The Meeting Facilitation Handbook by Michael Wilkinson

       So you have a mission.  Gather your team together and come up with a solution, a business plan, a consensus.  Where do you start?  How do you make it happen as a facilitator without losing your mind and your grip on the meeting?

       Well, my first suggestion is there are some things you do yourself and some things you contract out.  I put Brain Surgery on that list, closely followed by Professional Meeting Facilitation!  Just think of all of the meetings you've attended in your career that were a waste of time and money and which you left thinking , what happened?  Meeting Facilitation is an art-form and not for amateurs-- particularly when the meeting has to produce tangible outcomes, action plans and consensus.

        However, Business Managers can even make day to day meetings more effective by picking up a copy of "The Secrets of Facilitation"  The S.MA.R.T Guide to getting results with Groups , published by Jossey -Bass.  The author of this meeting guidebook, Michael Wilkinson, is without a doubt  the  "guru of professional meeting facilitation".  I myself have been trained by Michael in Professional Meeting Facilitation Skills and can attest to the fact that he is without a doubt,  the master of the meeting process.

        This  handbook is a must library addition for anyone who plans or leads Team Meetings, Strategy Sessions or Project Management Sessions.  In  the Secrets of Facilitation,  you'll learn in a step by step format and easy read without jargon.... The art of the starting meeting questions; How to collect and prioritize input from meeting participants;  and perhaps most importantly how to build consensus in team meetings.

         Hot Meeting Tip:  Do the math on why your business and team meetings need to be more effective.  I once learned this ROI calculation from a CEO I highly respect:  Calculate the Hourly Salary of everyone attending your next team meeting and post that price per meeting minute on the agenda.  I guarantee you, it's a big number and the result will be a shorter meeting with more results.

PS: For a Professional Meeting Facilitator when the results matter, contact Rosemary Rein, Ph.D,  and Founder of  Go Wild! Go GREAT! The Journey from Now to WOW!tm  www.gowildgogreat.com

Rosemary is an International Meeting Facilitator and the author of "Go Wild! Survival Skills for Business and Life" and the co-author of  "Blueprint for Success" with Dr. Stephen Covey and Ken Blanchard to be released in March 08.  Rosemary facilitates Meeting in North and Latin America and hosts Executive Immersion Sessions at her secluded retreat center in Costa Rica.