I’m an absolute, huge fan of using flipcharts in meetings with less than fifty people. Why? Because writing down team members’ thoughts help the team to recognize and remember the idea. It also helps each team member to be visually reminded about they contributed to the team’s work.
Many years ago, my colleague in facilitation, Ned Reute, shared his top ten list of things a facilitator should do – and they all end with “write it down and hang it on the wall.”
- When someone offers an idea, write it down and hang it on the wall.
- Work on one issue at a time. Let the group choose and word the issue. Write it down and hang it on the wall.
- Agree on how to work on that issue. Tap the group wisdom for how to work before offering your own process. Write it down and hang it on the wall.
- If they offer the same idea repeatedly, point to where it is, written down and hanging on the wall.
- If someone attacks a person for a “dumb” idea, ask them where the idea is written down and hanging on a wall. Move to it. Move the discussion to the idea, away from the person who offered it. If additions, qualifications, clarifications, or pros and cons are offered, write it down and hang it on the wall.
- When the group is discussing, voting on, or coming to consensus around a solution, write it down and hang it on the wall.
- When the group moves away from the agreed-to issue, go to where you wrote it down and hung it on the wall, call their attention to it, and give them the choice to change the issue, go back to the one they agreed to, show how this one affects the one they agreed to, or put a time limit on the digression. Whatever they decide, write it down and hang it on the wall.
- When the group moves away from the agreed-to process, go to where you wrote it down and hung it on the wall, call their attention to it, and give them the choice to change the process, go back to the one they agreed to, show how this one affects the one they agreed to, or put a time limit on the digression. Whatever they decide, write it down and hang it on the wall.
- When someone says, “We ought to _____,” find out who will. Then write it down and hang it on the wall.
- Before breaking up, find out when the group will get back together. Write it down and hang it on the wall.
Wise words. Thanks, Ned!
KRISTIN ARNOLD, MBA, CPF, CSP is a high-stakes meeting facilitator and professional panel moderator. She’s been facilitating teams of executives and managers in making better decisions and achieving greater results for over 20 years. She is the author of the award-winning book, Boring to Bravo: Proven Presentation Techniques to Engage, Involve and Inspire Audiences to Action.
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