Fun, Effective, Efficient Meeting Facilitation

Does your neighborhood have dry, stuffy meetings where the same six people show up all the time? With a little forethought, meetings can be fun, social activities that end on time and get a lot done in the process.

Make sure your meeting has a clear purpose. Know what you need to discuss and create an agenda. Publicize the agenda. Estimate how long it should take to accomplish each task and stick to it. Assign someone to be the timekeeper to help the meeting stay on track. If a topic ends up needing more discussion than you thought, table it and move on. At the next meeting, you can give it more time on the agenda. It is important to respect your volunteers’ other responsibilities.

On the other hand, we are social beings and if there isn’t any time for fun, people will stop attending meetings. Did someone on your board just find a new recipe? Have a potluck. Did several new board members just get elected? Find a fun icebreaker so you all can get to know each other better. The amount of time you spend isn’t as important as making some real connections with your neighbors.

Another great tool that will help you facilitate meetings are ground rules. Create them together to get more buy in. With these rules, you’ll know what’s important to each member of the group so they can all feel respected.

Create your own fun, effective NA meeting!

Spotlight: Hosford Abernethy Changes It Up

Hosford Abernethy made some changes to their meetings last year. Their major goals were to finish meetings on time and to have more fun. Since people have active lives to juggle—family, work, volunteering, school—it is important to be respectful of time. However, people are people, so it is important to have fun and make personal connections.

Keeping the meetings on time isn’t always easy. People are very passionate, but the facilitator must limit the discussion period on each topic to get through it all. “You will have to cut people short,” said a previous HAND chair. She found her own style so she could be assertive and kind at the same time.

They also created an achievable agenda to stay on time. Know how long your group needs to come to a decision. That is needs not wants- the extra time they want makes meetings long.

Then there’s the other goal—fun. HAND dealt with many difficult, complex issues last year and had a hard time fitting in fun activities. For their first attempt, they held a potluck before the meeting. A great success! “People give so much of their personal lives to NA board membership” said the same board chair. “It is really important to honor that gift and make the donation as rewarding as possible.”

HAND’s future efficient, fun meetings will continue to honor their volunteers.

Working Step-by-Step: Meeting Facilitation

Step 1: Identify a clear meeting purpose

• Some NAs plan out themes in advance while others address needs as they arise.
• Purposes can include committee updates, problem solving, planning, visioning, or team building

Step 2: Schedule Fun Social Activities

• Potlucks, introductions, icebreakers, hold meeting in a social environment

Step 3: Hold Welcoming, Accessible Meetings

• Provide snacks for people coming straight from work
• Offer childcare
• Consider wheelchair access
• Find a location on a frequent bus line.
• Develop alternatives for people that work during your meeting time
• Provide welcome packets, name tags
• Include introductions/icebreakers
• Offer interpretation if someone needs it

Step 4: Develop a practical Agenda

• What topics will you cover?
• Notify the public at least 7 days before the meeting
• More people will attend if they know what you will discuss ahead of time

Step 5: Determine the meeting timeframe

• How long will each agenda item need for discussion?
• Assign a timekeeper to keep the meeting on track and respect everyone’s time.
• Utilize committees to cut down on the time needed at general meetings

Step 6:Agree on Ground rules as a team

• Ground rules help people at meetings come away with a positive experience - so they’ll come back again
• They work best when developed together and periodically revisited

Digging Deeper: Additional Resources

Meeting Facilitation Tips

Tenant Net
www.tenant.net

Ground Rules

New Product Development Solutions
www.npd-solutions.com/groundrules.html

Facilitation/Mediation Resources

Oregon Solutions
www.orsolutions.org 503 725-9092

Resolutions Northwest
www.resolutionsnorthwest.org 503 595-4890

Icebreakers

Top 10 Icebreakers
www.topten.org

Business Meeting Icebreakers
www.teambuildingusa.com

Fun Meeting Ideas

26 Ways to Make Meetings More Fun
www.charliehawkins.com

Making Meetings Fun
www.getinvolved.wustl.edu (pdf)