4.B - Changing a Meeting Approach
People are almost always "too busy" to attend meetings.
Low attendance occurs even when agencies have made heroic efforts
to get people involved in regularly scheduled meetings or well-publicized
special events. Practitioners feel like Sisyphus, endlessly rolling
the stone uphill. When people do turn out, the meetings themselves
may seem stale or lifeless and their discussions unfocused or of
little use. Repeated discussions of narrow issues often frustrate
participants, especially if they do not lead to progress. Yet meetings
remain a basic, low-cost way for people to get involved in transportation
planning and project development. In one room, during one limited
time period, participants represent many viewpoints and interests,
including those that have been traditionally underrepresented.
A modest shake-up can inject new life into a dying public involvement
program. For instance, a change in meeting place often changes peoples
perspectives as well—and may attract new participants because
the new setting is more convenient or interesting. Changing the
dynamics of the way people interact at meetings allows different
viewpoints to emerge. Alternating group leadership or assuming different
roles also helps spark new enthusiasm and fresh thinking. Novelty,
however, becomes routine if repeated, and change for the sake of
change is seldom effective. Diverse meeting approaches should be
purposeful elements of an overall plan or respond to identified
problems.
Before changing a meeting approach, an agency can work with participant
advisors to shape a more effective program and give them greater
ownership and pride in the process. If they do not like a new approach,
participants may offer alternatives more suitable to the communitys
needs.
Rather than giving in to discouragement over low turnout, then,
agencies can take special measures to boost attendance and improve
the quality and productivity of meetings. The following techniques—some
tried-and-true, others more innovative—offer several options
for changing a meeting approach and getting more people involved
in meaningful ways:
- Improving meeting attendance;
- Role playing;
- Site visits; and
- Non-traditional meeting places and events.
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