Why Facilitated Meetings and Conferences are More Effective

We Must Stop Meeting Like This!

Did you know that the average business professional spends 23 hours a week in meetings?  For many, these meetings are regarded as a dreaded evil, to be avoided at any cost.  Far too little gets accomplished, much of the discussion is unfocussed and unproductive, and a lot of time is wasted.  Time, of course, equals money, and the real cost to any organization which wastes time with inefficient meetings is substantial!

Employing a facilitator to manage the process for you dramatically increases the productivity and success of meetings, and which, as a result, reduces organizational costs.  In this era of specialization of services, meeting facilitation developed as a direct response to the demand for expert help with strategic group sessions.  A facilitated meeting is a highly structured session in which the facilitator guides the participants through a series of predefined steps to arrive at a result that is created, understood and accepted by all participants.  At the conclusion of a facilitated meeting, each participant is clear on what has been decided, and each topic has been closed in a way that ensures ownership and commitment.

Professional meeting facilitators are process and group dynamics experts.  Their responsibility in leading a meeting is to address the journey, rather than the destination.  Ideally, they are content neutral; they focus solely on the design, management, structure and processes to help a group reach its goals and minimize the common problems people have working together.  In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu says “of the best leader, when the job is done the people say ‘we did it ourselves’”; such is the goal of a professional facilitator in leading a group to reach consensual objectives and results.

Graphic facilitation further helps support group process.  This simply means that information that is shared in the meeting is captured, real time, in large displays on the wall, in a graphical fashion.  And why does it work so well? Because…

When people’s contributions are recorded onto a large display they can literally SEE that they have been heard. This encourages participation.

All the information is visible together it is much easier to understand how different aspects interrelate. The group can SEE the whole system that they are discussing.

The record of the meeting is created in the room, in front of everyone; the agreements that are made are much more likely to stick! When everyone can SEE what they are agreeing to, it gives people an opportunity to speak up if there are still issues to resolve.

Why use a facilitator?

• For tight briefing and focussed, controlled management
• To ensure that the valuable time and creative energy of the attendees is maximised
• To benefit all participants and stakeholders
• To provide the structure (process) so client can remain focussed on the content  
• To design and manage processes used to help people interact productively with each other
• To make sure everyone has an equal voice

When you don’t need a facilitator:

• The decision has already been made
• Decision makers are not open to alternatives other than their own
• The meeting is informational only and requires no engagement of the group
• There is a commonality of opinion on how to proceed.

It has been said that a good meeting is a source of energy, and a bad meeting is a source of frustration.  With the goal of running “good” meetings, Paper Plane believes in managing the energy in the room carefully and aims to always end on a high.  “At the end of a well facilitated session, there is a real buzz in the air.  People don’t want to leave, and they hang around the meeting room huddled in excited conversations with big smiles on their faces!”

Now that you know when to consider hiring a facilitator, and you are aware of the benefits of a facilitated meeting, you can stop wasting time and money!  Next time you have an important session to convene, rest assured that you have a means to ensure the group will be engaged from the outset, they will stay focussed and on track throughout, difficult personalities will not disrupt the session, consensus will be gained, and full commitment will be achieved for follow through.  This is the magic of professional meeting facilitation!