Part A - Society for Public Health Education

Phase 3: Running the MeetingIf you are running the meeting, the following items are your responsibility:• Start and end on time.Start on time even if there are only three people in the room. Word willget around that you always start on time, and eventually people will comeon time or will not come at all. If people keep showing up late or not at all,it might be a sign that you need to change something about your meeting(e.g., time or pattern).• Give introductions and get the meeting started.You should first welcome participants and thank them for their time. Introduceyourself and your role and have everyone introduce themselves. Letparticipants know that a meeting recorder, if used, will take minutes thatyou will distribute to each participant later. When there is a special speaker,introduce him or her. You many want to plan an icebreaker at the beginningof the meeting to help acquaint people.• Reach agreement on the agenda and rules.The meeting for everyone, so everyone needs to “buy in” to the agenda.Review the agenda at the beginning of each meeting, giving participants achance to understand all proposed major topics, change them, and acceptthem. It pays to have a few basic ground rules for most of your meetings.Four basic ground rules are participate, focus, maintain momentum, andreach closure. You may want to add other rules, such as no interrupting or,if needed, that meetings are confidential. List your primary ground rules onthe agenda and keep them posted at all times.• Keep the discussion on track.If someone is deviating from the agenda or speaking for too long, gentlyredirect the discussion to the topic.• Watch the time.You might ask participants to help you monitor the time. If a topic discussiontakes longer than planned, ask your group for their input. For example,does the group want to continue discussing the current topic and leave theother agenda items for the next meeting?• Summarize what you hear.Wrap up each agenda item by summarizing any conclusions out loud. Thenmove on when no one objects or everyone agrees.© 2007 Society for Public Health Education68 Helping Communities Combat Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratories