11. Finger Rules
This effective facilitation technique can be used at any meeting to make discussions more structured and efficient. By using simple hand gestures, participants can express different opinions and desires.
Essential Meeting Facilitation Toolkit
We collected some of the best and most versatile facilitation methods to help you design and facilitate more effective meetings.
12 easy-to-use and powerful group activities to make your meetings and workshops effective, engaging and structured.
Use these methods to:
- clarify meeting purpose
- generate and share ideas
- involve all group members
- support group decision making
- collect feedback
- inspire action
- and more…
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The right activity for the right time
Every meeting has an opening and a closing, and the actual working time when you can explore and understand a situation, generate ideas, make decisions and set actions. Finding the right activity for each stage is essential for successful group facilitation.
In this toolkit you will find 12 high-quality meeting facilitation methods reviewed and adapted from the SessionLab library. They are categorized into four areas based on stages of a meeting, and each activity has a detailed description explaining how to run them, combined with specific facilitator tips drawn from practical experience of running these activities.
Categorisation of meeting facilitation techniques from the Essential Meeting Facilitation Toolkit
When should I use these activities?
These activities aim to solve the various issues that may come up in a wide range of meetings. They are used by facilitators, designers, corporate trainers and meeting practitioners. They help you to effectively open and close sessions, explore opportunities, generate ideas, make decisions, and inspire actions.
Whether you use one or all of these activities, you will get to build shared understanding and solve challenges collectively with your group.
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You will find a brief description of each essential facilitation technique below with a link to its online version. You can download a printable version of all methods by leaving your email and we send you the full booklet right away.
1. IDOARRT
The IDOARRT technique supports you in leading an effective meeting or group process by setting out a clear purpose, structure and goals together with your participants at the very beginning of the meeting.
2. What are you bringing to the meeting?
This facilitation technique helps you to check in at the beginning of a meeting to see how participants are feeling, how their energy level is and what might distract them
3. Brainwriting
Brainwriting is a simple way to generate ideas, share them, and subsequently build on them within a group.
4. One, Two, Four
This is a structured discussion activity for exploring a topic by answering questions in three different set-ups: individually, in pairs and in teams
5. SWOT Analysis
This exercise is broad enough to work well as an opening or closing exercise. It’s useful for framing discussions at “problem-solving” meetings, or as a way to brainstorm aspirational steps toward a vision.
6. Six Thinking Hats
Six Thinking Hats is a powerful technique for looking at decision-making from different points of view. By introducing a structured parallel thinking process, it helps people to be more focused and mindfully involved in a discussion.
7. Dot-voting
This prioritization and decision-making method helps a group quickly see which options are most popular or relevant.
8. Start, Stop, Continue
The object of Start, Stop, Continue is to examine aspects of a situation or develop next steps by polling participants on what to start, what to stop and what to continue doing. Additionally, it can be a great framework for feedback.
9. One Breath Feedback
This is a feedback round in just one breath that excels in maintaining attention. Each participant is given the opportunity to speak during just one breath.
10. Letter to Myself
This reflective individual activity supports participants in applying their insights and things they have learned from a session by writing a letter at the end of that session to send to their future selves.
12. Parking Lot
This facilitation tool helps ensure that important questions do not get lost and that the group can stay focused on the most relevant topics during a meeting.
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