My mature Labrador Retriever, Max, likes to sit on the front porch and watch and sniff passers by. Normally this is quite a staid activity characterized by ear wags, nose action, head tilts, and now and then a tail thump. But occasionally something unexpected happens – like the time a cat went by and Max took off after it into the street putting himself in danger and causing fear in his owner – me! If I had been observing more closely this would not have happened. I just wasn’t expecting it!
For those of us in charge of leading meetings of all kinds (training, teambuilding, department, Board), unexpected behavior can cause the meeting to run amuck and us to look less than professional. This is not the time to criticize, to hunt down, and to cause further angst and disruption. Instead it is the time to observe, ask, clarify, and move forward.
The Fearless Facilitator knows what to do:
The unexpected (growler)
Often a meeting is going along quite smoothly when someone makes an unexpected comment. For example, the normally agreeable team member argues a long-held belief, or the typically prepared supervisor has outdated data. Or the enthusiastic marketer takes credit for another’s idea.
Fearless Facilitator: “Megan, if I’ve got this right, your concern is the turn-around time. Is that correct? How have things changed since your initial support of the idea?†OR “ Joe, if I’ve heard your report correctly, the data ends with winter quarter. Do you have the spring results?†OR “ Bob, I hear you; you’re building on Frank’s idea, right?â€
The unleashed (barker)
We all have trigger points that unveil our values; for example, innovation, loyalty, honesty, hard work, or fun. If a meeting’s direction undercuts a core value, we tend to get emotional when we should be business-like.
Fearless Facilitator: “You feel strongly about this issue. What are you specifically referring to?†The idea is to acknowledge the feeling first, then get to specifics about the facts. Sometimes this must go off-line, as in, “ Yes, Kevin, company loyalty is key and your point is well taken. Let’s look at the immediate issue first.â€
The unmotivated (whimperer)
Some people just don’t want to be there. They sit silently – even begrudgingly with ever-present cell phone texting or disruptive side conversing. Here the facilitator gently corrects (or not so gently depending on the rules). Bringing aboard the whiner happens outside of the meeting but during it, the behavior is acknowledged in subtle ways
Fearless Facilitator: “Dr. Jones, what do you do in your area?†or “Sheila, Jenny, is there a question?â€
As you may have noticed, Fearless Facilitators have a mental “script†that kicks in when these three behaviors occur. Observe, ask, clarify, and move forward and your professional meeting facilitation will get results.
For more tips, check out our book Fearless Facilitation: the Ultimate Field Guide to Engaging and Involving (!) your Audience by Cyndi Maxey and Kevin O’Connor (Pfeiffer/Wiley, 2013). Available on barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, and more.
CO-AUTHORS:
Cyndi Maxey, CSP
Kevin E. O’Connor, CSP
Abstract: “It’s Your Party: Choosing the Right Meeting Venue to Create a Most Memorable Experience!†outlines key tips and techniques for pharmaceutical professionals who are charged with meeting management details. Readers will learn key criteria that meeting professionals know to set themselves up for successful scientific meetings: how to tailor the venue to the audience, presenters, budget, time frame and overall goal of the meeting. Important questions for planning, execution and follow up are emphasized.
Suddenly you’re a meeting planner. You may be wondering how you ever got that role, given that your expertise is science and sales and not hospitality management. However, when the success of the next advisory board or product review relies on you, great meeting planning skills will pay off. Consider the last meeting you attended that went without a hitch, and the one that bombed! These are not accidents. Continue Reading →
Dynamic Discussion and Dialogue Starters presents 21 ways to get people talking. Use them:
But wait! There’s more! Continue Reading →
I’ve been a seminar leader and presenter for over 20 years and I’ve seen a noticeable change in my learners and audiences in the last five years, especially with young professionals.
We’ve always known that adults learn by doing and applying concepts back on the job. But it’s never been as important as it is now. With Gen X and Y, we are leading learning for extreme computer literates who are very analytical and used to trying different angles to reach an answer. On the computer, there are always options, alternatives, and tools to reach conclusions. Our computer generations expect that learning will be like that. And our Baby Boomer learners are joining in. Continue Reading →
Copyright 2001 Cyndi Maxey and Debbie Rakestraw. FORUM Magazine
Introduction
Scenario: One of your associations elects a new president who adds two new directors and three committees to respond to a need for increased Internet marketing and research for their industry. Consequently, you realize that your staff needs training fairly soon on meeting facilitation, Internet research, and web-based communication. Some interpersonal skills training wouldn’t hurt, either, as the new president has a strong personality that will be challenging.
