.: Facilitation Top Related Articles
1). Quick Tip - How to Set SMART Goals for Your Meeting
The first step in planning an agenda is to identify the goals for the meeting. Properly done, goals have five S M A R T characteristics. They are:
> Specific.
The goal must tell exactly what will be accomplished. For example: During the next hour we will develop a strategy to increase market share by 10%. This states exactly what the group will work on.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
2). Climb out of the Box of Bad Meetings - How to Hold Effective Meetings
Out of the box thinking is a popular fad today. And yet, in order to leave a box, you have to realize that you are in one.
For example, the Indians who lived in the Grand Canyon believed the entire world was like the canyon. And so they didn’t try to find Kansas. This can be okay, if you’re in a beautiful place like the Grand Canyon.
It can be a rut, however, if you’re stuck in bad meetings.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
3). Monsters in Meetings - Part 7, Personal Attacks
You remember these people for the wrong reasons.
They are the monsters who hurt others with insults, ridicule, and sarcasm. They bully. They threaten. They attack.
And that ruins your meeting.
Personal attacks are unacceptable because if one person is being hurt in your meeting, everyone else feels it. As a result, the participants retreat into making safe and generally useless contributions.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, monsters in meetings, problem participants, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
4). Ten Meeting Management Issues to Watch Out For
Meetings are valuable components of organisations. Yet they need process, discipline and leadership/facilitation to work best. Here are some indicators to watch out for to highlight where things may be going wrong.
Article tags: meeting, meetings, meeting management, managing meetings, team, facilitate, facilitation
5). How to Plan a Teleconference
Marathon teleconferences have become a high tech way to waste time in bad meetings. True, people can attend without having to travel. But people can also misbehave by surfing the net, playing games, or leaving their office.
This occurs because people lack visual contact, which hinders effective communication and provides opportunities to misbehave.
Article tags: virtual meetings, teleconference, effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
6). 5 Hidden Traps in Meetings
If you have sat through a few bad meetings, you must have experienced the following traps. Here they are and how to fix them.
1) People think they are experts.
Many people tell me that they know how to hold a meeting. Actually, all they do is host a party. They invite guests, provide treats, and preside over a conversation. People talk. People eat.
Article tags: effective meetings, one great meeting, steve kaye, leadership, facilitator, business meeting, facilitation, minutes, agenda
7). Five Ways to Use a Meeting
1) Determine a person’s ability to plan. Does the person who called the meeting have a clear goal and a specific plan to achieve it. People who do, recognize the value of preparation and can be trusted with larger projects.
2) Measure teamwork. How are the participants working together? Are they making methodical progress toward an agreement, decision, or solution? Are the more skilled participants helping the others? Is the group working toward a result that benefits everyone? People who work as a team contribute more to productivity.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
8). Monsters in Meetings - Part 6, Deadlocked Discussions
This one creeps up on you.
And if you let it continue, it will ruin your meeting.
At first it seems that the participants are working toward an agreement. They raise concerns. Then they explore the concerns. It all seems normal.
But it keeps going.
In fact, it expands. And soon you have an argument where neither side will let go. Your meeting is now stuck in a deadlock.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, monsters in meetings, problem participants, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
9). How a Facilitator Helps Your Hold Effective Meetings
Meetings are an essential part of your business.
The results obtained in them determine your future and your profitability.
Yet, many people take meetings for granted. And as a result they squander opportunities.
One way to hold effective meetings is to hire a facilitator.
Why?
1) A facilitator adds value to your meeting by preparing the agenda, conducting the meeting, and writing minutes.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
10). Eight Ways to Generate More Ideas in Groups
The scene is repeated in meeting rooms around the world every day. A problem has been identified and a group has gathered to solve the problem. When ideas are needed, the group decides to brainstorm. And all too often this exercise leads to a short list of not-that-creative ideas.
We know that if we generate more ideas we have a better chance of finding better ideas.
Article tags: facilitation, facilitator, meeting, team meeting, team building, workshop, training, brainstorming, creativity
11). Three Ways Meetings Make Your Business Better
1) Effective meetings make money
Effective meetings make a business smart by producing creative strategies, solid plans, and workable solutions. And smart businesses always outperform others. Bad meetings produce nothing, except maybe a decision to call another meeting.
A smart business attracts customers because they know that smart companies provide reliable products and services.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
12). Monsters in Meetings - Part 2, Multiple Conversations
Side conversations ruin meetings by destroying focus and fragmenting participation.
Here's how to bring your meeting back on track when a side conversation starts.
Approach 1: Ask for cooperation
Start by asking everyone to cooperate. Look at the middle of the group (instead of at the people talking) and say:
"Excuse me (pause to gain everyone's attention).
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, monsters in meetings, problem participants, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
13). Help! My Boss Conducts Bad Meetings
What to do?
Your boss conducts terrible meetings. You can put up with it.
Or, you could try:
1) Start with praise, such as: "I know you work hard. And I have an idea that would help you get more done."
2) Offer to help with some small part of a meeting that would make the process more effective.
3) Leave a book on effective meetings on your desk.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
14). 12 New Tips for Effective Meetings
1) Ask everyone to arrive five to ten minutes early. This gives everyone time to socialize, obtain coffee, or organize materials before the meeting. It also ensures that everyone is present at the scheduled starting time. Make this part of the agenda.
2) Discuss sensitive issues with the key participants before the meeting. Use this as an opportunity to listen and gather information on the issues.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting
15). What to Ask Before Agreeing to Attend a Meeting
Managers spend much of their time in meetings. But some junior staff use meetings to showcase themselves. Or they invite their boss to help with work that they should be doing. In either case, such meetings waste your time.
Here are five questions that you (or your assistant) must ask before agreeing to attend a meeting.
1) Where is the agenda? A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map; it will always waste your time.
Article tags: effective meetings, bad meetings, business meeting, facilitation, steve kaye, facilitator, leadership, one great meeting