{"id":10942,"date":"2020-01-07T07:00:28","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/?p=10942"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:14:43","slug":"meeting-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/meeting-designer\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting Methodologist or Meeting Designer? A Rhetorical Shift."},"content":{"rendered":"

Clients frequently contact us about facilitating a meeting or workshop on behalf of an individual or organization.\u00a0<\/span>It might be a large, multi-national firm planning a complicated, and potentially expensive, deliverable. It could be a small, nonprofit organization seeking to get the most out of their busy board member’s time. While one organization seeks someone with the methodologies to lead their meeting, another seeks a meeting designer. In both cases, they want someone with the knowledge and skills necessary to make their meeting quicker and more impactful.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Methodologist or Meeting Designer? Since it\u2019s not likely all groups use the same term, should we adjust?\u00a0<\/span>Given the nature of increasing diversity among participants, EFL (English as the fourth or fifth language) replaces ESL (English as a Second Language).\u00a0<\/span>Therefore, the clearest route keeps it simple.\u00a0<\/span>It may be tough to replace the term \u2018deliverable\u2019 with the term \u2018goal.\u2019\u00a0<\/span>It may be even tougher to replace the term \u2018methodologist\u2019 with the phrase ‘meeting designer’.\u00a0<\/span>However, make the shift immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make Your Language \u201cGrandma\u201d Friendly<\/b><\/h3>\n

My grandmother might not understand the term “methodologist,” but she will think she understands meeting designers.\u00a0<\/span>Likewise, she would cast an evil eye at the term \u2018deliverable\u2019 while comfortably absorbing the expression–meeting goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Skills of a Meeting Designer<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"Begin<\/a>

It Begins with a Meeting Designer<\/span><\/center><\/p><\/div>\n

Primarily, a meeting designer needs to know the meeting goal\u2014WHAT to design, build, or agree upon that will thrill the executive sponsor and excite the other stakeholders (people in the meeting).<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you clarify the DONE of your meeting, consider the participants, their areas of expertise, group dynamics, and potential dysfunction.\u00a0<\/span>The tools selected for use during the meeting reflect the needs and abilities of the participants, their level of cooperation, and other constraints such as time and space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Progress or Breakthrough?<\/b><\/h4>\n

To what extent do creativity, breakthroughs, and innovation contribute? True design allows for inspiration that requires “empathetic thinking, human-centered activities, and getting people to work together.”*\u00a0 <\/span>Remember, nobody can be smarter than everybody because participants leverage one another’s strengths to build a solution that did not walk into the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

If simply getting the work done satisfies, use tried and proven tools such as DQ Spider<\/a>,\u00a0Power Balls<\/a>, Perceptual Mapping<\/a>, and Quantitative SWOT<\/a> analysis.\u00a0<\/span>However, for the extra reach, get out of your comfort zone and experiment with the Creativity<\/a> tool, Coat of Arms<\/a> method, and many more tools such as may be found at Liberating Structures<\/a> or Mycoted<\/a>, both accessible through our \u201c20 Worthwhile Bookmarks<\/a>\u201d found in our Best Practices<\/a> articles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leverage Proven Structure \u2014 Decision-Making for Example<\/b><\/h4>\n

Assemble or sequence your tools and activities around a proven structure.\u00a0<\/span>For example, consensual decision-making requires at least three components that can be built any which way from using Post-it\u00ae Notes to submitting notes electronically, including:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Purpose<\/a> of the Object<\/em>:\u00a0<\/span>(Note: NOT the purpose of the meeting.\u00a0<\/span>You better know the purpose of the meeting before you go any further).\u00a0<\/span>As a simple and concrete example, if the meeting intends to decide on a gift for someone retiring, what captures the purpose of the gift<\/em>?\u00a0<\/span>(eg., gag gift, keepsake, memorable experience, etc.)<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Options<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/span>From which to choose.\u00a0<\/span>Amazon provides lots of options as well as competitors in brick stores such as Target\u00ae and CVS\u00ae.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Decision Criteria<\/a>:\u00a0 <\/span>Factors that must be considered when selecting among the competing options.\u00a0<\/span>For gift-giving, to what extent it appeal to the recipient, provide a sense of reward and recognition, etc?\u00a0<\/span>Note that many groups fail to separate the options from the criteria and thus, prioritize their options.\u00a0<\/span>The way our minds operate, we prioritize our criteria and apply prioritized criteria against our options.\u00a0<\/span>For example, if you are selecting a new garment, size may be more important than fabric.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While your meeting design may call for various and creative means of generating gift ideas, eventually options must be compared with the prioritized decision criteria to build consensual agreement and understanding. Smashing your options and criteria together can also rely on various methods, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n