To be a good meeting facilitator, typically a project manager should be a good communicator. As we know, communication is not just about talking. It is also about listening, asking the right questions, understanding the information and delivering the information in a comprehensive way.
However, speaking is important, especially if you have to facilitate a meeting and want it to be productive.
Imagine you are hosting a meeting with 2 subject matter experts. They have never met each other before, but they need to find some areas of common ground in order to come up with the solution for your project. Typically, you start by explaining why you arranged the meeting, then you do some introductions, then you voice the agenda and possibly ask some initial questions. In parallel, you observe. If you see that your meeting attendees begin to speak to one another, you may want to keep talking only until a certain point. That is the very important point when you have to stop talking and let the subject matter experts communicate between themselves.
How do you identify that moment? - The most experienced project managers can sense it and even predict when it comes. The rule of thumb is that you monitor your own conversation, and once you see that the other meeting participants understand each other and their ideas become more constructive than the ones you intend to produce, it is time to switch to your active listening mode.
Does this mean the “stop talking” point can only be achieved once during the meeting? - Of course not. Once the topic has been discussed in detail, your experts are out of ideas, or there is a new topic, you may want to start talking actively again. Moreover, if you possess some expertise in the area, you could equally participate in the discussion along with the SME’s.
At the end of the day, facilitating a meeting can be compared to starting a campfire - you start by burning brushwood, then you add some firewood, and once you see that the campfire is in good shape, you observe and only add more firewood once in a while or blow it up if required.
Knowing when to stop talking is equally important in having one-on-one conversations or meetings with multiple participants. Even if you are skilled enough to hear the other person while you speak, they could be uncomfortable speaking up while you are still talking. They would never share their ideas in full, and you would never get a chance to hear their ideas. And the precious knowledge sharing opportunity could be lost.
In my career as a project manager, I was honored to have been working with many highly skilled professionals. Not all of them were terrific communicators, however in many cases they had very bright ideas.
I repeatedly postulate every now and then that almost every issue on a project occurs as a result of improper communication. Activity delays, unconsidered scope items, unidentified risks, incorrect cost estimates - many of those problems could be typically avoided by exercising timely communication between the right parties. How many times great ideas remain unspoken just because their bearers were not great at communication?
Giving the team members the opportunity to share their opinion, motivating them to do so, encouraging them to do their best when they speak up, eliminating fears and discomfort when they are trying to communicate - all these actions will increase your chances for better project communications and hence your chances for project success.