Your action meeting needs THIS to succeed
So you’re finally ready for your action meeting!
Maybe it's your first one and you need an outline. Or perhaps you've had meetings in the past that have spiraled out of control, with everyone talking over each other and nothing getting done… #yikes.
If you're ready to level up your action meetings, you're in the right place. What I'll share below is a really great structure for planning and running an effective meeting.
Each step is described in detail, but if you want the agenda pocket version, you can download it for free right here!
This agenda is totally flexible. Tweak it so it fits your needs!
Ready? Here's what every action meeting needs to succeed:
The right tools, the right people, and the right agenda.
The Right Tools
The first thing you’ll need is a set of tools:
A flexible space
Whiteboard or flipchart
Copies of the agenda
Tool #1 A flexible space
This is important because you'll be breaking out into conversation, and people will want room to share comfortably.
Your space should be anywhere folks can sit in a circle.
If everyone's facing forward, like in a lecture hall, it gives a "we're in class" vibe which is not what we're going for.
Tool #2 Whiteboard or flipchart
It sounds old school, but hear me out! Making ideas visible gives people confidence that their contributions are being taken seriously.
It's great for brainstorming and also helps folks refer back to guiding questions like icebreakers or decision points.
You can survive without a whiteboard or flipchart, but I highly recommend one.
Tool #3 Physical or digital copies of the agenda
Ideally your agenda is sent out the day before. But someone could've missed the email, or could be a total newcomer. So it can help to have some hard copies available.
Hard copies also save people from having to open their laptops to check how far along the meeting is.
Whether physical or digital, make sure people can access the agenda!
Now that you’ve got your materials prepared, let’s talk about the roles people can play in the meeting!
The Right People
The key roles will be:
Facilitator
Note-taker
Scribe
Snack-bringer
Role #1 Facilitator
Let's talk about the facilitator.
The facilitator's job is to make sure all of the agenda points get covered, and that everyone is invited to participate.
They basically guide the group through the meeting.
Expert facilitators are good at synthesizing (combining) ideas and summarizing what has been arrived at. They know how to wrap up a topic, usually by restating what was agreed or making a proposal to move forward.
The facilitator also tracks who's spoken. It helps when they slow down the conversation, asking, "Would anyone who hasn't spoken yet like to chime in?" This allows room for diverse input.
I've been in groups where this was split into a separate role of Moderator, who called on people, while the facilitator mediated the ideas themselves.
Facilitators have different styles, so if you expect to have a challenging meeting, consider having the facilitator be someone who's good at guiding group dynamics.
Role #2 Note Taker
The next role is the note taker.
The note taker summarizes ideas quickly and accurately using the written word.
Usually they're also responsible for emailing out the notes after the meeting, or reading them for review.
The note taking role is a good one to rotate so that many people get a chance to contribute to the meeting.
Role #3 Timekeeper
This is a simple but important role.
If you’re meeting regularly (which you should be doing at this point) people need to trust that you'll start and end on time. No one likes a meeting that consistently runs long.
Your timekeeper is the one to say, "Alright, we’re about halfway through the meeting, just a heads up." Or they say, "We've got about ten minutes left."
At that point the facilitator can say either, "We're on track!" or "We need to move through the next point quickly," or "Would the group like to go for 20 more minutes to allow for more discussion?"
The timekeeper is key because their awareness of time keeps the meeting on track.
Role #4 Snack-bringer
You heard me! The last role is snack-bringer.
Now this is a kind of unconventional role, but hear me out. Personally, I love offering food at meetings.
I find that giving people the chance to break bread and fill the tank for hard work is super valuable.
So you could have the snack-bringer role rotate, or you could do it potluck style. And the person just brings little things like fruit, chips, granola bars, whatever. (Helpful icebreaker alert: What's your favorite snack?)
So I would highly recommend having a snack-bringer. And that person really deserves to be celebrated for helping keep the energy up during the meeting.
Ok, roles are covered. On to the agenda!
The Right Agenda
Your agenda should contain:
Icebreaker
One-on-one conversations
Review notes
Discussion points
Decision points
Close out
Agenda Item #1 Icebreaker
The icebreaker, although it gets a bad rap in our corporate world these days (What color would you be and why? Ugh) is actually helpful when we’re doing change work.
The icebreaker gives everyone a chance to introduce themselves. Folks usually say their name, pronouns, and answer an easy question.
It also sets the norm of participation, because right at the beginning of the meeting, every single person is invited to speak or has spoken. It’s actually very rare for someone to refuse the icebreaker question. (And if they do, it's a sign that the question is too deep, too soon.)
With a good question, even the super quiet person gets the opportunity to speak out loud.
Some easy icebreaker questions are:
Would you rather see through physical things (doors and buildings) or metaphorical things (lies and promises).
What was your first job?
Where's the farthest you've been from home?
As you go along and your team gets to know each other, you could have a more thoughtful icebreaker question.
For example, some I really like are:
What's something that you would really like to be acknowledged for?
What’s one thing that you would like to acknowledge yourself for?
Just any question that encourages us to be a little bit more thoughtful about how we relate to one another.
Agenda Item #2 One-on-one conversations
These are ten-minute pair shares that move the group into deeper relationship building.
It can feel unusual, because it's tempting to jump straight from the icebreaker into the nitty-gritty stuff. But actually, one on one conversations are key at the beginning to help people learn what others value and why they care about the cause.
Often in meetings, the same charismatic people speak up over and over again. They accrue social capital because they are most vocal about telling their stories and naturally build a lot of relationships within the group.
