The Importance Of Having Meeting Facilitation

By Carmella Watts


Most people are not quite aware what might be able to follow the discussion during meetings. Many come to these conferences and still end up getting confused at the end. To avoid these confusions, it might be necessary to have a meeting facilitation Missoula so that you can be more productive.

Whether it is to solve an issue, suggest a solution, to share ideas or to reach a conclusion on various issues, meetings exist for this purpose. Time is invested on these group gatherings so it is saddening to know that these are wasted especially when none is capable of guiding the group. To become more productive during these meetings, it might be necessary to have an experienced facilitator or mediator present.

Conferences without a facilitator or a mediator usually ends up in the individuals losing focus on the topic. A person experienced in assembly facilitation can help the group steer in the right direction and reach successful decisions in a productive manner. To facilitate a gathering, the facilitator must lay down some ground rules to have a more productive discussion.

One of the things that most people failed to give importance to is the agenda because without this the meeting is likely a waste of time. If they do not know the agenda firsthand, they will not be able to solve anything in the first session, thus requiring more meet ups. To avoid these situations, mediators should come up with an agenda and a plan beforehand.

One problem during these gatherings is that no one is prepared to speak when asked. Everyone should participate equally and contribute in solving the issue presented and make valid points in the discussion. The facilitator should be able to coax the members to participate in the conversation and treat their ideas equally.

It also helps to know about the people who will be attending the said event. There is no need to invite people who are not strictly required for the meeting. You should consider if the people attending are on the same side or on different sides of an argument. This will become important if you are the facilitator so that the discussion will not be cut short due to a heated argument.

In every team activity, there might be people with disruptive behavior or people who are a bit more assertive than the rest. With proper guidance, dominant people could be of benefit to the company. The mediator should be able to handle disruptive behavior and different personalities and let the members participate evenly during discussions.

It is also important to stick to the original time when having these meetings since the time of the participants are also important. Do not let the group get off track on the topic or discuss irrelevant issues other than the one on the agenda. Remind the team to avoid distracting other participants and to avoid unnecessary activities.

These mediators should be skilled and remain neutral in assessing the problem so that there are no sides drawn. Facilitation is something that should not only be used by the executives, but should be part of doing business. Meeting facilitation Missoula is a very good option when you want to increase productivity and teamwork among the participants.




About the Author: