One of the most meaningful parts of my day is collaborating and working with other teachers. Truly, they have the best ideas, are generous with sharing feedback and can point out my blind spots when I am teaching, writing lessons or creating systems for the IB Diploma Program. In schools, formal collaboration during meetings can sometimes be less rewarding than quick chats in the hall. Given that these are the same people in both scenarios, I wonder I have been fortunate to work with incredibly talented meeting facilitators and had opportunities to learn from failing at what works and does not for managing meetings with teachers. Read below for the ten best meeting facilitation techniques I have experienced!
- Take minutes in real-time using a Google doc displayed on the board. This is such a useful technique. It keeps people focused, avoids misunderstandings and streamlines next steps and follow up.
- Have an agenda. Agendas save time and provide meaning during meetings. Even a few key items written on a Google doc give a meeting a framework.
- Ask meeting participants to add items to an agenda. I recommend allowing participants to add items openly until 24 hours before the meeting. Then move forward with the agenda as is. The meeting leader has the right to prioritize agenda items as well. This helps meeting participants to feel heard and to have some agency over their time.
- Use Google calendar to schedule meetings and communicate cancelations and changes. A very smart assistant with whom I worked even wrote “TBC” To Be Confirmed in the title of the invite. The, she would remove the TBC if the meeting was confirmed.
- End the meeting early if the agenda is finished. One thing that is really unproductive is to meet just to meet. If the agenda is finished, let people leave.
- Start and end the meeting on time. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this rule. I know I am not the first person to say it and will not be the last. Respect people’s time.
- Create a shared agreement for participation. Decisions are not inclusive if only a few people’s input is known. Set-up a plan for requiring that everyone participates. This could be as simple as doing a whip share or just prompting participants who are quiet to engage.
- If you want to discuss a document at a meeting, share it in advance of the meeting and be clear about the expectation to attend the meeting having read the document. Do not waste people’s precious time reading documents and sharing ideas when this could easily be done outside the meeting. Adults do not need a meeting to read. They do need a meeting to collaborate and share ideas about what they read, though. Put the time to good use!
- Appoint a time keeper. This engages more people in the facilitation of the meeting. It also shows that the meeting facilitator is able to be open-minded and values distributed leadership. It also keeps everyone accountable to the scheduled meeting time.
- Follow through. I love collaborating with my colleagues, students and administrators to develop plans, projects and achieve outcomes. The only way to do that is if meeting participants do after the meeting what they say they will do during the meeting. Following through builds a culture of respect as well.
What are the best meeting facilitation techniques you have ever seen? I would love to know! Share in the comments below!
#meetingtechniques #meetingfacilitation #leadership #teacherleadership #administrators
Talking Points 