Facilitating a Meeting: Giving the Meeting Outline

When facilitating a meeting, it is important that the participants know what to expect during the event. It is therefore, necessary that on the onset, you give them the outline.

An example of the spiel is shown below.

Facilitator:
Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you all for attending today's meeting. I called for this meeting to present to you our proposal concerning a new system that will affect the way we sell our products. But before anything else, as not all of us know each other, I would like that we take turns talking about ourselves by way of introduction. I will start. I am John Smith, head of the marketing department. Then, we go counterclockwise.

<Introductions>

Thank you. Now that we all know each other, let me tell you what to expect from today's meeting. First, a presentation on the current situation will be given by my colleague, Jane. Then, we will proceed with another presentation on the proposal itself. This will be done by yours truly. After which, we will go for a 15-minute coffee break. What follows will be a summary of the two presentations. And finally. we move on to Q&A or discussion on points that I am hoping you will raise. 

By the end of the meeting, we hope that we will be able to make a decision on whether to move forward with the proposal or schedule another meeting for more discussions.

I will now give the floor to Jane for her presentation.



*You may used the blocked expressions when opening or giving the outline of the meeting.


Note:
- If the facilitator and all the participants know each other, then there is no need for introductions. After the greeting, you may go directly to giving the agenda.
- Another important thing to remember is to have somebody who will take the minutes. That way, you will not lose very important points raised in the meeting or decisions made.


Vocabulary:

agenda- items to be discussed in a meeting
e.g. She e-mailed to the participants the agenda of the meeting

minutes- official records of things that took place in a meeting
e.g. Could you please send me the minutes of the meeting?

take turns- to alternate
e.g. They took turns reading.

counterclockwise- the direction opposite that of the clock (right to left)
e.g. Please pass the sheet counterclockwise.


Grammar points:
Discuss (vt.)
- It is a common mistake to use the preposition "about" with the word "discuss". This verb is transitive so it needs an object right after without the help of a preposition.

E.g.
We discussed the different issues experienced by sales.
I will discuss the needs of the project in the meeting tomorrow.

Discussion (n.)
- The noun "discussion", however, needs the preposition "on".

E.g.
The discussion on the new policy was very interesting.
There was a very long discussion on the proposed new strategy.


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