In her classic book, "Facilitating with Ease," Ingrid Bens identified "active listening" as one of a dozen core practices for meeting facilitators. We believe "active listening" is one of the most important because so many of the other practices require active listening as a prerequisite.
In the same way an athlete's goal is always to run faster, throw farther, and score more points, the facilitator's goal is always to host meetings that are relevant, time-efficient, and impactful. One of the best ways to ensure your meetings are productive and creating meaningful results is to consistently evaluate them when they are done.
Whether you’re planning a monthly meeting, a public seminar, or an international convention, you want to have as many attendees as possible. The more people you have at your meeting, the more exposure your sponsors receive, the more value your attendees derive from networking, and the more likely you are to fill your room block. Not to mention the more revenue you generate from registrations!