The cat-a-lyst Book

How to run a meeting
Contributed by Sue Barnhart

    Some of us love meetings and some of us hate meetings, but fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, most of our important strategizing and decision making is done within them. Without productive, exciting and efficient meetings, your group can quickly dwindle to a few participants and/or you will find only a few people doing all the work.

    Here is a list of some tips that will help foster the kind of meetings people come back to. Remember these ideas have been developed through my experience and may not work for you.

Before the meeting:

1. Pick a regular meeting date, time and place. For example, the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room at the library. So the meeting is open to all potential members, find a place that is wheelchair accessible with a wheelchair accessible bathroom. Pick a building and area of town that the people you want to reach will be comfortable in. For example, some people prefer to meet in someone's home, while others prefer a public meeting place. Is the place near a bus line? Is it too far out of town for the walkers and bicyclists? Is the part of town well lighted and safe at night? Is the room big enough for everyone to sit in a circle? Is there a blackboard, walls for butcher paper or an easel available?

If you know interpreters who will donate their time, or if your group can afford to hire one, advertise that the meeting will be interpreted for the hearing impaired or people who speak a foreign language if given reasonable (72 hours) notice.

2. Select the facilitator before the meeting, perhaps at the end of each meeting. Try to rotate the facilitator role so all people develop the talent (and empathy), but pick a seasoned facilitator when your group is first forming so s/he can "role model" to the rest of you.

3. Select a caregiver to call and remind members to come. S/he can organize carpooling if necessary and make sure someone brings refreshments. S/he can also be responsible to welcome new members and get their name, address and phone number.

4. Prepare the agenda. The facilitator can help with this. Estimate the time for each item, choose someone familiar with the item to present it and decide whether a decision or action needs to be taken. Deal with items that may be controversial and need some discussion time towards the beginning of the meeting so people are fresh and there is adequate time.

Example Agenda

1) Opening game, song, ritual - Joan - 5 minutes

2) Introductions and check-in - Tom - 5 minutes

3) Choose roles (if not done already) - facilitator, note takers, vibes watcher, timekeeper - 5 minutes

4) Review agenda items - additions and corrections - Barb - 5 minutes

5) Upcoming events - Sam and group - 25 minutes - discussion and possible decisions

6) Letters to Editor - Barb - 15 minutes

7) Subcommittee reports - Education - Sally - 5 minutes; Lobbying - David - 5 minutes; Fundraising - Paul - 5 minutes; Announcements - ? - 5 minutes; Set next meeting - ? -5 minutes; Evaluation - Tom - 10 minutes; Closing - Song, and group hug - Julie - 5 minutes

At the meeting

1. Start on time. Even the real meeting lovers in a group get tired as the meeting goes on. It's important to start on time so you can cover the agenda adequately.

2. Incorporate social time into your meeting. This may cut down on "visiting" during the other parts of the meeting and will encourage group cohesiveness. Potlucks before meetings, tea and coffee breaks or going out for pizza after the meeting are some suggestions.

3. Opening. Some groups choose to open with a song, game or ritual. This can help to center the group. A minute of silence works well.

4. Introductions and check-in. Ask each person to introduce him or herself and share a few sentences about themselves. This helps everyone to remember each other's names and is a chance for new people to be welcomed. If the members of the group know each other well, it can be a chance to catch up quickly on what has happened to each other since the last meeting.

5. Review the agenda, add new items, make any required changes, and set a time to end the meeting.

6. Pick a note taker. Taking notes helps us to remember who has been assigned to what task and what decisions were made. Some groups prefer to have a note keeper remain the same for six months or longer. Some rotate the note keeper role every meeting. Putting a list of assigned tasks at the beginning of the minutes and sending a copy to each member within a week (or so) of the meeting will encourage the completion of tasks and helps members who missed a meeting to stay active in the group.

7. Pick a timekeeper. This person will watch over the discussions and let the group know when the assigned time on an item is up. This prevents meeting from running late or from having important items rushed over. Sometimes items take longer to cover than the time allotted. Then the group needs to decide whether to extend the meeting time or to cut some other topics off the agenda.

8. Pick a vibes watcher. The vibes watcher watches the process of the meeting. S/he senses the underlying feelings of a meeting and checks peoples' body language and tone of voice. S/he tries to stop domineering, guilt tripping, interrupting, and in-jokes. S/he tries to set an accepting tone, to resolve conflicts and to deal with distractions. S/he watches to help new people feel accepted, welcomed, and safe enough to begin to volunteer to take on small tasks.

