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Have you ever been in a meeting that seemed like it would never end? You know the kind... someone is droning on about processes, everyone is spaced out or on their BlackBerry, fidgeting or checking their watch? Well, I recently learned that it doesn't have to be that way! I had the good fortune to be invited to participate in a one-day Facilitation Workshop last week, run by the amazing Dorothy Strachan of Strachan-Tomlinson. The workshop focused on creating concise agendas, and organizing and running effective meetings. Turns out that one of the keys to an effective meeting lies in preparation, and in carefully crafting the agenda to achieve your goals. I had never thought of a meeting agenda as a tool, but in fact it is -- instead of just a list of topics, meeting agendas should be based on a series of questions. Your goal should be to set outcomes. A great tool Dorothy shared with us was this simple process framework for enabling action, which should always be in the back of your mind when you're asking questions: What? -> So What? -> Now What? What -- these are the "notice" questions ("What caught your eye in this report?" What is another way to say this?) Next, you move onto the "So What" stage -- these are the "meaning" questions (How does this line of thinking relate to our objectives? What concerns does this raise for you?) And finally, the "Now What" -- the "application" questions (What do we need to pay attention to as we move forward? Whose influence do we need if we are going to get this done?) As someone who attends a lot of meetings, I found this entire day extremely helpful. I'll be working my way through two of Dorothy's books that were provided (Making Questions Work and Managing Facilitated Processes), so I'll be sure to post again with more insights. Happy meeting!
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