How to Hold & Facilitate A Meeting

Before a meeting:

• The first rule of any meeting is to have a written agenda with specific time slots allotted to the items on the agenda. See template here.

• Some meetings may happen on the spur of the moment and there may not be enough time to put together a formal agenda. In this case, putting together a simple agenda with at least brief talking points is always recommended. See template here.

• An agenda should have items that address your group's short-term and long-term goals.

• Don't forget to schedule your meeting on the DSA Zoom or Google Meets if Zoom is not available. Recurring meetings should be indicated as "recurring."

• Add dial-in details to the meeting agenda.

• A day before the meeting, make sure to remind folks in the appropriate Slack channel of the meeting and post the agenda, along with dial-in details/meeting password.

During a meeting:

• Make sure all participants have access to the agenda.

• Assign someone to lead the meeting and someone to take notes (can be planned before the meeting starts also). The person taking notes should not be the same person that is leading/facilitating the meeting.

• Community Agreements are explained. Community Agreements are rules for having a facilitated meeting, in order to prevent cross-talk and encourage respectful dialogue. Common Community Agreements:

• Expect best intentions. Aspire to act in camaraderie— welcoming, supportive, respectful, sincere, and open.

• One Mic: One person should speak at a time.

• When giving feedback, keep it constructive. We value honesty, but only for the purpose of improvement, not for the sake of cruelty. On the opposite side of the spectrum, sugar-coating feedback in order to spare someone’s feelings is not necessarily constructive either. The goal is to be supportive, honest, and thoughtful.

• Taking notes- Multiple people can also take notes if necessary, but it is important to ensure at least one person is the assigned notetaker. Notes should be taken in the meeting agenda document so everything can be found in one place.

• Keeping time- It is also important to keep an eye on the time to make sure you are keeping the discussion within the allotted time range. An additional person can be assigned to keep an eye on the clock and give a 2 mins warning to the person leading the meeting.

• Progressive Stack- Allowing for questions and comments during virtual meetings- the best practice is to follow a progressive stack. People who have questions and comments type "stack" in the meeting chat and each person is called on, in order. Someone should be assigned to keep an eye on the chat for "stack" order.

• Action items- at the end of the meeting, please make sure to assign a few action items and assign folks to the items. These action items should be worked upon before the next meeting date, ideally. We want to ensure the necessary work gets done before the next meeting, so action items are very critical.

• Next meeting date/time- plan the next meeting date before the meeting is over. If enough people are not present to decide the next meeting date/time, you can do a poll in the Slack channel once the meeting is over.

After a meeting:

• Make sure to upload the notes to the Slack channel, and the appropriate folder on the chapter email Shared Drive.

• Ensure you have changed the document permission settings so that anyone with the link has access to view/edit.

• Follow up with folks who were assigned action items! Make sure they are reminded of the next meeting date

How to have a successful meeting (tips & tricks):

• Start with an icebreaker if there's new members present. All members should introduce themselves with: name, pronouns, and an icebreaker, (you can always use the classic favorite question: "Who is your least favorite billionaire")

• Stick to time! It shows you respect people's boundaries and time and they will be more likely to come to the next meeting.

• Make time for the group to get to know each other, make sure to invite your active group members to all Nassau DSA socials.

• Develop new leaders and organize yourself out of roles, also called DELEGATE!

  • Have one on one's with active members who show promise. This can be as simple as having a phone or in person (in person is preferred!) conversation.