Efficiency and time management are important cornerstones for successful meetings. In times when meeting requests are becoming more and more frequent, the time available must be used sensibly. In practice, however, many meetings are unstructured and chaotic. Facilitating meetings is often not on the training agenda for managers. This makes it all the more important that you prepare well for meetings, manage them effectively and get disruptions and conflicts under control quickly. How do I start a meeting? What does a moderator do in a meeting? In this article, we will guide you step by step through successful meeting facilitation and answer your important questions.
Your task as a moderator is to prepare the meeting and ensure that it runs smoothly and efficiently. You take responsibility for the group and should adopt a neutral position. Particularly in meetings where intense conflict is expected, you are also the mediator who ultimately brings the different opinions to a common denominator. This requires a trusting and constructive working atmosphere. At the end of the event, you are responsible for documenting and securing the results.
More tips on how to successfully moderate meetings:
To be able to moderate meetings as a moderator, there is one important rule: be authentic. Successful moderation means not pretending to be a person, but openly representing your own views and opinions. One of the tasks of a moderator is to represent unpopular opinions and stand behind them. Don't let yourself be led by the fear of appearing unpopular or stirring up discussions. Moderators in need of harmony find it difficult to moderate meetings that ultimately have added value for everyone involved. Above all, moderating meetings means being open to other points of view and opinions. A good moderator refrains from being a know-it-all in meetings. They are appreciative, can listen and give the participants their full attention.
A good meeting starts with the right selection of participants. Only invite those to the meeting who are really relevant to the topic. The more people contribute opinions, the longer and more exhausting the meeting will be and the more challenging it will be to reach a consensus at the end. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos invented the "two-pizza rule". This states that the maximum number of participants should be limited so that everyone can eat two pizzas.
The following tasks are part of the meeting preparation:
Part of preparing for a meeting is deciding on a moderation technique. There are various ways to modernize meetings. Below you will find an overview of the most popular methods you can use to facilitate meetings.
Flash
In this technique, the moderator formulates a concise question and asks the participants to answer it from a first-person perspective. It is important that everyone answers from their own perspective and thus thinks deeply about a topic. After the flashlight round, the moderation begins.
Card poll
You can also use this method to successfully moderate meetings. The moderator attaches a piece of paper with a question on it to a pinboard and hands out index cards to the participants. They should write down their views and opinions on a topic. All the cards are then attached to the pinboard and the discussion begins.
Mind mapping
Mind mapping is one of the most successful methods you can use to facilitate meetings and captivate the audience. The facilitator attaches a question or term to a whiteboard and the meeting participants can make associations with it. The keywords are linked to the main term via lines. In this way, ideas, goals and possible solutions are created and visualized.
In addition to these methods and tips for moderating meetings, there are many other approaches. You can also combine several techniques. It is important that you adapt your moderation individually to the topic and the audience.
Meetings usually always have the potential for conflict because different opinions clash. It is therefore all the more important that you start the meeting on a positive note and make sure you adhere to the most important communication rules in advance. It is your important task to insist that the agenda is adhered to and to remove topics that are not part of the current discussion and postpone them to a later date.
The successful director Billy Wilder once said: "A good movie begins with an explosion". Now, you don't have to set the room on fire to be able to host meetings in which you secure the attention of your audience. Nevertheless, it is important to build up tension right from the start. Apple boss Steve Jobs was a master at starting his presentations with a moment of tension. This can be a glaring question, a demonstration or even a small joke or anecdote. Leading a meeting or moderating a meeting means getting the audience on your side from the very first moment.
The start of the meeting is crucial to how productive and effective the meeting will be. An icebreaker question can be a good start.
If you could be in a place of your choice right now: Which one would it be?
Questions like these are particularly suitable if the participants do not yet know each other or do not know each other very well. They get into conversation and get a first impression of the other person. In addition to the burglar questions, there are also games that you can encourage as a moderator. Moderating meetings can also mean breaking out of the daily routine a little. "Truth or lies" is a game that is well suited to this type of contact. Each participant tells two facts about themselves, only one of which is true. The others have to guess which fact is true.
Ultimately, it is up to you as the moderator to decide which concept you want to use to moderate your meetings. The following structure has proven successful:
Keep an eye on the time during the meeting. Few things cause more unrest than when participants have to leave in the middle of a meeting because the next meeting is already scheduled. Make sure that all discussions serve to achieve the objective of the meeting. It is also important that the meeting is not one-sided and dominated by one of the participants, while others no longer dare to contribute. At the end of the meeting, there should be concrete agreements and everyone should know their personal tasks on this topic.
At the end of the round, it is your job to bring everything together and evaluate whether the planned goals have been achieved. You now assign the tasks discussed, set deadlines and finalize the meeting minutes. Remain open to feedback from the participants and ask for it. What was good and where is there potential for optimization? This will enable you to improve future meetings even more and work more efficiently.
Online meetings have been part of everyday life in companies since 2020/2021 at the latest. Moderating online meetings: The big challenge is to turn the participants into a group via the screens and create good conditions for efficient collaboration. The great advantage of digital web conferences is that participants do not have to travel long distances and are flexible in terms of both time and location. Remote teams can meet without any effort - which not only saves time, but also costs. Online meetings can be held much more spontaneously than meetings that have been planned in advance.
However, virtual conferences are less personal and it can be tiring to only hear the other person over the microphone. This makes it all the more important to create a positive working atmosphere, plan breaks and ensure that the technology is working properly. In addition, online conferences should never last too long. Decide in advance on a powerful conferencing tool that offers all the functions you need. Familiarize yourself with the tool's functions in advance to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly afterwards.
To ensure that your meeting is a complete success in the end, we have summarized the golden rules that are crucial for productive meeting processes.
Do you see potential and want support when it comes to implementing your moderations? Then book your personal business coaching or contact us to work on your personal topic.