Facilitating the Meeting

  1. Discussion Format: Every facilitator has their own way of facilitating meetings. Here are some examples of how to handle the discussion:
    • Ask for volunteers and let people share when they feel ready. Be prepared to fill in any gaps, or ask someone you know to go next.
    • Go around the room and call on people, always letting people know they can pass if they don’t want to speak. Some people add “just listening” to their screen name so you know not to call on them, but they may end up speaking by the end of the meeting.
    • Ask people to use the “raise hand” feature. This is particularly helpful in large meetings, and you can call on people in the order they show on your screen.
    • Put a list in the chat of the order you will call on participants so they have a heads up.
  2. Discussion Topic: The meeting facilitator may suggest a discussion topic or ask if someone has an idea for a topic they would like to discuss. Most meetings have people share about how last week went and what their plans are for the current week, including strategies for managing any upcoming events.
  3. Cross-Talk: Facilitators can provide a short response to each share, highlighting some of the most important points, and perhaps offering some other MM resources that could be helpful. You can also encourage others to chime in and offer their own experiences related to what the participant has shared.
    • REMEMBER: We don’t give advice, we share experiences.
  4. Time Management: Try to monitor time so everyone who wants to talk gets a chance. It is not necessary to call on everyone in the meeting to share. If the meeting is large, just saying “We have a lot of people, so let’s be mindful of our time so everyone gets a chance to share.”
  5. Newcomers: Many Newcomers are uncomfortable at first but do ask newcomers if they want to introduce themselves and tell the group a bit about why they joined the meeting. Many will share when asked.
  6. Meeting Announcements: At some point during the meeting, copy and paste the Meeting Announcements from the weekly email into the Chat. It is good to wait until the meeting is full of participants since people cannot see Chats that have been posted before they arrive.
  7. Meeting Verification: If someone needs a verification for legal or any other purpose, please ask them to send an email to meetings@moderation.org and someone will respond with their verification.