Check-in
A check-in is a simple go-around that occurs at the beginning of a meeting. People are invited to share their moods and briefly identify anything that might affect their participation. Check-ins allow people to tell each other what they are facing, in a way that informs without being intrusive.
- Introduce the check-in and say "What mood are you in? any context is fine, work-related or not" and explain "Let's give each person space to check in without comments".
- In essence "Here's how it feels to be me today"
- Ask for a volunteer to go first and ask this person to say "I'm done/Pass" when they have finished.
- If someone interrupts, politely interject and say"Sorry, excuse me, this is not a time for a conversation. Let's give each other space to check in without a comment"
- When everybody has checked in, you might optionally acknowledge a theme you've just heard. "It seems many of you ... [reassure any support from the meeting agenda or setting to help with the theme]"
Checking helps to be patient someone is having a bad day, and to transition from outside of the meeting to the inside of the meeting. It's a solid investment in the long-term development of trust.
Handling Out-of-context Distractions
Current events sometimes interfere with a group's ability to concentrate. Realistically the presence of a serious distraction will lower a group's efficiency regardless of what group members are officially allowed to talk about. This activity gives people the chance to spend a well-structured period of time talking about what's really on their minds. After a round of expressing themselves, they are better able to concentrate.
- Say "I notice we're having a hard time concentrating on this subject, and I'm aware that Z is on a lot of people's minds. Could we step back and speak for a few minutes talking about Z?".
- Make an agreement with the group to proceed.
- Make a reaction round with the question "What are people feeling about the event?" and get everybody the opportunity to express it.
- Make a suggestion for a transition: "What if we spend a few more minutes in this conversation, then take a break and return to the main topic after the break?"
Stepping out of the Content
Meetings sometimes get bogged down for reasons that aren't clear.
- Describe what you are observing. "This morning everyone agreed not to interrupt while they are speaking. Yet this afternoon many people are talking over one another. I am also noticing some other signs of stress, such as X, Y, Z"
- Ask for validation: "Is anyone also noticing this?" or "Are others seeing something similar?"
- Encourage reflection "What reaction are people having to this?" or "What thoughts and feelings are coming up for you?" or "Does anyone have a sense of what this is about?"
- Encourage and draw out different perspectives. Don't try to solve a bring people to a shared agreement.
- When people seem ready to return to the original topic, ask "Before we go back to our original topic, are there any final reactions to what has just been said?"
- Optional: call for a short break to let the planner(s) reconsider the agenda.
Continuous improvement
- Hang two sheets of paper. Title one page "Strengths" and the other "Improvable".
- Ask somebody to someone to call out strength and. Then Ask someone else to call out an improvable. Build the two lists simultaneously.
- Encourage participants to speak frankly in the spirit of constructive learning.
- While the lists are being made, the ground rule of suspending judgment is in effect - no defending, explaining, or apologizing.
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