Team Participation - Ten Ways To Increase Group Participation In Team Meetings
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Ten Ways To Increase Group Participation In Team Meetings
Leaders have found that meetings where team members openly communicate on business topics and participate in problem solving yields better results than those where people sit and listen.
By: Shirley Fine Lee
Leaders have found that meetings where team members openly communicate on business topics and participate in problem solving yields better results than those where people sit and listen.
By: Shirley Fine Lee
There are different levels of participation in meetings; the most desirable is a fully interactive environment. Voting in a meeting to make decisions is a level of participation, but consensus decisions or compromise building results in more active involvement. Where meetings require increased participation, there are a few things a leader can choose from in order to increase group participation and member involvement.
1.Get their input on agenda topics prior to the meeting. This can be done outside the meeting by sending the proposed agenda in an email asking for comments or with a phone call to each person after it is sent. Another way to get their inputs is to always plan the next meeting agenda together at the end of each meeting.
2.Encourage active participation by writing it into the team's ground rules. Jointly creating ground rules and posting them at all meetings will emphasize the need for complete involvement.
3.Use short icebreakers or team-building exercises at the beginning of the meetings to get people talking right away. Icebreakers help team members to get to know each other and increase comfort levels. Group or paired exercises can be related to a problem within the team to overcome or to the primary topic of the meeting.
4.Always explain the purpose of the meeting and tell members and how it affects them or their job. This helps the meeting meet the "what's in it for me" question and encourages their aid to accomplish the best results in the meeting.
5.When doing idea generation in the meeting, always use the round robin brainstorming technique. This technique insures everyone takes turns contributing until most people begin to run out of ideas.
6.Create a safe respectful environment for open exchange of ideas and opinions. One way to do this is to never allow belittling of a person's questions or input - everyone can add value even the devil's advocate.
7.Use structured activities or processes when problem solving to focus everyone on equally participating. This includes taking visible notes of what is said during the meetings because seeing their thoughts captured lets members know their contributions are valued and encourages others to build upon things they see and hear in the meeting.
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1.Get their input on agenda topics prior to the meeting. This can be done outside the meeting by sending the proposed agenda in an email asking for comments or with a phone call to each person after it is sent. Another way to get their inputs is to always plan the next meeting agenda together at the end of each meeting.
2.Encourage active participation by writing it into the team's ground rules. Jointly creating ground rules and posting them at all meetings will emphasize the need for complete involvement.
3.Use short icebreakers or team-building exercises at the beginning of the meetings to get people talking right away. Icebreakers help team members to get to know each other and increase comfort levels. Group or paired exercises can be related to a problem within the team to overcome or to the primary topic of the meeting.
4.Always explain the purpose of the meeting and tell members and how it affects them or their job. This helps the meeting meet the "what's in it for me" question and encourages their aid to accomplish the best results in the meeting.
5.When doing idea generation in the meeting, always use the round robin brainstorming technique. This technique insures everyone takes turns contributing until most people begin to run out of ideas.
6.Create a safe respectful environment for open exchange of ideas and opinions. One way to do this is to never allow belittling of a person's questions or input - everyone can add value even the devil's advocate.
7.Use structured activities or processes when problem solving to focus everyone on equally participating. This includes taking visible notes of what is said during the meetings because seeing their thoughts captured lets members know their contributions are valued and encourages others to build upon things they see and hear in the meeting.
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Shirley Fine Lee, author of "R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard's Approach", has worked as a training and development specialist since 1986, and an independent consultant since 2000. She has extensive experience, helping organizations with their team building, training development, meeting facilitation, presentation delivery, and other communication needs. This work involves developing productivity tools, presenting workshops, and writing. For instance, she has authored numerous training manuals and guides, on a wide variety of topics. Her programs include time management, getting organized, problem solving, and team building. Find out more about her and options she provides on her website www.shirleyfinelee.com.
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