Originally published in LLL of New Mexico’s Enchantment and reprinted in LLLI’s LEAVEN, May-June 1988
If you were to watch a videotape of your last meeting, you might notice you should have ended the meeting sooner than you did. You might notice that some mothers in the meeting were acting like the meeting had already ended before it actually did. You might notice that some children wanted the meeting to end as soon as they walked in the door.
Anybody can start a meeting. People expect a meeting to begin. It’s obvious. But, in my opinion, ending a meeting is the test of a skillful Leader. It take sensitivity, observation, and experience.
Some of the following cues can help you know when to end a meeting:
1. Clock time. You may try to gauge the end of a meeting by the clock. Sometimes 45 minutes is plenty of time for the discussion part of the meeting. Other times, especially if there were tangents and lengthy anecdotes, covering the topic may take longer. Perhaps the group is very small and keeping to the formal topic is difficult. An hour and a half may have gone by before it feels right toe nd things. Wear a watch and try to keep the meeting on the short side. Leave your mothers wanting more.
2. Topic completion. You might feel that just about everything has been said about your discussion topic. You covered 40 advantages of breastfeeding, for example, and that should give everybody plenty to think about. You don’t need to beat a subject to death. Refer to books and Information Sheets and keep the meeting short and informative.
3. Side conversations and body language. Sometimes the mothers will give you clues that things should end. Side conversations, moving around, and avoidance of eye contact when you’re well into the meeting are some cues that perhaps you should wrap things up.
4. High noise level. Some meetings are cut shorter because of fussy babies, toddler needs, and just plain noise. Be aware that noise is a very irritating thing when left unchecked. If it’s bothering you, it’s probably bothering the other mothers. Remind mothers to take care of their children’s needs. Bad weather, small houses, and poorly insulated rooms (like a cement-block family room) can all add to the problem of noise pollution. Perhaps you need to take a short break or just keep things as brief as possible and do lots of summarizing. Visual aids can help at this kind of meeting.
5. Audience makeup. New mothers and mothers at their first series might be so eager for the information that they will tolerate a lot of talking by the Leader and a longer meeting. If you have lots of repeaters at a meeting, they may be wanting to socialize with each other and prefer a shorter time spent on the meeting topic.
Being sensitive to these five factors can increase the fun of leading a La Leche League meeting. Thank all the mothers who came and end on a positive note. Summarize the topic you’ve discussed. Enthuse the mothers for the next meeting or event. Show them how much you enjoy what you do.
Post a Comment