1. Facilitating Effective Meetings
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Facilitating Effective Meetings
Presented by:
Heidi M. Klein, MSPH
Community Environmental Health Strategies, Inc.
32 Wildwood Drive
Essex Jct., VT 05452
802/ (v)
802/ (f)
Heidi M. Klein, MSPH
Community Environmental Health Strategies, Inc.
Oneida County (NY) CARE Project Facilitator

2. Session Goals and Objectives
To review basic roles, skills, tips and tools of effective facilitation
To practice key facilitation interventions and skills

3. Facilitator’s Faux Pas
Recall a meeting you have facilitated or attended that did not go as planned…
What were some of the things that you/the facilitator did that did not work?
Goals:
Generate a list of facilitation don’ts
Practice facilitation techniques—Go around
11:00 Write list on paper and the immediately into brainstorm
11:05 Brainstorm—ask for a volunteer to lead us “Key Qualities
Goals:
Generate a list of facilitation don’ts
Practice facilitation technique—go around

4. Effective Facilitation
What are some key qualities, skills and roles of facilitators?
Goal: Generate a list of facilitation do’s
Brainstorm Volunteer needed Think about the positive
Finish brainstorm and move to “Basic Principles”
Goals:
Generate a list of facilitation do’s
Practice brainstorming as a tool

5. Facilitation — Basic Roles
A facilitator guides and helps people move through a process together
A facilitator focuses on HOW people participate, not just on WHAT gets achieved
A facilitator is neutral and never takes sides
A facilitator encourages participation
The facilitator is not the seat of wisdom and knowledge. That means a facilitator isn't there to give opinions, but to draw out opinions and ideas of the group members.
The facilitator is attentive to 3 different dimensions:
The results—getting to the desired outcomes
The process—making sure that it is clear how move from here to there and what decision-making rules will be used
Relationships—how participants experience their interactions with the facilitator and one another—team building, collaboration
REFER TO HANDOUT “WHAT ARE FACILITATION SKILLS” excellent overview and introduction to steps in facilitating a meeting—share with your colleagues back home

6. Facilitation — Basic Tasks
Understanding the goals
Creating an effective agenda
Setting the tone
Creating ground rules
Identifying methods of decision-making
Engaging all participants
Keeping the meeting moving and on-track
Handling difficult people and challenging situations
Setting tone: Ice breakers; Personal manner + meeting on time, sticking to agenda, etc.
Creating Ground Rules Jointly first meeting; keep them posted for the future
Decision-making Voting Consensus Advisory None—receives
Keeping it on track: 3 common problems
Topic drift "OK, let's come back and focus on the problem we need to solve. . ." Table it or change agenda
Breaking time agreements—notice and ask for new agreement "I notice that we don't heed our stated start and end times, which causes a bind for me. Could we make a new agreement that reflects our true intentions and practice?"
Subgroup focus--Make the spontaneous break-out session public by saying: "This discussion appears to involve only a few people. Is it something that can be resolved rapidly or is there another way to handle this? What does the group want to do?"
Engaging all Participants: engaging quiet ones and dealing with domineering Once-around, brainstorming, direct questioning
Handling Difficult people and challenging situations:
Preventions—planning essential
Early managing of expectations and setting tone
Interventions—range of options

7. Creating an Effective Agenda
Understanding organizational goals
Knowing the participants and dynamics
Inviting the right people at the right time
Establishing a clear purpose for the meeting
Preparing objectives for each segment of the agenda
Determining best method to meet objectives

8. Creating Ground Rules/Agreements
Purpose of meeting
Time lines and length of meetings
Meeting leadership and other roles
Participation and attendance
How decisions will be made
Expected behavior in meeting*
Communication with those outside the meeting
* What guidelines should we keep in mind to ensure our work together is productive and enjoyable?
Defn: logistical agreements or the standards of operating that determine how people conduct their discussions and how they will make their decisions. The value of ground rules lies in their very creation.
What operating principles should we adopt in order to make our work more efficient and of higher quality?" Or "What are some important guidelines we should all keep in mind as we work together in these meetings?" 

