How to organise and facilitate meetings effectively

Advice and tips on how to organise meetings which fulfil their purpose
efficiently.

One thing central to any functional group is regular meetings. In a

healthy organisation almost all decisions will be made at these
meetings and there will be a sufficient level of discussion to ensure
all those attending have a good idea of the activity and arguments in
the different struggles the organisation is involved in. Meetings
might also have some time given over to education.

Before the meeting

Make sure everyone knows the time and place. A new group or one
engaged in a lot of activity should meet at least once a week, at the
same time and day. It helps to establish a consistent meeting day,
time and location, as soon as possible so people can make it a habit.
If they have to search for you or keep track of an ever-changing
meeting time, they're far more likely to forget or not to bother.
You'll want a space that's private enough for you to have strong
disagreements in and where only the members of the group will be while
you are using it. This could mean a private room in a quiet pub that
would be glad for the additional customers on quiet nights!

Develop an agenda
An agenda gives people time to plan, to think over things that will be
discussed, to do assignments and bring necessary information and
materials. It doesn't have to be set in stone - you can always add and
adjust as needed, even during the meeting.

The agenda can be printed and distributed, either in advance or at the

meeting. Or, it can be written on a chalkboard or whiteboard where
everyone can see it. This helps keep people on topic and lets them
know what will be covered and when. If its known who is chairing the
meeting in advance it may be a good idea for that person to start the
meeting with a suggested agenda.

An agenda should include all of the following items that apply to your
group:
1. Additions and approval of the agenda,
2. Reading, corrections, and approval of the previous meeting's
minutes,
3. Announcements and correspondence to be dealt with,
4. Treasurer's report,
5. Committee reports,
6. Unfinished business (issues left over from previous meetings),
7. New business.

If there is any disagreement over the order of the agenda then this
should be quickly discussed and voted on at the start of the meeting.
If the chair thinks there is a lot to get through it may make sense to
set a maximum amount of time that can be spent discussing particular
topics right at the start of the meeting.
Make sure the room is open and set up properly
Have you ever arrived at a meeting only to find the door locked, and
everyone had to stand around waiting while the facilitator scrambled
to find the key? Or have you ever been in a meeting where there
weren't enough chairs, and each time a latecomer arrived, they had to
interrupt and search for one and move it in? Not especially effective
ways of inspiring confidence and credibility or getting things done
efficiently, are they? Try and arrange the room so that everyone sits
in a circle and make sure you are seated where you can see everyone.

During the meeting

Start as you mean to continue Make sure you start on time. This is
especially important for newcomers, who can get a bit put-off by the
meeting start time being increasingly pushed back while people chat or
wander around. First thing to do is make sure everyone knows who
everyone else is. As clichéd as it may be - have a
'go-round' and get people to say their names and maybe a bit of other
info about themselves. Next up make sure someone has volunteered to
facilitate the meeting (who will have the agenda, and make sure the
meeting flows smoothly) and someone else is taking decent notes of the
meeting. Its important that the same people don't end up doing these
tasks every meeting, perhaps the best way to tackle this is to have a
list of everyone willing to chair and each week take the next person
on the list.

Minute taking
Someone should be responsible every week for keeping minutes of the
meeting and preparing these to be read at or distributed before the
next meeting. Minutes need not be very detailed (you don't need to
write down what everyone says). They should aim to include:
1. Who attended the meeting,
2. Topics discussed,
3. Decisions reached for each topic,
4. Who has volunteered to do what,
5. Items to be discussed at next meeting (and when that will be). Read
more on taking minutes

Encourage group discussion to get all points of view

Turn questions back to the group for their input. Ask people to
comment on something just said. Compliment people on their ideas and
thank them for their input. Ask open-ended questions. You may need to
ask the more quiet people for their thoughts, and tactfully interrupt
the longwinded ones to move the discussion along. Encourage people who
just want to agree with a previous speaker to say "ditto" rather than
taking the time to repeat her/his point.

Stay on top of things

It's part of your job as facilitator to manage the traffic and help
the discussion move along. If several people are trying to talk at
once, ask them to take turns. It helps to have a pen and paper to hand
for when things get busy- jot down people's names in the order they
raised their hands. It can be a good idea to let people who have not
spoken yet to skip the queue and put them at the top of your list.
Make sure everyone gets their turn and things keep moving - you might
have to start asking some
people to keep it short! Often a discussion can become dominated by a
couple of speakers, try and avoid this situation by inviting the rest
of the people to contribute (going round in a circle and asking for
people's views can help).

If the discussion is getting off-topic (i.e. it strays from the

agenda), point this out and redirect it back on course. If someone is
getting hostile, argumentative, or needlessly negative, tactfully
intervene and try to turn the discussion in a more constructive
direction. If necessary, ask the group to agree to a time limit on a
discussion that might take too long. You might want to agree to limit
each speaker's time, or say that no one can speak a second time until
everyone has spoken once.

If the group is spinning its wheels and people are only repeating
themselves, restate and summarise the issues and ask if people are
near ready to make a decision on the subject. If it just doesn't seem
that the group can make a good decision right now, suggest tabling the
matter until another time. You may want to ask someone to bring back
more information, or form a committee to work on the issue.

Don't use your position as facilitator to impose your personal ideas

and opinions on the group. If you have strong feelings on a particular
issue, you may want to step aside and let someone else facilitate that
discussion. At the very least, keep your own comments to a minimum,
try to let others speak first, and identify them as your personal
beliefs, outside of your role as facilitator. Avoid criticising the
ideas of others - your position gives your comments undue extra
weight.

Non-verbals are important, too

Be attentive to people who are speaking - look at them, lean forward,
smile, nod. Make eye contact with people who may need encouragement to
speak. Pay attention - people who are less confident about speaking
will often indicate that they want to speak in minor way (e.g. briefly
half put up their hand). A good chair will spot this and encourage
them to speak

Don't be afraid of silence

It's a very useful tool. It gives people a chance to consider and
collect their thoughts. It may encourage someone to voice a comment
they've been thinking about but hesitant to say.

Guide the discussion toward closure

Restate people's comments to make sure everyone understands their
point. Ask for clarification. Summarise what has been accomplished or
agreed and what is left to resolve. Suggest when it's time to wrap up
and make decisions or take action.

Decision making
Arguments about how best to reach decisions are fundamental to
anarchism.
You may wish to leave time for discussion in the hope of being able to
reach consensus, only then moving to a vote, or you may wish to go
straight to the vote. If time permits it may make sense to postpone
making a contentious decision to the next meeting to give people a
chance to think things over (and calm down!). Read more on decision
making

Take time at the end of the meeting to process

Reflect on what went well and what people appreciate about others'
input and actions. Check out assumptions. Encourage people to share
any lingering concerns or things that just don't sit right.

End on time
Nothing makes people dread and avoid meetings more than knowing
they're likely to go on and on and consume far more of their time than
they want to give. Set a time to end the meeting at the very beginning
and stick to it!

After the meeting

Minutes
Make sure the minutes will be written up, organised and then
distributed among those who attended within a reasonable time scale.

Follow up with people.

Thank them for their input. Make sure they understand assignments and
have what they need to do them.