How active facilitation can improve participation in your (remote) meetings

So, COVID-19 shook up our work routines, right? No going back to the good old 2019 vibe. Now, we're all about this hybrid thing – part office, part home. It's the cool new dance everyone's doing.

We've heard tons about working from home, but what about the unsung heroes – the facilitators? They're the captains of our meetings, and they're scratching their heads, wondering how to steer this virtual ship. And trust me, I get it. Running a killer meeting in person is like juggling flaming torches; doing it online is like juggling those torches while riding a unicycle. Tricky!

So, here's me spilling the tea on my experiences, hoping it'll help you rock those (virtual) meetings and be the team wizard.

First off, let's talk about this virtual team thing. Can they be as awesome as the teams chilling side by side? Good question. Here's the deal – those cringe-worthy face-to-face meetings? They get even cringier when they go virtual. But here's the twist – the problems are pretty much the same. Engagement, productivity, and teamwork – they haunt you whether you're on Zoom or in a cosy office. It's not the virtual vibe that's the issue; it's the same old ghosts haunting the meetings. If you don't tackle the root problems, whether you're meeting in person or from your favourite couch, it doesn't matter.

Now, let's paint a picture. Ever been in a meeting that feels like a surprise party gone wrong?

• Fashionably late folks stroll in.
• The agenda is MIA, and so is the goal.
• The facilitator is playing hide and seek.
• The same few people talking, and the rest are silent witnesses.
• Side chats happen – in person or through sneaky online channels.
• Topics jump around like a hyperactive kangaroo.
• No one's listening, and frustration is building.

Your frustration hits its peak, and you try to be the hero, saying, "This ain't working!" or throwing in a genius idea... that's met with crickets. Then, frustration turns to surrender – "I give up, I don't want to be here anymore!"

But hold up, I've got a challenge for you – don't throw in the towel. Instead, use that frustration as fuel. I've got six secret steps to align the group and turn chaotic meetings into rock star sessions. Spoiler alert: You're the hero here, and if you nail it, everyone's going to thank you.

Step 1: Speak up without being the bad guy.

It could sound like this:?“People, can I just say something? It strikes me that we’re starting later than we agreed upon, and we’re talking at the same time. I’m afraid we won’t make it through the agenda this way, I think we can work much more effectively”.

Step 2: Ask if others feel your pain. "Anyone else notice we're starting late and talking all at once?"

Step 3: Be the idea person. : “I propose that we first determine the agenda and set a time limit for each item. I’d like to supervise that, but perhaps someone else would like to do the same. Who can support the proposal that we set the agenda again and that I supervise that process?”

Step 4: Embrace the naysayers. It might happen, that someone says ‘NO’. To be truthful, that’s probably going to happen one day, and you don’t have to be afraid of that. Don’t let it knock you out, and instead start investigating what information there is in that ‘NO’.

Summarise and try to find out why what s/he doesn’t like in the proposal. If this person remains in the ‘NO’ position, ask for approval for a one-time experiment. You agree that if it doesn’t work, you will try something new next time.

Step 5: Survive the group 'NO.' If you get “NO” from the whole group… That hurts. And it comes with a very important?lesson: Never take it personally!!!!!! Apparently, the group is not ready for a change. You wait patiently until you think it’s appropriate to intervene again.

Step 6: Celebrate the 'YES.' Do you get a “YES”?

Go get them! Set a good example and show how you can supervise this process tightly. Show leadership, stay nice, and be patient. Let the group experience that the meeting can be at least half the time shorter by monitoring the agenda very closely.

Make it visual: Make your meeting visual, so that everyone can see each other and read body language. Set "webcams on" as the default setting. As the meeting leader, watch for signs of distraction, boredom or agitation, and for anyone who signals they want to speak. For co-located meetings, write the agenda or the end goal of the meeting on a whiteboard or flip chart. This way, you can always keep the attention on the agenda or goal by simply pointing (instead of verbally intervening).

Encourage participation : If you want participation in the meeting, you may need to address your participants more intentionally. Plan to ask people who are quiet to contribute, and make a plan to address people who are over-participating. If you don't want to put people in the spotlight in front of the whole team, discuss it with the person concerned before the meeting.

Plan for document sharing : You need a way to share documents. Share them in advance with the meeting invitation, and decide how to share documents with participants during the meeting. Learn how to use the screen share feature so that you and other participants can share documents and make notes and edits in real time.

Set up meeting rules : Set some meeting rules in advance: no mobile phones, no emails, no talking over other people, and no multitasking. In virtual meetings, agree that everyone closes the door and uses the "mute" function to reduce background noise. Decide how participants indicate they want to speak without interrupting anyone else; some platforms have a "raise your hand" feature. Establishing the rules with your team at the start of the meeting will give your team a sense of ownership of the rules and make them more likely to be followed.

Once you've tasted success, keep the momentum going. Summarise, get feedback and fine-tune for the next meeting.

And here's a pro tip: Agree on the next facilitator. Spread those good meeting vibes like confetti.

Once you have experienced an effective meeting, you’ll get a taste for more! We want the next meeting to be at least as effective and preferably even better. To start a continuous improvement cycle and at the same time reduce dependence on one or a few good facilitators, a few final tips.

At the end of the meeting, summarise the process of timeboxing and agenda management and ask participants for feedback. This can be done very quickly and easily using a?ROTI ?(Return On Time Invested) or by utilizing a good?retro . Based on this feedback, your next meeting can become even more effective.

The last tip. Agree on who is the facilitator for the next meeting. ?This way everyone will learn best practices and effective meetings will spread like an oil slick throughout your organization.

We change agents — and by change agents, I mean everyone (Scrum Masters, leaders, coaches, advisors, and trainers) who finds it interesting to get involved in group processes — remain patient and observant. Intervene to a level that the group is ready for.

We have to deal with our own frustration, and sometimes we fail miserably.

But,….that’s the way we learn.