If you, like me, strive to hold productive meetings, welcome, you’re in the right place! If you haven’t read Part 1 of this blog series on planning, I recommend you review it first for a primer on one of the most important steps to running effective meetings. For those continuing on this journey with me, in Part 2 we’ll dive into all the steps to take just before, during and after a meeting to make it as successful as possible.
I think I speak for most when I say pointless meetings are the worst. I believe every meeting can and should be held with some level of purpose. It may simply be an opportunity to connect or it may be aimed at addressing a complex social or environmental issue with a large group of stakeholders, also sometimes called “interest-holders.” Supporting this type of meeting requires a careful, thoughtful approach to planning, involving the participants, and facilitating the meetings themselves. Over a series of three blog posts, I’ll share best practices from my work facilitating this type of engagement process – beginning with one of the most important and often underestimated steps: planning.
