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Starting at the right place
The beginning of a meeting sets the mood. You may use the following practices:
Check-in rounds: Participants share how they feel in the moment, as they enter. This helps all to listen within, to their bodies and sensations, and to build awareness. Naming an emotion is often all it takes to deal with it. Thus, this practice helps participants let go of distractions while supporting everyone to be present for the current meeting.
A minute of silence: to ground people in the moment.
Reference & Reflection: Meetings may start with at short reading that one person has prepared. After a few moments of silence, participants share the thoughts this has sparked.
Appraisal round: Everyone shares a brief story of someone they had recently thanked. This highlights possibility, gratitude, celebration, and trust.
Setting an agenda & deciding on important roles for the meeting might be very useful.
The 3 roles of collective intelligence
In order to ensure effective meetings, different roles can be distributed between the participants:
Taking notes along the way, the person takes care that all elements discussed can be reviewed afterwards. The style is up to the Keeper herself.
This person follows the agenda & takes care that all dedicated time slots are considered.
The person responsible for the energy level and wellness of the group always has an eye on the participants and, if necessary, interrupts the process for a reflection or an energizer.
The roles should be fixed before the meeting starts and can be distributed flexibly, to the preference of the group.
Keeping on track
Additional practices to keep intention and attention in the meeting:
Purpose Reminder: A volunteer holds a pair of bells. If the holder feels ground rules are not being respected, she/he can make them sing. No one may speak until the sound has died out. During the silence, all can reflect on the question: "Am I in the service to the topic we are discussing?”
'Talking stick': use an artifact to regulate turn-taking, slow down the speed of conversation, and increase the quality of listening.
Internal/External facilitator: A facilitator may be used when there are specific requirements to fulfill.
Ending meetings
Check-out rounds at the end of the meeting are a natural complement to the initial check-in round. They leave everyone with a sense of the impact of the meeting. A moment of silence is another way to reflect and conclude.
