Introduction:
The Art of Group Facilitation[1]
How many meetings
have you attended and walked away wondering..
- What just happened?
- Why did I invest my time attending this?
- What would have made that meeting better?
A meeting is a process
of coming together for a purpose. Participants typically follow
an agenda (No Agenda! No meeting!) and interact with each
other. We hold meetings for different purposes: to update
members, exchange information, make routine decisions, identify
issues, complete a task, build consensus, develop strategic
plans, make group decisions or solve problems. Whether you
are holding a small, large, regular or special meeting, it
is critical to have someone in charge of planning, facilitating
and following up after the meeting.
Explore the links
on the right to learn or review basic group facilitation skills
or tips for running productive meetings.
Sometimes it takes
a little more than just a good agenda and snacks! To increase
the effectiveness of a meeting and/or to deal with complex
issues and decision making, groups will often have a facilitator
assist with the meeting.
What
is a facilitator?
What
is the role of a facilitator?
[1]
Adapted with permission from Soil and Water Conservation
District Outreach: A Handbook for Program Development, Implementation
and Evaluation . Ohio Department of Natural Resources,
Division of Soil and Water Conservation, 2003. |
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Education