Step #5: Appropriate Facilitation for a Meeting

          You may or may not be the best person to communicate your message. Consider the vehicle that you will use to convey your message. Either way, each meeting must have a leader who is equipped with your thorough and concise agenda. This will help your meeting stay on-track and can improve the flow of the information that you are projecting.

          The facilitator for your meeting must understand your expectations for the meeting. So, you must consider what your group will be most inclined to pay attention to. Typically, bigger audiences require a bit of theater to engage their attention. However, speakers who are used to providing this theatrical aspect may need to be limited on their speaking time. For example, the main speaker should typically be limited to 15 to 20 minutes. Try sitting in one spot and counting to sixty.

Seriously, try it right now.

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          Did that seem longer than a minute? Many speakers can forget that their audience is simply sitting and hopefully listening. It is your job to filter the time that the audience has to get bored. Speakers can also be limited to six slides per 15 to 20 minutes. This will avoid the group read-in and ensure that the maximum amount of information is being presented and not read. Speakers may need to be provided with templates that you have prepared in advance.

Written By: James Willies
Sources:
          Planning a Meeting http://www.rwjf.org/files/publications/RWJF_PlanningAMeeting.pdf