Meeting Facilitation
Decision first
Start from: what decision or outcome must exist at the end?
Workflow
- •Define outcome: decision, plan, or alignment.
- •Pick decision rule: owner decides, consensus, consent, vote.
- •Build agenda with timings and artifacts (doc/board).
- •Run the meeting: frame → diverge → converge → decide → assign.
- •Close with recap: decisions, owners, deadlines, risks.
Agenda template (45 min)
- •0–5: Context + desired outcome
- •5–15: Facts / constraints
- •15–30: Options + trade-offs
- •30–40: Decision + ownership
- •40–45: Recap + next steps
Diverge / Converge (to avoid false consensus)
Use structure to get creative safely, then converge to a decision.
Diverge (5–10 min)
- •Silent write: everyone writes 3 options (no discussion).
- •Share: round-robin, one option per person.
- •Cluster: group similar options.
Converge (10–15 min)
- •Criteria check: time/cost/risk/quality/learning.
- •Dot-vote or consent-check (depending on decision rule).
- •Decide + document: option, trade-offs, owner, next step.
Output defaults
- •Agenda + facilitation script + a recap message template.