Free Facilitation Course: Simple tips for less terrible meetings
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Introduction

Meet your coach
What you won't learn
The three big meeting problems we'll tackle
The seven tricks I'll teach you
When did I write this course?
1. Setup roles and rules so that it feels like a game

Introduction
Set the time keeper role or bad cop
Set the caring parent role or good cop
Set minimal rules and make people agree to them personally
Remember this
2. Define a time limit per topic to ensure you end up on time

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Realize that you have less time than planned
Set a buffer time
Set a visible timer for each topic
Remember this
3. Use sticky notes to show where the discussion is

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Put sticky notes on a wall and use them to build clarity
Use one sticky note per idea, group it and move it
Write in an easy to read way
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4. Create a parking space for new ideas and off topic elements

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Make the parking visible and tell the story
Have time? Review the parking at the end
In a rush? Add categories in your parking
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5. Use votes to not talk for hours about what's already obvious

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Give multiple dots to vote and make it fun
Use faith or another culturally relevant voting criteria
Use multiple rounds of votes for complex decisions
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6. Make people work in smaller groups and then share the summary

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Split for discussion and join for sharing
Make groups of no more than 4
Give a clear challenge, a clear timing and a clear end result
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7. Separate the mindsets to make it less confusing

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Separate coming up with ideas and deciding
Separate the criteria when deciding
Mark the separation of mindsets
Remember this
What you learned and how to make it stick

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Review the summary and the one thing to remember
Learn by teaching
Make a plan
End notes

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Thank you note
License

Introduction

An illustration of a person next to a giant check mark sign

Imagine this, Anna is trying to find new ideas for a problem. So she asks her colleagues in a meeting for inputs. Marc happily shares an idea. But Bob answers: "Yeah but that won't work because..." Bob is frustrated because he finds that Marc isn't really being critical enough, and Marc is frustrated because Bob kills his creativity. You can't be creative and critical at the same time, or you don't do any of these things right.

It's as if someone asks you to juggle and at the same time do a complex math calculation. What will happen? You end up either by dropping a ball or by not being able to do the calculation right.

This story shows that we have to separate the mindsets during meeting in order to go forward and not be frustrated.

So here are three things you can do to avoid confusion and frustration during meetings:

Separate coming up with ideas and deciding
Separate the criteria when deciding
Mark the separation of mindsets