Facilitating meetings for active participation

1. Facilitating meetings for active participation EMIF workshopBrussels, March 17, 2010, 12:30-5:00PM Ib Ravn, Ph.D., Associate Professor Aarhus University, Denmark, www.dpu.dk/fv

2. 1. Today’s program 12:30How to design meetings thatinspire and involve participants? Presentation, reflection and demonstration 1:45Break 2:00Lessonslearnt so far 2:30 Designingyourownmeeting 3:15 Break 3:30Presentingyourmeetings designs and facilitatingdiscussion of them 5:00End

3. 2. The problem: Meetingstreat participants as recipients As it isDrawbacks One-way People: two-way Passivity Use it or lose it Q and A Silence, or ”I’m clever, too!” Debates Many tangents. Success is random Workshops So many mini-conferences Panels Congestion on One-Way Street

4. 3. The transfer model of teaching

5. 4. The conference as a forum for human co-flourishing • People have potentials, interests and projects • We want to learn and flourish • We go to conferences to get inspired by others and grow

6. 5. Design principles for learning meetings Blah Blah 1. Concise presentations ●●● 2. Active interpretation 3. Self-formulation 4. Networking and knowledge sharing 5. Competent facilitation

7. 6. The design principles (for your own reading) • Concise presentations. Fewer, shorter, more provocative. • Active interpretation. There must be processes that help participants actively relate what they hear to their own experience. Time to digest, think and talk. • Self-formulation. There must be opportunities in pairs and small groups for everyone to talk about the personal interests and projects that brought them to the conference in the first place. • Networking and knowledge sharing. Facilitated activities that help the participants discover each other as resources. • Competent facilitation. The facilitator must create a safe and trusting space where people will go along with the new learning processes.

8. 7. What was interesting ? In my presentation, what did you find interesting? • Jot down a few things (2 minutes) • Share them with your neighbor (6-8 minutes) • Let’s hear some of them, and your questions and comments

9. 8. Techniques (with page numbers) • Semicircular seating(?); so everyone can see and take part (17) • Meet people; warms up the room, creates trust (58) • Ask a few delegates what’s nice about beeing here (60) • Concise presentation, cut in two; helps attention (64) • “What was interesting?”; focus on the constructive (24) • Silent reflection and notetaking; clarifies thoughts (70) • Minimeetings; pair and share, ideas are tested (72) • Take inspirations; helpspeopleinspireeachother (76) • Always a bit of Q&A; otherwise people feel cheated

10. 9. More techniques that activate participants • Separate colleagues after lunch; people perk up (58) • Question cards; easier for timid folks to contribute (68) • Start your future, here, now; usetoday’s material (86) • Take-aways: Reflection, minimeetings, sharing, at the end • Facilitateall presentations; don’t let the presenter (60) • Use a script; blow-by-blow, for internal use, ≠ program (46): 10.00 Welcome 10.10 Meet people 10.20 Presentation, etc.

11. 10. Task: Design a meeting • Design a 2-4 hour meeting using a few techniques • Write a script (6-10 lines/elements) • Print large and legibly on flip chart. Hang it on wall • Take a break at _______ and be back by _______

12. 11. Your role as a facilitator • You host the event, helping everyone’s participate optimally • Explain your role to speakers, so they let you • Introduce speaker, including length of presentation • Finish speaker and elicit applause • Do a technique, or take questions for speaker • If questions and debate move along spontaneously, fine. But stay up front, for easy intervention • Check bad questions. Refer them to later, if necessary • Finish when the time is up, even if more questions • Conclude by thanking the presenter; elicit applause again

13. 12. Running a participative technique • Don’t speak until you have everyone’s attention 100% • Be friendly, calm and firm as you ask delegates to do X and Y • Never ask if the delegates would like to do it. Assume they will do what they are asked to • Help the delegates do it in practice (pair up, find paper, etc.) • Accept without comment if someone chooses not to do it –unless it disturbs other people • Say ”Thank you” afterwards and little else. Don’t apologize if the process did not seem a success. Move on.

14. 13. Today’s basic ideas • Meetings need techniques/processes that involve particpants • Active participants learn more, have more fun & come back • A script details all processes • A facilitator hosts the meeting and helps everyone be their best

15. 14. More about facilitating meetings • Steen Elsborg and Ib Ravn: Learning Meetings and Conferences in Practice. Copenhagen: People’s Press, 2007. • Various papers (”The Learning Conference” and ”Creating Learning at Conferences Through Participant Involvement”): www.dpu.dk/om/ibr, click ”Publikationer” • About our group, ”Facilitating Knowledge Processes”: www.dpu.dk/fv, and minor texts of ours at: fac-vid.squarespace.com • My blog on facilitation: www.ibravn.blogspot.com • The Learning Meeting Module: A web-based tool. www.ims.dk • International Association of Facilitators: www.iaf-world.org