B.E.S.T. @ BatesWinter 2015

The resources in this powerpoint are provided by Lexie Mucci, Office of Intercultural Education at Bates College, adapted from Urbana University.

Today’s AgendaIce Breaker 10minRunning Effective Meeting 20minResources for Communication

and Conflict StylesRunning a Meeting Roleplay

40minNext Time 5min

ICE BREAKER 7mins

Think of an animal and choose an animal noise

Get into pairsShare your animal noise with

your partner

ICE BREAKER Debrief3min

How was this?What system did you and your

partner use to communicate?How did you have to change the

way you communicated in order to hear each other in this activity?

Running an Effective Meeting: 20min

Notifying MembersMembers need to know exact

time, place, and date of meetings a week in advance – a reminder a day before can also be useful

Think about the most effective way to contact your members (email? Text? Facebook group post?)

Running an Effective Meeting:Your Location/ SpaceMake sure you have meetings in

a space that accommodates all members comfortably

How does your space or set-up affect the club environment? What message does it send to current and potential members?◦Do you sit in a circle? On the

ground?

Running an Effective Meeting:Keeping Members InformedMake sure members have an

update or meeting minutes and an agenda prior to or at the beginning of the event

Make sure that someone is responsible for recording ideas generated and decisions made during the meetings

At the end of the meeting, review and confirm who will be doing what beofre the next meeting

Running an Effective Meeting:Creating an AgendaGeneral Information:

◦Title of Meeting◦Date and Time

Who’s Attending:◦Executive Members◦Members◦Guests

Agenda Schedule:◦Sequence of items to be discussed◦Person(s) responsible for items

Running an Effective Meeting:At the Meeting1. Start on time.2. Conduct one item of business at a time. Do not

move on until a decision has been made or else table it.

3. Try to encourage members to contribute and stray away from discouraging comments like “we’ve never done it that way before” or “that’s a silly idea”

4. Focus on the conversation on the task at hand: a solution

5. Delegate responsibilities – be clear about deadlines, the nature of the task and encourage questions for clarity

6. End on time

Running an Effective Meeting:After the Meeting Reflect On:1. Was the preparation for the meeting

sufficient?2. Did attendance meet your

expectations?3. Was there a purpose to the meeting?4. Did the meeting adhere to the agenda?5. What decisions were made? What are

the next steps?6. List three things that went well and

three things that could be improved

Running a Meeting Roleplay:Tactics for keeping people on taskReminding them of community guidelines

(respecting each other’s time)Tabling ideas or topics that are becoming

time consuming, causing conflict, or keeping people talking in circles

Cutting out specific time for fun and chatting at the beginning or end of the meeting

Use an activity or specific discussion topic to re-focus the group

Running a Meeting Roleplay:Tactics for speaking space Creating community guidelines for speaking and

sharing the space Ask explicitly for contributions

◦ Are there any other thoughts on this from people who haven’t already spoken?

◦ What do the sophomores think? Is anyone on an athletic team? What do you think?

Open up the conversations◦ _, you bring up a good point. What do others think?

Explicitly ask people to take a step back◦ It seems like we’ve been hearing a lot of the same voices.

What do other people think?◦ _ I think you bring up a really good point. I’m sorry to cut

you off but I just want to make sure that we have some space for other voices – what do others think?

Running a Meeting Roleplay:Tactics for conflict resolutionIntervene and Name the Conflict

◦ Things are getting a bit heated/ it sounds like we’re talking in circles – let’s take a step back for a second

Clarify Perspectives◦ Restate the perspectives: “From what I understand/

I’m hearing _” – Is this accurate?◦ Listen, Affirm, Respond, Add something (LARA)

Table the Issue or Tackle it with Structure◦ Table the issue and tell members that you’re going

to give it some time or to better prepare to talk about this

◦ Structure how you will talk about the issue (one at a time)

Running a Meeting RoleplayFun Club Agenda: 20-30min

1. Updates from last time (1-2)

2. Debriefing Dumbledore Dance Party (1-2)

3. Concert in Short Term (2)

4. Late at Bates Proposal (2)

5. New Ideas? (1)

6. Anything else? (1)

7. Reviewing what needs to be done for next time (1)

Debriefing Meeting Roleplay 15min

What worked?What was hard?What tactics did people use?

Were they effective?Tips for next time?Other issues?

Next Time 5min

SMART GoalsEngaging Members and Getting

New MembersMotivationInclusivity

Assignment for Next Time3 SMART Goals for your groupReflect on:

1. Why are you a part of your group and what do you get out of it? Why should people join your group?

2. What might be some barriers to people feeling like they can be involved in your group?

3. How will you reach out to get new members?

4. How do you hear about events and meetings at Bates?