When I’m the facilitator or leader, I end almost every meeting with Closing Comments. I write this into the agenda and make time for it on the spot.
I ask each person to share a highlight from the meeting, perhaps a take-away, or perhaps a hope going forward. This is different from “meeting evaluation.” I encourage “just 5-10 seconds for each person,” yet if someone needs to say more, I generally don’t interrupt. It’s probably important.
I start with whoever wants to go first and go around the room from there. On Zoom or Teams, I call on people one after the other. If someone doesn’t want to make a comment – no problem, I move quickly to the next person – yet I make eye contact with each person and make space for them to say a last word.
Often, this is the best part of the meeting. At ease with each other after conversing awhile, people are apt to speak their hearts. The group as a whole gets to see the unity of perspectives so often present at the end of a good meeting. This is also a last chance for someone to give voice to something important. It helps each person to feel heard.
And immediately after the last comment, I say “Thank you. Meeting adjourned.” I don’t try to summarize or give my own opinion or make any announcements. I try to convey that it’s the words of the group members themselves that are most important.
