Believe it or not, facilitating a successful meeting or workshop starts before the engagement itself.  You can probably remember a time when you arrived to a conference or meeting already thinking about the event on your way to the event, or even for a few days or weeks beforehand.  You probably already had some emotional attachments, too: nervousness, eagerness, resistance, hope. In fact, if you really start to think about it, this is probably true about every meeting or event you attend.     

As a transformational facilitator, you can help to ensure success during the engagement by reaching out to participants prior to the actual event.  The more information you can provide, the more you can set a tone of welcoming and excitement, the more at ease and eager your participants will be.  And having a room full of people in front of you who are in the right mindframe goes a long way towards ensuring a successful engagement.

Here are a few ideas for how to prepare participants:

1. Send out an email with location information at least a week prior to the event. Include details about parking, public transportation, accessibility, etc.  I usually include links to parking garages, bus routes, and maps. If you are covering the cost of parking, or travel, definitely mention that and the process for reimbursement!
   
2. In the same email (or a separate email) include information about what to expect in terms of hospitality.  For example, “We will be starting promptly at 10am, so please plan to arrive a few minutes early to sign in, grab some of the hot coffee and pastries we will be providing, and find a seat.” I also like to include information about dress, e.g. “Dress code is casual for this engagement, but the temperature in the Bay Area can fluctuate greatly during the day, so bringing layers is recommended.”  Of course, include lots of information about the food you will (or will not) be providing, “You will have an hour lunch break. Attached please find a list of local restaurants and cafes where you can go to enjoy a meal with your colleagues.”

3. Share the agenda!  If you don’t want to share complete details, at least make sure you share key times (e.g. registration time, starting time, lunch time, conclusion time) along with the goals and objectives.  Understanding when things are happening may seem like a small detail, but people really appreciate knowing when breaks will be and that the day is clearly mapped out. Same goes for the goals and objectives: it is really comforting to people to know what will be covered, helps activate their curiosity, and puts them in the mindset of the topic.

4. In all of your communications, make sure you are sending the message that you are excited and looking forward to learning and sharing with attendees. Read and reread your emails, putting yourself in the place of a participant.  Do you sound warm and welcoming or do you sound all business? Let participants know that they can contact you with questions, and provide your cell number or other easy way for them to get in touch if they are running late or are lost on the day of.  Make yourself accessible and establish their importance as a participant.

5. If your participants are people you see on a regular basis (e.g. people you supervise), you can also remind them of your excitement in person, as in, “I’m really looking forward to our team brainstorming session tomorrow!” You don’t want to be disingenuous, but enthusiasm is contagious.  If you roll your eyes every time the engagement is mentioned, or act stressed out about it, that will spread to your participants. Which brings me to my final point about preparing participants…

6. Prepare yourself! Make sure YOU know where you are going, where to park, what materials will be available to you at the venue, etc. There is nothing worse than arriving to an event having not yet had your coffee, only to realize that not only is no coffee being served, but there isn’t a nearby cafe around!