Good meetings give energy!

Once people are able to communicate in a connecting way, the road opens to efficient and energising meetings. The three-step plan below provides extra grip and speed.

Recognising needs

The starting point of Nonviolent Communication is recognising feelings such as anger, fear, sadness and joy. Once you can identify which observation triggers a feeling and which need lies behind it, you can have a respectful conversation about it.

But this recognition of feelings and needs also plays a crucial role when listening to others. Nothing is as efficient in meetings as listening to what the other person feels and needs. Sometimes it’s an idea seeking its way toward realisation, sometimes you hear limitations. It’s wise to take objections into account, because people who feel heard stay engaged. When there are disagreements or tensions, active, connecting listening creates a climate for finding solutions together.

What’s your aim?

It’s stating the obvious, but a meeting topic without a clear goal is a missed opportunity. So even during the preparation of the meeting, think about the purpose of each agenda item.

Some common goals for meeting topics are:

• sharing information,
• getting input (exchanging ideas / asking questions),
• making agreements,
• …

Send participants the necessary information in advance so they can prepare properly. As a participant, you can also contribute to focused agenda items: either by suggesting them, or by asking for clarification beforehand.

Reaching good agreements quickly

With the three-step meeting method from “Fluide organisatie” by Arne de Vet and Filip Lowette, you get a handy structure for energising meetings.

Here are the three steps in brief:

1. Start with an update and list the issues to discuss

When there’s room at the start of a meeting for every participant to share how they’ve felt during the past period, participants are engaged from moment one and you quickly get a view of important information. The same goes for listing issues: every participant gets the chance to indicate what they need in order to move forward.

2. Tackle the issues one by one

As mentioned earlier, it’s sometimes necessary to ask about the purpose behind an issue: does the person want to share information, receive information, or propose an action? In the last case, you can formulate the proposal and then ask for objections and concerns from the other participants. Objections provide clear indications of necessary adjustments and point the way toward more broadly supported agreements.

3. Create an action-oriented report

Once all issues have been addressed, a brief summary of the agreed actions can be drawn up. This document serves as the anchor for further execution and follow-up.

What if the group is too large to give everyone the floor?

The larger the group, the more important it becomes to pay attention to meeting methodology. To keep everyone involved, working in subgroups and then reporting back to the full group is often the way to go.

Want to discover and practise even more meeting tips and methods? Check out our offering on connecting decision-making.