Bickford Collaboration

 #1 Plan for a few minutes of socializing before the meeting’s official start time. Invite people to come a bit early. This will also help you start the meeting on time.
 

 #2  Increase trust. Create agreements about confidentiality and respect. Review them at every meeting. If people don’t trust members of a group, they won’t engage.
 

 #3  Help the participants to say something in the first 5 minutes of a meeting. Even if all they do is read something, hearing their own voices helps them engage later.
 

 #4  Help participants connect to themselves, to each other and to the purpose of the meeting. Do this as early in the meeting as possible.
 

 #5  Find ways for the group to co-create meeting outcomes. Give people thoughtful questions to answer in breakout rooms. Liberating Structures can help you do this by design. To learn more, watch these videos. 
 

 #6  Provide instructions both verbally and in writing so the group can stay together. Some people understand better by hearing, others by reading.
 

 #7  Take frequent breaks to rest everyone’s eyes, minds and bodies. Never go more than an hour without a break that invites people to move.
 

 #8 Give participants choices, for example, about how or when to respond, whether to join breakout rooms or not, or what question to answer.
 

 #9 Do things together. People learn by doing, and doing things together is engaging.
 

#10 Have fun! Laughter engages bodies and minds and contributes to group bonding.