Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Meeting strategies--check-out

[Pablo Halpern (phalpern]

> From: "Hungerford, David" <dghungerford [at] ucdavis.edu>
> 
> Pablo Halpern wrote:
> 
> >Our group has over 40 adults.  A reasonably 
> >well-attended meeting has over 20 adults.  A bare minimum checkout takes
> >20-25 minutes for us.
>... 
> 20-25 MINUTES!!!!?  When our group (roughly the same size) was in the ear
> stages we also all felt the need to address every issue, many of us at 
> length.  This naturally resulted in gawdawfully long meetings, or meeting
> that compressed the later agenda items.

1. We don't address every issue at check-out, we let people say what they 
   need to say to complete the meeting for themselves.

2. Our meetings are almost never gawdawfully long. Usually 2 hours.

3. Depending on the heavyness of the meeting, we do a go-round for 
   check-out and give everybody 30-60 seconds. That adds up to 15-25 
   minutes, depending on the size of the meeting. Does 60 seconds per 
   person constitute "talking at length?"

>    I don't know if it
> necessary for every group to go through the endless talking stage, like a
> preschooler who is learning language and expression,  but we currently 
> believe that a more effective group process is to go for economy of meeti
> time and minimization of redundancy ...

4. We have not been in the "endless taking stage" for several years.


- Pablo

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Pablo Halpern              (508) 435-5274         phalpern [at] world.std.com

New View Neighborhood Development, Acton, MA
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