Webinar held for Toronto Agile Community - Feb 7, 2018

1. It’s not about the tools
Facilitating effective meetings over distance
Sue Johnston
Webinar – Toronto Agile Community – February 7, 2018

2. PLEASE NOTE
SLIDES ≠ PRESENTATION
• These slides are designed to be viewed in conjunction
with a human being talking and interacting with you.
• They will make little sense to you if you were not at
the live session.
• But if you find them useful, I’m happy.

3. Who is Sue?
• Coach Skills for the Agile Workplace
• Facilitation Skills for the Agile Workplace
• Agile Fundamentals
Coach Author Trainer Host
June 7-8
Ontario Science Centre
Training ‘virtually’ since 2004
Did masters from middle of ocean
Telework pioneer in 1990s

4. It’s the
CONVERSATION
that
matters!

5. What we’ll talk about
• Introduction
• Planning
• Engaging people
• Skills to develop
• Wrap

6. What’s the meeting?
What type of
meetings you attend
or run remotely.
POLL #1

7. What’s the remote challenge?
Which is the most
challenging issue you face
in dealing with virtual
meetings?
POLL #2

8. What’s the dream?
You’re creating a container
where people can make good
decisions together.

9. The facilitation arc
Virtual meetings
require the same
thought in person
meetings do.

10. Plan - purpose
What is the purpose
for this meeting?
Explore ideas? Make a decision?
Learn something
new?
Get to know
each other?
Share info?
Something else?

11. Plan - people
Who needs to be at
this meeting?
Interested Have info + insights
Find another
way to keep
these people
informed.
They will be
miserable
and add
nothing.
Key group.
Likely to want
to be there.
Tell them why
they’re
needed and
what they’ll
contribute.

12. Plan – prepare activities + questions
What questions will
help us reach the goal?
What activities will
encourage
participation?

13. The facilitation arc – getting started
Create a container for
connection and
collaboration

14. Getting started - set the stage
What are some
elements that make
people comfortable?
Using the [Question]
feature, share something
that will contribute to
making people feel more
comfortable and
productive at your
meeting?

15. Getting started - set the stage
What are some
elements that make
people comfortable?
• Show WIIFM?
• This starts with the meeting
invitation!
• They want to know:
• Why are we meeting?
• What’s expected from me?
• Who else is here and why
• What’s on the agenda
• How does the tech work?
• What’s the backup for tech!!!
• What happens to our output?
• Capture “Parking Lot” items not
to lose

16. The facilitation arc – the meeting

17. The meeting
Diverge Converge
Create ideas Choose ideasEvaluate ideas
What? So What? What Next?

18. The meeting – gathering info
Grab some sticky notes
and, writing one idea
per sticky, capture your
ideas for gathering
information.

19. The meeting – generating insights
Make a list of ways to
help people analyze
the information – and
its impact.

20. The meeting – deciding
Using the [Question]
feature, share some
ways you might use to
help a group decide
which option to act
on?

21. The meeting – a big rule
Give people
time to think
“Wait till it’s uncomfortable, then count to 10.” – Sue Johnston’s note to self

22. The meeting – another bigrule
Give all voices
a chance to be
heard
What are some ways to engage quiet people?
What are some ways to keep noisy people from dominating?

23. The facilitation arc – wrapping up

24. Close the meeting
Capture the decisions.
State what will happen to them.
Make that happen.
Plow the Parking Lot.
Determine if/how to
handle issues.

25. Skills of facilitators
Skill Got it Need it
Engaged listening
Conscious communication
Organizing ability
Adjusting in the moment
Curiosity
Adjusting in the moment
Empathy
Patience
Understand the tech!!

26. References
Ingrid Bens Jennifer Britton Dorothy Strachan Esther Derby +
Diana Larsen

27. Find Sue here
sue@itsunderstood.com
@itsunderstood
http://itsunderstood.com
http://leanintuit.com