FREE online courses on Effective Meeting Facilitation - Think Before You
Meet - What outcome do we want to achieve
It is not unusual to spend as much time planning a meeting as
running it. Preparation begins with asking these questions:
A newspaper editorial from an irate father just after
attending his daughter's college orientation session serves to illustrate the
usefulness of understanding the various reasons for meetings. This man went to
the meeting to learn about courses of study, relevant deadlines, tuition and
expenses, financial aide, and safety precautions. "I knew I was in trouble," he
said, "when I entered a room full of chairs set up in a circle." The meeting was
designed, instead, to explore feelings about one's child going off to college,
and to build relationships with other parents.
Whether you identify with the father who sought specific
information and was sorely disappointed, or the meeting planners who offered an
opportunity for consciousness raising - the point is that the purpose of the
meeting must be clearly identified. The purpose drives who should attend, the
agenda items, what materials or equipment to have on hand, and the direction of
the next meeting.
Knowing that the purpose of the meeting is "planning" is not
enough. More specifically, people meet for one of, or for a combination of these
reasons:
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Information exchange (acquiring or disseminating information or both)
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Self-awareness or consciousness raising
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Learning (topics and skills)
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Creative thinking and generating ideas (brainstorming)
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Critical thinking (analysis, goal setting, problem solving, decision making)
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Accomplishing tasks
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Building relationships and commitment
