Overview
You’re sick of the same old voices dominating, some people not engaging, drifting off topic, not being sure what’s been decided. You want to have meetings where everyone is confident to contribute and you and your organisation benefit from all of the skills and experience in the room, on time, and on agenda. But 83% of managers have no training in meeting management, and new leaders hold 35% more meetings.
In this one-day interactive workshops, participants will learn how to use the Thinking Environment®, a framework to get everyone’s best independent thinking, to transform their meetings: to design with purpose, host with care, and leave with clarity.
By the end of the workshop, attendees will have a clear meeting structure, simple tools to manage contributions, a process to frame agenda items as questions based on required outcomes, and a way of capturing decisions and actions everyone is engaged with. Participants will also spend time considering how to adapt these skills to their day to day setting and will be able to confidently invite others to work in this way.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the components that enable people to think really well
- Be able to use the four basic tools to enable people to think and contribute in meetings: Rounds, Thinking Pairs, Dialogue, Open Discussion
- Understand how to prepare meetings using a simple structure
- Be able to formulate outcome-based agenda questions
- Be able to manage and make the most of presentations
- Use a simple structure to enable meeting participants to share challenges and benefit from the wisdom and experience of the group
- Be able to make and capture decisions and agreements
What Our Delegates Say
The course has been extremely insightful and given me the opportunity not only the background knowledge to confidently speak with finance, but also provided examples for us to ‘model’ scenarios
Solent University
Funding Manager
Agenda
9:30
Welcome and Introductions
- Overview of the day, objectives, and format
- Participant introductions and expectations
- Tool One: Rounds, theory & practice
10:10
Thinking in Pairs and Transformative Listening
- Tool Two: Thinking Pairs – Theory & Practice
10:50
Break
11:05
Thinking in Groups
- Tool Three: Dialogue – Theory & Practice
- Tool Four: Discussion – Theory & Practice
11:50
Issues into Questions
- Framing powerful, question-based agendas that get results
12:30
Lunch
13:30
The Meeting
- Presentation: Meeting Principles & Structure
- Practice meeting with group-decided agenda
15:00
Break
15:15
The Thinking Council®
- Harnessing the group’s wisdom and experience to address individual challenges
- Theory & Practice
16:00
Trainer’s Summary, Delegate Feedback and Close
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How do I introduce this to my colleagues?
*Programme subject to change
Get In Touch
Course Instructor
Steph Vidal-Hall
Trainer
Steph Vidal-Hall works with people who want to make a difference in the world and need to work with others to get there, often across hierarchies or departments.
As a lifelong learning expert, HE theatre lecturer and group facilitator with experience across the corporate, cultural and VCFSE sectors, she understands how to help people from all backgrounds and thinking styles feel safe and welcome to contribute confidently so that their team leaders can benefit from all of the skills and experience in the room.
She has trained hundreds of teams and community leaders in Transforming Meetings, and is particularly skilled at using this method to create and encourage equal contribution where there are dominant or high-status members. Clients include: Asda, BCC, Environment Agency, Sport England, Trussell Trust, WMCA, Welsh National Opera.
Steph is a certified Thinking Environment® Coach and Facilitator, and a founder member of the Time to Think Collegiate, a global network of consultants authorised to teach the Thinking Environment® – a framework to enable everyone to do their own best thinking. She is a member of a neurodiversity coaching network, holds an MA in Learning & Teaching and is qualified in Asset Based Community Development, Action Learning, Forum Theatre facilitation, and MBTI.