9. During the meeting, the facilitator helps keep the discussion on agreed-upon topics and calls on the speakers. The facilitator needs to draw out quiet people and limit the talkers. If the facilitator is emotionally involved in the topic and has a strong attachment to the outcome, s/he should stand aside and ask someone else to facilitate that topic. The facilitator should try to bring out all viewpoints and look for the underlying agreement. S/he should restate proposals trying to meet the needs of all. Facilitating is a talent. It involves being able to keep a group from straying from the topic, being embroiled in conflict, or falling asleep, while not being perceived as a dictator.

10. At the end of the meeting, remember to set the next meeting. If you meet at a regular time, make sure the next meeting date isn't a holiday or that the building will not be closed for some reason. Make any alternative plans that are necessary.

11. Try to always leave time for a short evaluation at the end of the meeting. Feedback will help to improve meetings and help people to leave feeling settled and listened to.

12. End the meeting with a song, group hug or some unifying ritual.

13. Remember that small groups or committees can do a lot of work on a project. It can be very gruelling to make all decisions and accomplish all the work in a big meeting. Phone meetings between two members can accomplish a lot of work and are less punishing to some of those strong meeting haters.

14. Neat tricks to try.

a) Silence - The Southern Willamette Greens Assembly has a quiet time for a minute or two every 40 minutes or so. Someone rings a bell for silence, which helps to center everyone. A minute of silent meditation also helps when there are large disagreements or important decisions to make.

b) Receipt book - Whenever a member signed up for a task, it would be written out in the book using carbon paper. The volunteer would get one copy and one other copy would stay in the book. As the meeting progressed, they would have concrete evidence of who has signed up for tasks and who hasn't, and they could easily refer back to the receipt book to see who was responsible for what.

c) Remember, if no one is interested in taking on a project, maybe it doesn't need to be done.

d) Brainstorming - people call out their ideas on a topic without anyone criticizing or discussing them. No ideas are censored. Be sure people understand that this is part of a creative process and criticizing or discussing will stifle the process. One or two recorders write down all ideas. Later, the group can go over the list to determine which ideas will work or a committee can be picked to work on the ideas.

e) Go rounds - This can be really helpful when trying to make a decision. Each person in the group says a sentence or two summarizing their view on the issue. This is a quick way to find the common threads in a group.

f) Stress reduction techniques - jokes, songs, 5 minute breaks, massage circles, deep breathing, yoga and exercises can all relax the group (or wake it up). The Eugene Peace Choir is a good resource for these techniques.

g) Hand signals - American Peace Test has developed some easy-to-remember signals to streamline meetings.

* Raise your hand for silence and focusing. When you see a hand up, raise yours. This can quiet a huge crowd fairly quickly - if everyone knows the signal.

* Thumbs up - Yes, I agree.
* Thumbs down - No, I disagree.
* Thumbs to the side - I haven't decided or I'm neutral.
* Raising one finger - point of order.
(People going out of turn, two motions on the table, time allotted for discussion is over..) Your group can be creative and make up more.

h) Fishbowls - This can work well with big groups. Divide into small groups to discuss ideas. Each group picks a spokesperson. The spokespersons then meet in a circle. Behind each spokesperson sits his/her group. Everyone is quiet while the spokespersons discuss the issue. When necessary, the spokesperson can quickly consult with his/her group.

i) Counters - Each member gets 2 or 3 cards, toothpicks, matches, or pebbles. Each time someone talks, they give up one of their counters. When all of their counters are gone, they cannot speak again unless the facilitator recognizes them. This technique may help groups that have some real talkers or some quiet or shy members.

j) Active listening - When a few members are having a disagreement, you can try having each person say in their own words what the person they are disagreeing with said. Then they need to check with the person to make sure they paraphrased correctly. If necessary they may have to say what the person they disagree with believes again. This may help the disagreers understand each other and improvise.

k) Productive examination - Resentment sharing, gripe sessions, self-criticism, or criticism of the group, particular meeting, or certain members can be very productive. Occasionally, set aside a part of the meeting or whole meeting to examine the group.

l) Strategizing - Many of us are so busy reacting to what "they" are doing, we never take the time to make long-term goals or to develop the steps to reach those goals. The National Republican Party planned, for over ten years, how to get Reagan into office. We all need to take time to formalize goals and strategize how to reach them. Then before we take on a project or react to something another organization is doing, we should see whether it really helps to reach our goals.

m) Including all members - Every group has many members or potential members who cannot attend meetings due to other commitments. Try to find tasks they can do such as keep up the mailing list, organize a phone tree, keep supplies, order new supplies before tabling events, or balance the books.

