The performer is always responsible for the team's behavior in accordance with the information you have provided. Make sure that all processes are completely under your control. If any nuance raises doubts, take note of it and analyze it later.
You can write down what the participants say verbatim. If you make mistakes, ask them to repeat what they said and give reasons.
Make sure that decisions and actions taken are recorded. Assign one of the people present to record them. This will allow you to better focus on the team and the discussion process.
Once the information has been key features of office 365 database recorded, check with the group to ensure that it has been recorded correctly, without distortion, and that the entries reflect exactly what the participants intended.
Keep the meeting members focused on the topic of discussion, its main nuances, and guide their thoughts in the right direction.
If you find any information controversial, ask for more details before the team moves forward.
Ensure that all pending issues are addressed by the end of the discussion. This must be done before the end of the session or event.
Example of a meeting with a facilitator
Let's take for analysis a typical meeting organized to discuss the employees' work for the next week. A popular event for most companies, lasting about an hour. Let's assume that 10 employees came, one from each department. As a rule, after about thirty minutes the situation looks something like this:
2 specialists actively communicate on a topic that relates only to their activities;
The other 2 workers watch this conversation closely, but over time they stop understanding its meaning;
3 participants pretend to be focused and engaged in the discussion, but in reality they are simply waiting for the meeting to end;
3 more people don’t hide their boredom and laziness, are daydreaming or chatting on social networks.
The benefit of such a meeting is almost zero: out of 60 minutes, only 10 were aimed at achieving the company's goals. The situation arose because when one speaks and the rest have to listen, everyone quickly gets bored. This is the peculiarity of the brain: in order to constantly focus and motivate people, they need to change the types of their activities.
Understanding this, the facilitator constantly alternates his own activities:
Voice communication: a typical discussion where participants exchange opinions on given topics. The moderator ensures that everyone sticks to the agenda, for example, discussing the next work week, and that all information spoken is available for viewing by the meeting members. One possible option is to demonstrate the plan on a laptop with simultaneous transmission to the participants' monitors.
Interaction through notes: a specific task is given, for example, to express your opinion on what the work collective needs to do next month. The answers are written down in a notebook, on an A4 sheet, in the company chat, etc. Then everyone shows the results. This way, it becomes possible to find out a personal point of view. It often happens that the first one to speak out determines the course of thoughts of colleagues.
Example of a meeting with a facilitator
Visual activity. For example, company employees discuss the activities of certain departments. Their statements alternate with the study of corresponding drawings on the work board. Then everyone is asked to rate each department, from 1 to 10. The points in the form of digital stickers are attached to the images of the departments. The result is organized information.
Voting. When conducting it, you need to maintain a high level of dynamism. Have you made a plan for the month? Ask to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, and how many fingers are raised is the rating. Within half a minute, you will have an understanding of whether the employees think the plan is good or not. Then you can discuss it.
By combining activities, you will be able to maintain a positive attitude and interest among your company's employees.
We have considered 4 techniques from the facilitator's toolkit that are easy to learn and apply, although few people use them. In general, the entire facilitation technology is quite simple. This is its key advantage - accessibility and practicality.