Greetings!
As we swing into Fall with all the beautiful changes going on all around, we've been busy getting our 2004 Public Course Schedule ready and rolling out the National Facilitator Database.
Would you like to see your name in print? Submit your articles on Facilitation, Leadership, IT/Consulting or Strategic Planning for an upcoming newsletter issue. The articles should be 750-1,000 words. Include your contact information and a 30- to 60-word biography so we can give you proper credit! Click here to email your articles to us.
Best Practice Tip for this Issue: 4 Steps To Closing A Session
All too often meetings end with many loose ends. Participants may be wondering, "What did we accomplish?" There may also be differences of opinion concerning what was actually decided upon or what actions are to be taken. Open issues may have been left unresolved.
At Leadership Strategies, we believe the close of the meeting is critical. Participants should leave the room knowing:
- What did we accomplish?
- What are the benefits of what we accomplished?
- What will happen once we leave this room?
- How will we ensure it will happen?
These outcomes are achieved through the 4-step closing sequence: Review, Evaluate, Close and Debrief:
REVIEW...the activities performed, the participants' objectives, the parking boards
EVALUATE...the value of the session and the results achieved
CLOSE...by formally ending the session
DEBRIEF...with the project team to identify strengths and areas for improvement
These 4 simple steps not only give your attendees a sense of accomplishment and closure, bust also help keep them on track for future activities. Closing a session well is a critical key to success for a facilitator.
For more tips on having productive meetings, consider our one-day course Making Meetings Work.
