As a For Our Kids team organizer, you're doing the very important work of facilitating and creating space for other parents, guardians and grandparents to share concerns and ideas for action. Prepare to facilitate a conversation. Whether it's you or somebody else chosen for the task, there should be a facilitator to guide the conversation, to make sure people are able to participate equally, and to keep things on time.
Training for Change has an excellent overview of how to facilitate effective meetings & the role of the facilitator: Meeting Facilitation - the no-magic method.
General Meetings (for ongoing bi-weekly or monthly meetings)
Template agenda:
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Welcome
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Welcome everyone, remind them why we’re all here, and give a brief overview of the agenda and timing. Let people know how long this meeting is expected to last (we suggest 1 hour)
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Icebreaker / Introductions - include names and locations, sometimes use a question that will help people get to know each other (i.e. rose & thorn, one amazing thing that's going well and one thing that's challenging)
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Establish or review “Norms” for team meetings. Here are some examples, and you might ask others for suggestions:
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Speak respectfully, and listen well (virtual - mute yourself when not speaking)
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Be understanding when people arrive late, leave early, bring kids, etc. - we’re all juggling busy lives!
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What the team is working on this month or a quick go-around to share what each person is most interested in working on? If you're stuck, you could pick one of the network's current actions or team action ideas.
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An update on what the For Our Kids network is working on nationally?
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Next steps and commitment.
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Have your next meeting date and time set so you can let them know when it is.
Icebreaker ideas:
Icebreakers are important to start off a meeting, let people arrive and warm up to focusing as a group. They can be quite playful and short, or they could also be a way to get to know each other better.
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A check-in. “How is everybody doing?” Many of us don’t get a lot of opportunities to take a minute to answer that question.
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Show and tell. Ask everyone to take *a minute* to grab a nearby object and tell you how it fits into their life.
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I spy. Take turns spotting something on someone’s screen (“I spy with my little eye… a picture of a bird”), and having others try to find it.
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Three deep breaths. Ask everyone to join you in relaxing shoulders and taking three deep breaths together. It’s another thing we probably don’t get enough of.
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Share a self-care tip. (Everyone shares one)
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Demonstrate a hidden talent (touching your nose with your tongue? Raising an eyebrow?)
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Name game. What is the meaning/origin of your first or last name?
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More ideas from Bustle.com here. Do you have other good ones you’d like to share with other team leaders in our Slack Workspace?