Part A - Society for Public Health Education

• Use humor. Humor may ease tension in the room, help participants feel lessshy or scared, or help participants feel like a part of the group.• Accept, deal, or defer. You can accept that what they are saying is true andnot ignore it; deal with it right there by spending some time on it, or defer itto the group for a decision about what to do.• Use body language (if possible). Eye contact, smiling or not smiling, or achange in body position can speak volumes.• Confront disrupters outside the meeting room during a break. When lessconfrontational tactics have not worked, you can deal with the problem outsidethe room at a naturally occurring break in the meeting.• Confront disrupters in the room. You should do this only if it is appropriateand will not create backlash, if you think the group will support you, and ifyou have tried less confrontational tactics already.Phase 4: Following Up on the MeetingJust because the meeting is over does not mean your work is done. For successfulfollow-up after the meeting, you will need to do the following:• Gather feedback from the group.Leave 5–10 minutes at the end of the meeting to gather information abouthow the participants felt about the meeting, what could be improved, etc.You may not want to do this at every meeting. You may also want to getparticipants’ feedback during the meeting, when you can immediatelyimprove the meeting process. For a long meeting, conduct 5- to 10-minute“satisfaction checks every couple of hours,” In a roundtable approach, eachparticipant should quickly indicate how they think the meeting is going.• Make follow-up calls.You, as the meeting chair, or a designated person may want to make followupcalls, send out follow-up correspondence, or take some follow-up actions.These after-the-meeting activities often serve as the glue that holds the grouptogether.• Summarize the meeting.It’s helpful to have a list of decisions and follow-ups. Formal minutes arevaluable for many (but not all) organizations—they contain announcements,informational items, etc., that are important even though they are© 2007 Society for Public Health Education70 Helping Communities Combat Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratories