How to run a meeting like a restorative justice talking circle
Jan 19, 2010
from Kris Miner's blog:
Not everyone is comfortable with Circle, so over time, I have found ways to engage bits without making people freak-out and shut down. On the same hand, I’ve gotten quite confident at running a Circle, with skeptical people. (imagine a circle of attorney’s!)
Running a meeting like a Circle, I’ve promoted the interactive meeting format to include:
- an indication on the written agenda that ‘interactive meeting format’ will be used.
- start and stop on time ...
- comments specific to agenda items ...
- a roll call/opening question (a question that everyone can answer, specific to the group’s purpose)
- meeting ranking at the end ( a simple 1=worst, 10=best and why)
....What I have found is that the roll call question can center people to speak one at a time. It also reminds us of our meeting mission....
The other really great thing that comes out of this process is the ranking of the meeting at the end. It’s very simply going around the room and giving the meeting a score of 1-10. I think it’s like a Circle, because it's a ‘check-out’ round. People explain their number briefly. It starts to get the group to understand what people want and need from a meeting. One time a lower ranking was offered, because the meeting got slightly off track. The very next person gave it a higher ranking, because the meeting got slightly off track. One person needs structure, the other loves the conversation that evolves.
