A meeting pro needs tools, and a flip chart is easily the most useful. Flip charts have three attributes that makes them the best option for capturing critical meeting information. Let me tell you about them.

3 Reasons Flip Charts Rule

1. They are portable. I can put them anywhere in the room and move them around as needed. This is particularly helpful if I want to rearrange attendees into small groups. When each small group needs a flip chart of its own, I can provide one.
2. Meeting progress stays visible. As each page is filled, it can be ripped from the pad and posted for the remainder of the meeting. Later when people need to refer back to an earlier idea or decision, it’s easily accessible. Posting the pages also helps participants stay oriented to where they are in the meeting plan. Finally, seeing the sheets reinforces the idea that something is happening in the meeting. There are, after all, lots of full flip chart pages hanging on the wall. They represent the group’s accomplishments.
3. Easy to transcribe. At the end of the meeting, the pages can be pulled off the wall in the order they were created, stacked, folded and carried back to your desk. I typically toss the pile on the floor, and working one sheet at a time, quickly produce meeting notes from these pages.

Flip Chart Best Practices

You wouldn’t think using a flip chart is complicated; however, you’ll find these best practices will help you use one like a pro.

• Use water-color markers so they don’t bleed through.
• Write in capital letters if possible.
• Don’t cram too much on the page. Write large enough so people furthest away can still see.
• Use dark colors for words.
• Use bright colors for underlining and highlighting.
• Write what people say.
• Ask person to shorten long phrases for you.
• Confirm that what you are writing is correct.
• Use abbreviations whenever possible.
• Get second scribe if one can’t keep up.
• Stand to the side of the flip chart so people can see.
• Speed is important during brainstorming.
• Pre-rip tape so it’s ready when needed. Stick the pieces on the leg of flip chart stand.
• Date and number pages for later translation.
• Keep work visible by posting on the walls.

Challenges

The biggest challenge I’ve found is having a decent flip chart stand available. I want it to be large with a solid back. It should not wobble and be light enough to move around from place to place. If a decent stand isn’t available, but I have a pad, I will use the wall as my flip chart. This works best when you have sticky-back paper. You can make just one small section of wall your “flip chart” and then move the filled pages to other spots for the duration of the meeting. If you use this method, confirm that the markers you are using won’t bleed through onto the wall.

The second challenge is having pads with enough paper on them. Usually, if there’s a pad in a conference room, you’ll find each page has already been used. This is a great testament to how useful they are. You might want to keep your own stash and bring a pad along with you so you know you’ll have what you need.

If you’ve been leading meetings without a flip chart, it’s time to give it a try. I’m confident you and the other meeting participants will see value in them.

Image credit: Kevin Dooley

Your team has unlimited potential.  It’s your job to help members of your group reach that potential.

If right now the people you lead are struggling.  It’s time to fire them up.  There are many ways to go about accomplishing this.  Instead of waiting for the perfect strategy, I’d suggest moving forward by taking one or more of the following actions.

Find out what they are thinking

If the team members aren’t feeling great about things, you are going to be the last person to find out.  People talk to their co-workers long before they ever talk to the boss.  You need to hear the straight scoop on how people are feeling about the group.  A great way to accomplish this is by using our TeamCheck Assessment process.  It’s a quick and low hassle way to put your finger on the pulse of your group.

Deal with the problems

The assessment process will help you understand which problems are getting in the way of your team’s success.  Once you know this, it is time to take action.  Some of the problems will have quick and easy solutions.  Go ahead and fix those yourself.  The team members will appreciate your willingness to make things better for them.

Other problems won’t have such an obvious fix.  For these, you need to involve your team.  Bring them together to discuss the results of the assessment.  After prioritizing the most important problems, use a team problem-solving approach to addressing them.  Our many years of experience at leading these kinds of meetings can help you quickly get to the root of the problem and prevent the damage that can result from a poorly managed discussion.

Set goals collectively

Once problems have been addressed and the team’s foundation has been repaired, you are ready to give the team something to be fired up about.  This almost always comes in the form of goals that are compelling and achievable.  These goals should be developed collectively.  Meetings focused on goal planning are the type of sessions we are most frequently called on to lead.  We are able to ensure everyone’s ideas are heard and help you interject your ideas without dominating the conversation.

Build skills to support goals.

While goals can help fire up a team, they will only do so if team members see that the organization is willing to support them in their quest for reaching those goals.  Often the most obvious support required is the development of new skills.  We offer a wide variety of workshops that help build strong and effective team members.  There isn’t a team out there that couldn’t benefit from a little work on communication, conflict mangement, meeting management, dealing with change or one of the many other topics we offer.

Imagine having a core group of employees who really knew how to maximize the productivity of any meeting.  This two-day workshop is about giving people who are willing to show this kind of leadership the skills they will need to make a meeting successful.

Upon successful completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the role of a facilitator.
• Demonstrate key facilitator competencies such as listening, summarizing, reframing, and questioning.
• Plan an effective agenda.
• Be able to use a variety of facilitation tools and techniques to manage a group’s process.
• Close a meeting in a manner that promotes action and follow-up.
• Document the outcomes.

The workshop will cover the following topics:

• The facilitator’s role
• Facilitation competencies
• Session planning
• Problem-solving tools like multi-voting, brainstorming, structured discussion, and other useful techniques.
• Facilitation tools such as ground rules, parking lots, and note-taking.
• Balancing participation
• Keeping the group focused
• Dealing with negativity
• Managing power imbalances
• Managing the clock
• Trouble-shooting