How to Facilitate a Meeting
What is a Facilitator?
The facilitator is the person in charge of the meeting. They move the meeting along by helping members get information and make decisions. The facilitator might usually be the president of your GSA, or you might take turns filling the role.
The Facilitator is Responsible for:
- Getting agreement on agenda and processes before and during the meeting.
- Conducting the meeting - makes sure the group keeps to ground rules, time limits, etc..
- Staying neutral, asking questions and suggesting ways to approach parts of the agenda.
- Making sure the group comes to decisions and work is divided among members.
- Keeping the group on track when they head off onto tangents.
- Watching the vibe of the meeting and helping to keep energy up.
- Making sure everyone participates and no one dominates.
- Creating a safe and positive environment (protects people from personal attack).
- Intervening if problems come up, dealing with concerns.
- Guiding discussion.
- Creating a comfortable environment - using language that makes everyone comfortable.
Things to Keep in Mind as a Facilitator
- Ask person who put specific item on agenda to give a brief introduction on important background information and what they want done.
- Give 5 minute warnings when moving on to another agenda item. Appoint a separate timekeeper if necessary.
- Put off off-subject topics - Create a list (a "parking lot") for items to be discussed at another time
- Help people avoid repeating themselves by summarizing discussion and asking only for comments in areas that haven't been mentioned.
- Make suggestions for how to move forward - after discussion has gone on for a while, try to summarize, look for agreement or sticking points, and come to a decision.
- Ask questions.
- Be positive and encourage full participation - make sure everyone gets to speak, try to notice when someone is holding back.
- Focus on issues, not personalities.
- Ask someone else to facilitate if you want to actively participate in the discussion.
- Check briefly for agreement before moving on - make sure everyone understands decisions.
- Techniques for making decisions in meetings:
- Brainstorming
- Prioritizing (ranking items)
- Pro's and Con's
- Straw voting (informal poll to see where people are)
- Going around to everyone to check for the sense of the group
Adapted from GSA Network – www.gsanetwork.org