But that can make it harder for to get to know people who are quieter, more reserved. And the quietest people often have the most surprising stories about why they came to the meeting.
So the one on one conversation builds relationships across various differences- personality, identity, you name it. It strengthens the social ties of the group.
A good one on one conversation prompt relates to the issue you’re trying to solve.
And it encourages people to be specific.
For example, a good question could be:
When was the last time you or someone you know struggled with (the issue)?
That question is broad enough to where it could be about them or someone else, but is still specific enough to touch on why they care about the issue at hand.
Another question could be:
Tell a story about the first time you experienced racism on campus. (If racism is your issue, of course.)
That could lead to some surprising answers… you may learn that someone’s race isn’t what you guessed, or that someone experienced something that you wouldn’t have imagined.
Maybe you have a group that’s more diverse, where there are allies in the group who haven't directly experienced racism.
You could instead ask a question like:
Tell a story about the moment you realized you had to speak up about racism (or whatever the issue is.)
Questions like that are great because you know everyone’s there to speak up! And it allows us to access the heart of the work in different ways.
One on one conversations should only take about ten minutes.
Our timekeeper will call out the halfway point at the five minute mark. After the conversations, the facilitator can invite people to share anything that surprised them or resonated with them. This takes the conversations from the pair level to connecting the group at large.
Remember, it helps if you can spread out and give people privacy in different sections of the room. And you'll want to write the question on the whiteboard or flipchart for reference. This avoids wasted time with "Oh, what was the question again?" (Been there!)
You're in a good spot. Everyone has spoken. They’ve all warmed up. Now we want to give context for the meeting.
Agenda Item #3 Review notes
The notetaker now briefly reads the notes from the last meeting.
Some groups will formally approve the minutes- basically agreeing or making corrections.
But for our purposes, a read through is fine. Just make sure everyone knows where we are in the grand scheme of things.
Now let's get into the meat and potatoes!
Agenda Item #4 Discussion topics
What are you discussing? Here are some options:
Campaign updates
Discussing any new information on a goal that you've been working towards.
For example, if you want to get a number of signatures on a petition, you could update the group on how many signatures you currently have.
It could also be announcing if any important people related to the campaign, like your allies, opponents, stakeholders, or targets, have made any major moves.
It's the "headlines" of your campaign, shared for folks to respond to or even celebrate.
Another option for this is updates on campaigns that you’re allied with.
For example, when our action collective was working on racial justice on campus, we included time at the beginning for updates from the fossil fuel divestment group. We shared any upcoming events, action, anything where we could show solidarity between groups.
This approach also prevents you from working in a silo.
Debriefs
Discussing any recent actions.
You'll discuss what went well, what could have gone better, and next steps.
For example, maybe your campaign goal is to get the school to implement a policy to address campus racism. And maybe your strategy is to cause the school's rankings to drop until you win that policy.
So you hold a protest, with the goal of inviting certain news channels to interview key leaders during the protest. You predict that the negative publicity may lower the school's ranking.
In the debrief you’d ask, how many media people turned up, and how many of those interviews were conducted?
That's where you get into the good stuff. Because maybe you did a good job arranging every interview, with the protest as a visual backdrop.
But maybe your messaging wasn't clear enough, so the articles that went out weren't as impactful as you hoped. You now realize the team could need training on how to interface with the media.
A good debrief will naturally raise points like this for discussion.
In a large meeting, you'll want to sort people into groups for conversation, then have a leader from each group share the major ideas. This keeps it from being a free-for-all.
On the other hand, if this is a smaller "core team" meeting, it may be feasible for the entire group to discuss in a more nuanced way.
You're less worried about "the masses" and more focused on getting ideas from people with an in-depth knowledge of the campaign strategy and goals.
Report backs
Discussing any updates from a sub-team.
For example, during our #FightForFacultyofColor campaign, our group had to do a LOT of research.
My friend Sera and I formed the research team. We interviewed multiple professors about the process of tenureship. Then we reported back what we learned during team meetings.
Basically when you have a bunch of folks that get excited about doing the deeper dive, that's who you want to report back.
Just give them the floor to share what they've learned!
The larger group then discusses any insights to move the work forward.
Action planning
This is discussing any upcoming events or actions.
For instance, if you were going to have a workshop, protest, media campaign, that sort of thing.
It could even be a research action where a core team meets with an ally or decision-maker to find out their stance on the issue, as above.
You're taking the time to discuss goals, roles, resources, timeline, and more.
Now let’s make some decisions.
Agenda Item #5 Decision points
Everything that you’ve discussed above can lead into a decision point.
After you’ve discussed each topic, make sure you allow time for the group to decide on any next steps.
The facilitator should help guide the group to a consensus or majority, taking time to address any concerns.
If you’re making a big decision, it could take several meetings to gather information and understand multiple sides. So take your time!
It's up to your team how to proceed.
Making decisions keeps the group from spinning its wheels. Decisions move the work forward!
Finally, it's time to end the meeting.
Agenda Item #6 Close out
After the icebreaker, one-on-one conversations, discussing main topics, and working out any decision points… now is the time to wrap up!
It's nothing fancy.
You can keep it as simple as repeating what was decided and thank people for coming.
Or, you can mirror the icebreaker by having a close-out circle. It can be one thing that each person is taking away, one highlight of the meeting, basically any question that invites a person to reflect on the time spent. Maybe even one thing each person is looking forward to.
And from there, you're good!
Just remember to email out those meeting notes- wait, the notetaker's got it!
Congrats on a solid meeting. Looking for the agenda you can use on the fly? Download it here!