This course is designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to help them function as effective meeting facilitators.

Performance Objectives: Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Design effective meetings with clear objectives and key questions.
• Diagnose your facilitation and communication styles and understand how they both help and hinder you as a facilitator.
• Describe the communication skills necessary for meeting facilitators and members.
• Increase participation in meetings and manage interactions between participants with differing communication styles.
• Describe the four most common communication styles and how they manifest in participants during meetings.
• Explain the difference between “task” and “maintenance” activities.
• Identify the stages of group development and analyze the facilitation needs at each stage.
• Describe the roles and responsibilities of a leader before, during, and after the meeting.
• Describe the roles and responsibilities of a recorder before during and after the meeting.
• Explain the purpose and process of brainstorming.
• Facilitate brainstorming sessions.

Competencies Covered: Meeting facilitation and management, communication, group dynamics, brainstorming

Intended Audience: This course is appropriate for any employee at any level of the organization that wants to improve the meetings they attend or facilitate.