Successful Meeting Facilitation

As defined by Wikipedia, facilitation “concerns itself with all the tasks needed to run a productive and impartial meeting.” Facilitation is key to ensure productive meetings and it takes someone skilled to be an effective facilitator.

The facilitator’s role in meeting management includes, but is not limited to:

The main goal of the facilitator is to manage the process of the meeting, not the content of the meeting, to ensure the individuals are able to make decisions and reach a goal.  The facilitator is there to ensure that the meeting is productive.

Facilitation

A facilitator may be used for a variety of reasons – not every meeting necessarily needs a facilitator at the helm, although, without a doubt, every meeting needs to be managed.  You may call in a facilitator for various reasons, including:

Summary

For key meetings, include a facilitator to lessen frustrations among participants and increase participation.  A neutral facilitator keeps the individuals and the meeting on track – thereby making it easier to accomplish the goals of the meeting.

QUESTION:  How have you successfully facilitated meetings? Have you been part of meetings that have been facilitated?  What were the pros/cons?  How did it work out?

Please share your thoughts in the Comment field below.

Thanks!

Resource

This resource is a great handy reference guide to facilitation!  It has everything you need to successfully facilitate your next meeting:

Facilitation at a Glance! A Pocket Guide to Tools and Techniques for Effective Meeting Facilitation

Author: Ingrid Bens,
Publisher: Goal/QPC and AQP