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Meeting participants will feel more comfortable, if:
- A meeting adheres to a common format.
- The facilitator provides guidance.
- The facilitator uses context-free questions to solicit needs and feelings.
People feel comfortable if they know what they can expect. Think of that recent
Sunday church meeting. How is it different from the one before? It is the content
that is different, but not the format. A common format makes people feel
comfortable that they can participate and that they know how. This is also the secret
formula of toastmaster’s meetings. Every meeting has the same format, an
invocation, a joke, two speeches, and table topics followed by evaluations. The
content is what is different. One can think of the familiar format as a ritual that
makes participants feel at ease.
A standard format for the different types of meetings will provide comfort, as people
know what to expect and how to participate.
Suggested Meeting Formats
Information Exchange Meeting
Share general information
Follow up on decisions and action items from previous status meetings
Summary of accomplishments
Outlook of upcoming work and decisions in the different functional areas
Summary of action items
Decision-Making Meetings
Presentation of facts
Input and comments from stakeholders
Discussion and evaluation
Decision making
Summary of decisions made and postponed
Problem-Solving Meeting
Share problem perception
Joint problem definition
Joint problem analysis
Joint development of alternative solutions
Evaluation of solution
Decision making
Summary of solution
Even if meeting participants are familiar with the format of the meeting, they still
appreciate some guidance through the meeting. Just as written overviews,
summaries, and transitions are included to help a reader understand the written
word better, spoken transitions, summaries and overviews help meeting participants
to follow along better. By suggesting an agenda, the facilitator can provide an
overview of the meeting. Articulating a transition will remind participants to move on
to the next topic. The facilitator can bring closure to a discussion by summarizing the
items of agreement.
Gerald Weinberg and Donald Gause in Exploring Requirements — Quality before
Design point out the importance of context-free questions in requirements
gathering. There is also a place for context -free questions in meetings. The purpose
of context-free questions is to clarify and define the process. Example questions are:
- How much time should be spent discussing a particular item?
- How should decisions made in meetings be documented?
- How should decisions be made?
The facilitator can use context-free questions to solicit and comment on the
perceived mood, to verify a common understanding, and to inquire whether or not
the needs of individual participants are met. Example questions are:
- Did people get all the information they needed?
- Is the meeting moving too slowly?
- Does this summary express it clearly? |