Draft Interpretive Plan Join the adventure! - Captain John Smith ...

• Send out postcards two months in advance and a meeting announcement three or four
weeks in advance. To the folks who reply or inquire, send an agenda and other materials a
week or two in advance.
Structuring the Meeting
Plan ahead so the meeting runs smoothly:
• Choose a neutral, convenient, and large enough meeting room.
• Greet people as they arrive, thank them for their interest, and provide nametags.
• Use a tight agenda that gets straight to the point.
• Use a facilitator to conduct the meeting and keep it on track.
• Have the organization’s most succinct and dynamic speaker begin the meeting with a
concise overview.
• Use other presenters whose information is critical. Allow questions and comments between
presenters to avoid losing the audience.
• Use flip charts and other visuals to present topics you want the audience to discuss.
• Organize interactive sessions, including review of general maps of the area, to gather
information from meeting participants on key topics such as existing and needed access
sites, available facilities, points of interest, hazard areas, appropriate water levels, etc.
• Wrap up the meeting with a brief summary of conclusions, agreements, action items, and
next steps. Do not over-promise.
• Reaffirm the importance of the public process and attendees’ participation.
• Follow-up the meeting in a timely way by sending out minutes, a list of action items, and
an announcement of the next meeting to community leaders and news organizations.
The Art of Facilitation
Your facilitator should make a point to:
• Call on as many attendees as possible (especially the quiet ones).
• Enliven the discussion.
• Consider setting ground rules for the meeting (such as one person speak at a time, and
respect others opinions)
• Keep things on track.
• Be mindful of time.
• Allow for disagreement without contentiousness.
• Find areas of consensus.
• Gracefully manage the long-winded participants.
• Insist on being helped by a note-taker and a timekeeper
Formalizing the Organization
As your work proceeds from planning into implementation and long-term management,
you will need a more formal and durable organizational structure to manage the
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