation skills? Perhaps you want to work your way up to being the go-to facilitator at your organization. Being a better facilitator requires you to focus on the specific steps that will get you there.
Today, I’m going to outline those steps for you so that you know where you need to start.
For more than 20 years, I have facilitated many different kinds of meetings including project management meetings, strategic meetings, process meetings, and more. Over the years of experience, I have learned tips that will make anyone a better meeting facilitator, guaranteed. So, let’s get to it, shall we?
1 – Be Prepared
It’s critical that you prepare adequately. Find the answers to questions like: What do you want to talk about? How long does the meeting need to be? Who should be in the meeting? These are all things you need to know in order to have an idea of what a successful meeting will look like.
On top of that, think through the materials you’ll need to bring to the meeting. You might need post-it notes, sharpies, chart paper, or other materials in order to facilitate the meeting in a way that will be effective for you.
2 – Agenda and Objective
Having a detailed agenda and clear objective for the meeting is what will help you know how to make your meeting successful. These need to be sent out at least two days before the meeting. The absolute minimum amount of time before the meeting is 24 hours, because you need to give people time to prepare and review the agenda so that they know what to expect and you can all hit the ground running when the meeting starts.
3 – Set Ground Rules
It’s really important to establish ground rules at the beginning of the meeting because this will mean everybody involved is on the same page and your meeting will be so much more productive. For example, you might tell people that they should have their phones and laptops off unless they’re taking notes, so that they’re not doing other work and trying to multitask while someone else is talking.
These tips that I’ve outlined are only a start. I have additional information about ground rules, agenda and objective, and other tips I haven’t mentioned that will help you be a top-notch meeting facilitator. So, if this is something you’re looking to improve, please don’t stop here! Take just a few minutes to meet with me over on YouTube and watch the video I’ve put together that goes further into these tips and provides some additional ones that you can use as a facilitator for meeting success.