9. Engaging All Participants
Developing a structure that allows for everyone's ideas to be heard
Creating a comfortable and safe environment for sharing all ideas and viewpoints
Ensuring that the group feels that the ideas and decisions are theirs, not just the leader's
Supporting everyone's ideas and not criticizing anyone for what they've said

10. Keeping the Meeting Moving
Facilitation skills
Facilitation preventions and interventions
Facilitation tools

11. Facilitation – Basic Skills
Active Listening
Reflecting – feeding back the content and feeling of the message
Clarifying – restating an idea or thought to make it more clear
Summarizing – stating concisely the main thoughts.
Shifting focus – moving from one speaker or topic to another
Reflecting “Let me see if I’m hearing you correctly…”
Clarifying “What I believe you are saying is…”
Summarizing “It sounds to me as if we have been talking about a few major themes…”
Shifting focus “Thank you, John. Do you have anything to add, Jane?” “We’ve been focusing on views 1 and 2. Does anyone have strong feelings about the other views?”
What is not on this list that is the MOST CRITICAL???? Listening

12. Handling Difficult People — Preventions
Get agreement on the agenda, ground rules and outcomes
Find out the group's expectations
Show respect for experience
Listen to understand  
Stay in your role
Don't be defensive
“Buy-in" power players
Preventions are techniques that can help you avoid disruption from the start.
Listen closely to understand the points the speaker is making, and restate these points aloud if you are unsure.
Remain neutral
"Buy-in" power players
These folks can turn your meeting into a nightmare if they don't feel that their influence and role are acknowledged and respected. If possible, give them acknowledgment up front at the start of the meeting. Try giving them roles to play during the meeting such as a "sounding board" for you at breaks, to check in with about how the meeting is going.

13. Handling Difficult People —Interventions
Have the group decide
Use the agenda and ground rules
Be honest: say what's going on
Use humor
Accept or legitimize the point or deal
Use body language
Take a break
Confront in the room
1. Have the group decide throw it back to the group and ask them how they feel. Let the group support you.
2. Use the agenda and ground rules remind folks of the agreements made at the beginning of the meeting.
3. Be honest: Say what's going on If someone is trying to intimidate you, if you feel upset or undermined. It's better to say what's going on. Everyone will be aware of the dynamic in the room.
4. Use humor If there is a lot of tension in the room, if you have people at the meeting who didn't want to be there, if folks are scared/shy about participating, if you are an outsider: self-deprecating
5. Accept or legitimize the point or deal:
6. Use body language If side conversations keep occurring, if quiet people need to participate, if attention needs to be re-focused: Move closer, Make eye contact
7. Take a break invite the disruptive person outside the room and politely but firmly state your feelings about how disruptive their behavior is to the group and that it needs to end. But also try to find out if there are other ways to address that person's concerns.
8. Confront in the room the last resort

14. Dealing with Conflict Help clarify what the conflict is about
Affirm the validity of all viewpoints
Frame the conflict as a problem to be solved
Create space for problem solving to occur
Help participants save face
Help group proceed with agreements and hold back on areas of disagreement
Discuss what happens if no agreement
Separate content and from process
If you get to the point where the meeting cannot move on because of conflict among participants, you may need to suggest a different venue and a formal conflict resolution process to deal with the conflict. Do not bog down your meeting or involve everyone in this.
REFER TO NEA HANDOUT

15. Facilitation Exercise — Scenario Problem Solving
How could the facilitator respond to this common meeting process problem?
Goals:
Apply information to practical scenarios
Benefit from sharing ideas with others

16. Facilitation Exercise – Practicing Specific Skills
Listening
Reflecting
Clarifying
Summarizing
Shifting focus
Goals:
Practice to gain feedback
Practice to build confidence
Skill-building exercise
Break the group into pairs, with each team having a designated “speaker” and a “trainee.” For each of the four skills, the practice will be the same. Begin by explaining and defining the first skill. Then, ask the “speaker” to talk for 3 minutes about a topic the trainer has assigned. The trainer calls time. The “trainee” responds, using the skill in question. Then the partners switch roles for the next three minutes. For example, shifting focus. The trainer begins by saying, “Shifting focus means the facilitator intervenes in the conversation to change speakers or move on to a new topic. The speaker will speak for three minutes about how different races are treated in this community. Sometime during that time, the trainee will intervene and shift the focus. Then, switch roles.”
Potential topics:
current status of EH in community
concerns re: starting PACE EH
challenge with specific community partners