Starting a meeting

We no longer use this rubric but please feel free to use if it helps facilitate better meetings.

To ensure that meetings run smoothly and reduce the dependency on any one person, please use the following list to kick off a meeting of the club. Please feel free to edit to add or remove anything as you see fit.

• Start the meeting by asking everyone to introduce themselves to break the ice
• Invite everyone to help themselves to any snacks and beverages
• Explain where the nearest bathrooms are and what to do in case of any emergencies (dependent on venue)
• State that the main aim of the meeting is to reach a shared understanding of topics discussed, not to finish the material
• State that anyone may interrupt the meeting at any time if something is unclear and we can collectively decide if it is a core topic and, if so, discuss until we reach a shared understanding or, if not, decide to continue the discussion outside the meeting
• Ask how we want to run the meeting by asking the following questions:
  • "Are there particular aspects of the material we want to discuss in detail (perhaps because it was unclear or confusing)?"
  • "With those issues in mind, what are the major topics we want to cover in this meeting?"
• Unless there is a better suggestion, suggest going through the chapter together and discussing it as we go