15. Things to guard against.

a) One or more people dominating the meeting and bulldozing their agenda.

b) People talking on and on but not saying anything constructive.

c) Anyone taking on too many tasks. This can cause burnout and keep the rest of the group from learning how to do new tasks. Sometimes enthusiastic new members will take on too many tasks, become overwhelmed, feel embarrassed, and never come back or finish their tasks.

d) New people not feeling welcome. Sometimes, even when groups are desperate for help, they will spend so much time telling "in" jokes or complaining about being overwhelmed, that new people will not feel needed or welcome. Remember to be friendly, to find out why people come, and encourage them to get involved.

Decision Making

    Is your group going to make decisions by a simple majority rule, 2/3 majority, consensus, consensus minus one, consensus minus two..? Groups have become very cohesive and have been destroyed over the seemingly simple process of deciding how to make decisions.

    I have found that when groups guard against sexism, homophobia, racism, ageism, and disabilitism and all members feel they are full and equal participants, meetings are more pleasant and decision making easier. We all need to watch that our meetings aren't dominated by anyone. All of us can fall into the trap of dominating. Traditionally, women fulfill nurturing roles and men fill the positions of authority. Having women, and minorities as facilitators, spokespersons and speakers will help your group to overcome its "isms".

    If a group feels comfortable with each other, is free of dominators, is open-minded and trusting of all its members, many decisions can be made easily. When there is a disagreement, it is important to air all sides of the disagreement completely. Often a small minority of people will express an important point that will change many people's minds. Sometimes it is important to put off a decision until more discussion and research can be done.

    A non-binding vote is a quick way to find out how a group stands on an issue, but majority rule can lead to a disgruntled minority that feels uncomfortable with decisions and alienated from the group.

    Your group may want to use majority rule for decisions that no one has strong feelings about. For "charged" issues, your group may want to use consensus. Under consensus, the group only takes an action all members have consented to. This does not mean that everyone is always in perfect agreement, but that the decision doesn't violate anyone's principles and that those who don't agree, don't disagree enough to block the group from taking action.

Groups that use consensus feel that it has the following advantages over voting:

o It keeps people from getting into adversarial attitudes where individual egos are tied to a proposal that will win or lose.

o It produces more intelligent decisions by incorporating the best thinking of everyone.

o It increases the likelihood of new and better ideas being thought up.

o Everyone has a stake in implementing a decision because all have participated in its formation.

o Participants have more energy for working on projects with which they are in agreement.

    A basic process for reaching a decision might look something like this: First, the problem or situation needing consideration is expressed. Second, A clear idea of what decision needs to be made is formulated. Third, Discussion follows which can include brainstorming or breaking into small groups. Fourth, After adequate discussion, people would begin to look for the "sense of the meeting."

    At this point the facilitator, or anyone else, may be able to synthesize the diverse threads of the discussion into a single proposal which meets the needs of all. If there are no objections to the resulting proposal, a consensus has been reached. It is helpful to restate clearly what has been agreed upon.

    Sometimes a consensus is almost present, but there are still one or two objections. Further discussion should seek to creatively incorporate these objections into a new proposal. If the objection can be satisfied, a new sense of the meeting can be seen, and the proposal has consensus. However, at times an objection is so strong that no creative alternative incorporating it can be found. There are ways to object to a proposal which allows the consensus to go forward: 1.Nonsupport ("I don't see the need for this but I'll go along") 2.Reservations ("I think this may be a mistake but I can live with it") 3.Standing aside ("I personally can't do this, but I won't stop others from doing it") 4.Withdrawing from the group.

    If a new consensus cannot be reached on an issue or problem, the group can continue with the last consensual agreement reached previously, often called "falling back". Fallbacks are a guarantee that we will be able to act together even when we cannot reach a new consensus.

    I am involved in a group that had three long stormy meetings about whether or not to make decisions using consensus. There were shouting, tears, and hurt feelings that still haven't completely healed. In the end the group decided to make decisions by consensus if possible, but if after some time a consensus didn't seem possible, a 2/3 majority rule would be used. Two people quit the group immediately and a few others slowly drifted away. Since that last stormy meeting, all decisions have been made using consensus. I am not sure of all the reasons why this phenomenon has happened, but the trust that was inadvertently built out of this painful process may make consensus easier for us to achieve now.

    Some people keep going back to meetings because they are entertaining. They like to laugh, sing songs, see their friends, and meet new people. Some people will continue with a group because they feel its meetings are efficient and productive and that the group is well organized and responsible. Your goal should be to attract and keep both kinds of people.

Resources:

1) American Peace Test, Non-violence Training Manual, Las Vegas, 1987.

2) War Resistors League, War Resistors League Organizer's Manual, Ed Hedeman, New York, 1986. Particularly "Group Process" by Susan Pines.)