At their worst, meetings can waste time, lack focus, foster a combative spirit, or be just plain boring. At their best, meetings can be a positive, dynamic experience that nurtures individual strengths while inspiring teamwork to successfully accomplish an established task. The fate of a meeting lies in the skill of the facilitator, and this easy-to-use guide has all the tips and tools necessary to make you shine in this challenging role. Anyone charged with navigating a group of people toward a desired objective will benefit from this book's indispensable features, which include: (1) Templates for easy implementation at every stage of the facilitation process; (2) Straightforward tactics for managing difficult participants and emotionally charged situations; (3) Realistic examples to help you avoid pitfalls; and (4) Surefire methods for delegating in a meaningful and respectful manner. From pre-meeting preparation, to the meeting's critical first few minutes, to its conclusion and beyond--this manual provides step-by-step guidance for the entire facilitation process. It is packed with proven do's and don'ts based on psychological principles, research, real-life experience, and field-tested best practices. The user-friendly strategies focus on such key areas as team building, brainstorming, motivating, overcoming problematic situations, reaching goals, and assessing results. Following a preface, this book is divided into nine chapters: (1) What Am I Getting Into?; (2) Get Ready, Get Set; (3) Go; (4) Connecting All Members of the Team; (5) Reaching Peak Performance: Connecting Their Minds; (6) Working the Brain; (7) Reaching the Goal; (8) Putting on Your Oxygen Mask; and (9) Transforming a Difficult Group. A list of references and an index are also included.