You did all the right things to prepare for this meeting. You invited the right people, sent an advance agenda, started the meeting on time, but it went downhill from there. Preparing for a meeting is step one. Knowing your role and responsibilities and those of the other attendees is step two. A well run meeting has a facilitator, a leader, members and a recorder. Each role has specific responsibilities. If every role is not filled or its responsibilities not met, the likelihood of a successful meeting is greatly diminished.

1. Leader
The leader is the person who calls the meeting. It is his or her responsibility to:

The leader can provide information and express opinions throughout the meeting.

2. Facilitator
The facilitator is the person who actually conducts the meeting. It is the responsibility of the facilitator to:

The facilitator is neutral and neither contributes nor evaluates ideas.

3. Recorder
The responsibilities of the recorder may include:

Like the facilitator, the recorder is neutral and does not evaluate or contribute ideas.

4. Meeting Member
Every person in the room has the responsibility to actively participate. This is the role of meeting members. They are expected to:

Keep the recorder and facilitator neutral. It is possible to play multiple roles during a meeting.

However, you can only be in one role at a time. If you switch roles, you must announce to the group that you are doing so. Remember, in the role of recorder or facilitator you are neutral and cannot contribute ideas. It is the facilitator who manages the meeting. A skilled facilitator is essential to a successful meeting. Part 3 of this series will focus on the tools and techniques of the skilled facilitator.



*Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE is a San Francisco-based executive speech coach, sales trainer, and award-winning professional speaker. She is the author of Get What You Want!, Make It, So You Don't Have to Fake It!, and Past-President of the National Speakers Association.