Continue Reading →
By Cyndi Maxey and Barry Lyerly
Maybe it looks like a jungle out there, but nature is sustained through an orderly, delicate balance of many interacting elements: new trees spring from seeds sprouting on rotting logs, predators feed on creatures lower in the food chain, some plants thrive in sunshine and others in the shade of the forest, plant photosynthesis gives off oxygen, which, in turn, supports animal respiration. This natural balance ensures that each species occupies a special niche where resources are available for its survival.
Today’s business world resembles a jungle in many respects. As corporations downsize and the workforce shrinks, more is being asked of employees than ever before. Employees are on their own more than ever, because managers have less time for coaching and handholding. Face-to-face meetings are giving way to email, teleconferencing, and voicemail messaging. Organizational changes are occurring rapidly, and employees must be quick to adapt. Trainers are pressured to do more with fewer resources and to demonstrate results in less time. The heart of the workplace—its meaning and significance—gets lost in the chaos. Continue Reading →
Copyright June 1999, Training & Development, American Society for Training & Development. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Self management is essential in today’s work environment. Faced with constant change and volatility, employees must be able to work and act independently. Management scholar Peter Drucker, in a recent Training & Development interview, declared, “I no longer teach the management of people at work, which was one of my most important courses… I am teaching, above all, how to manage oneself.†(September 1998, p.24) Author Robert Kelley (How to Be a Star at Work, Times Business Books, 1998), found that self management was one of many star employee strategies. In studies at Bell Labs and 3M, he discovered that stars constantly ask themselves how they can be more valuable; they worry about what should get on their to-do lists. Self-managed people realize that it’s their responsibility, not the company’s; they readily take the initiative.
As trainers and developers, shouldn’t we also be encouraging employee responsibility and initiative? Why not emphasize self management in the learning environment itself? Recently, I conducted presentations training for one of the most dynamic, committed groups of young women I have ever encountered—a New York based marketing team of an international cosmetics company. In the two days we worked together, I was struck by their commitment to learning—to trying everything, thriving on creative thinking, and constantly applying the concepts to their jobs. These learners were not looking to be spoon-fed, nor did they agree with everything put before them. They made their own “to-do lists.†They were truly self managed.
Continue Reading →
Published in Training & Development Magazine, May 1998
I remember Miss Bernadette Sperling, my high school English teacher, warning, “Do not write in the margin. Keep your work neat and clean and easy to read.” (This was, of course, in the days when we still wrote reports in longhand.) “Neat, clean, and easy to read” rarely happens in the training classroom. Recently, one of my clients gave me an updated version of the trainer guide for a course I had been facilitating for the past year. I smiled outwardly as I accepted it, but inwardly I was panicked—”A new clean guide! Oh no! What about all my notes … everything I’d learned?”
Most trainers will admit to writing in the margins. Because our effectiveness is directly tied to our ability to listen to the group, we are constantly making mental and written margin notes—to keep learning, energized and effective. Let’s take a look at what experienced trainers know—about energizing a group, adapting to groups, and impromptu editing. Continue Reading →
Reprinted from SemiNews and Views, a newsletter published by National Speakers Association, April 1997.
Imagine you’ve just attended a wedding. You’ve come alone. Now you find yourself at the cocktail reception before dinner, chatting with the stranger standing next to you. You both agree that it was a lovely wedding. The bride was beautiful. The groom was appropriately nervous. You spend the next 45 minutes being as interesting and as charming as it is humanly possible for you to be. You have pulled out your business card and all the stops. Finally, there is nothing left for you to say.
Suddenly, the doors to the dining room open, and you both reach into your pockets for your table assignment cards. Surprise! You are both at TABLE 19. Summoning your energy, you realize that the conversational evening has just begun.
Imagine you’ve been to a wedding ceremony. You’ve come alone. Now you find yourself at the cocktail hour of the wedding reception. You’re chatting with the person you’re standing next to. You both agree it was a lovely wedding. The bride was beautiful. The groom was appropriately nervous. The music was an intriguing blend of traditional and new wave. You spend the next 45 minutes being as interesting and as charming as it is humanly possible for you to be. You have pulled out not only your business card but all the stops. There is nothing left for you to say. The doors to the dining room are opened and you both reach into your pockets to pull out your table assignment cards. Surprise! You are both at TABLE 19. Summoning your charm and energy, you realize that for you and your new friend, the evening has just begun.
The first minutes of a full-day seminar are similar in many ways. You need to be personable and charming and set the stage and the climate, yet also build a solid platform for the day—a platform of credibility for the topic and for yourself. You’re in the race, not just for the sprint, but for the long-distance run. In developing and presenting a new seminar, I still spend the most time on the first 90 minutes. I find myself thinking “If I can just make it to the first break…,” the rest of the day will come together. Continue Reading →