How to boost participation before your meeting even starts
Meetings actually start before anyone walks through the door (or logs on). What you do before or rather what you share can have a real impact on what happens once everyone is together and sets the foundation for better participation, engagements and inclusion.
It can also give people something that’s often in short supply during a meeting: time to think. Sharing key information or in advance gives people the option to read, reflect, process and think through questions before they arrive. Not everyone will want or need to do that, but giving people the choice can make a real difference to how they engage.
In addition to sharing practicalities and making it easy for people to know where, when and who (ie venue or joining details, timings, etc) there are four key things II regularly share advance: :
Agenda/aims: Give people a clear sense of purpose, what will be covered and how the time will be used. It doesn’t need to be detailed minute by minute, but people should be able to see the shape of the session and what’s coming.
What to expect: Tell people how the session will work. Will there be presentations, small group discussions, individual reflections or something else? If there’s a lot of interaction (or not) let people know. Don’t drop surprises on people.
Questions to think about in advance: If you know there are key questions you’ll want people to discuss, share them in advance. This gives people the option to think and reflect before the session, rather than having to come up with a response on the spot.
Information or pre-reading: If you session involves sharing a lot of information, consider what could be sent in advance. Some people will prefer to read and digest information barehand, others will take it in during the session. You’re giving people the choice, rather than expecting everyone to prepare in the same way.
Good advance information isn’t about making everyone prepare in the same way, or expecting everyone to read everything you send. It’s about giving people enough information to know what they’re walking into and the choice to prepare in the way that works for them.
A meeting might start at 10am, but building engagement and participation starts well before that.