The Keystone Experience
The heart of the Keystone experience is the team meeting – when you and your teammates gather to do the work of your Keystone Club. You’ll do fun activities together, discuss problems and potential solutions, plan projects and events. As you do, you’ll also connect with each other, get to know yourself better and grow through practical, real-world experiences.
Preparing to meet
You lay the groundwork for your Keystone meeting by confirming the date, time and location – and by identifying who will be responsible for different activities during the meeting.
+ Use planner/agenda
The Keystone officers and advisor (the planning team) should plan each Keystone meeting in advance. If your club hasn’t elected officers yet, your Keystone advisor should partner with one or two Keystoners to plan. Planning should be done at least one day before the meeting, and you’ll need at least one hour to complete a plan. Use the MEETING PLANNER to detail all items to include in the meeting. Have the MEETING AGENDA in front of you and transfer the details to that form.
+ Confirm date, time, place
If possible, schedule meetings for the same day and time each week (or however often you meet), so Keystoners know exactly when to be there. If you don’t have a regular schedule, confirm the date and time before each meeting. Some clubs have a teen center or designated space for Keystone – if your club does not, confirm the location and set up the room for the meeting.
+ Decide on meeting roles
The Keystone officers and advisor (the planning team) decide who will do what in the meeting. Officers take the lead in facilitating, but your Keystone Club officers may share responsibility with teammates on a meeting-by-meeting basis. For example, one Keystoner may volunteer to lead the community-builder and another may volunteer to lead the reflection and recognition.
Agenda planning
Meetings are most effective when you have an agenda – a detailed list of items to include, along with timeframes for each. This helps you facilitate the discussion, keep on schedule and move the club toward its goals. The Keystone officers and advisor (the planning team) create the agenda together – first, by making a plan using the MEETING PLANNER and, then by transferring their decisions to the MEETING AGENDA. Here are elements to include.
+ Warm welcome
Giving a warm welcome means greeting and welcoming each other individually. Even though the meeting is about working toward a goal, it’s also important for forming connections and strengthening the team as a whole. For example, you might say something like, “Hi Grant, good to see you. Let’s talk after the meeting about plans for Friday.”
+ Community builder
Community builders are five-to-ten-minute activities that are fun and interactive. These are a great way to kick off a meeting, giving everyone time to relax, have fun, get to know each other and settle down for the business of the meeting. For example, in one community builder, Keystoners jot down three fun facts about themselves on post-it notes, the notes are distributed randomly to team members, they read them aloud and the team guesses which Keystoner is being described. See COMMUNITY BUILDERS resource for ideas.
+ Group agreements
In one of the early meetings when the team was being formed, your Keystone Club created group agreements – a set of guidelines for how you wanted to work together as a team. Group agreements are important because they provide a standard of behavior and make the club a safe place for everyone. In all regular Keystone Club meetings, review the agreements to make sure they’re still relevant and helpful. For example, ask, “Are there any adjustments we need to make to our group agreements?”
+ Meeting introduction
Before the discussion starts, take a few minutes to briefly summarize the focus/discussion topic for the meeting. This lets your teammates know what to expect and what you want to accomplish by the time the meeting is over – so they can stay focused and help move the club’s goals forward. For example, say, “Today, we’ll be brainstorming to come up with ideas for possible projects. By the end of meeting, we want to have a list of ideas we can discuss the next time we meet.”
+ Focus/discussion topic
The primary activity of each Keystone meeting is a discussion with a specific focus and an outcome you want to accomplish. Identifying a discussion topic is important, not only because it provides a focus for the meeting but also because it’s how you keep moving your Keystone Club toward its goals. For example, if your meeting focus is fundraising strategies, you and your teammates will brainstorm different ideas, discuss the pros and cons of each and make a decision about strategies you want to use.
+ Reflection
An important element of any Keystone meeting is reflection – the process of looking back on your experience to see what you’ve learned – about yourself, the team and the leadership work you’re doing together. A simple reflection – such as “What did you learn from today’s conversation or experience?” – helps you and your teammates take note of new learning and how it applies to other areas of your lives. Keystoners can express their reflections by writing, drawing, discussing or acting them out.
+ Recognition
Recognition is a time to acknowledge everyone’s specific contributions to the team. To recognize the team as a whole, you might say something like, “We had a lot to accomplish today, but we stayed on track and got it done.” An individual recognition could be something like, “Tyler, you came up with so many new ideas today!”
+ Closing
A wrap-up at the end of a meeting is important for giving structure, closure and an idea of what to expect the next time. Restate key outcomes from the meeting, set a date and time for the next meeting and recap actions to do before you meet again – including tasks that need more support or work to accomplish. This helps you and your teammates know exactly what to focus on going forward. It also lays the groundwork for the next meeting and lets the planning team know what to include on the next agenda.
Meeting facilitation
Facilitating a meeting is about keeping the team focused and working toward the meeting goal – but it’s also about making it fun and engaging so Keystoners want to return every time. This takes practice, but there are strategies for keeping everyone interested and working together. Use GUIDELINES FOR FACILITATING MEETINGS for tips on how to do this.
+ Prepare yourself
The MEETING PLANNER lists possible discussion topics for meetings and includes a link to a related resource for each topic. Before the meeting, review the resource related to your focus/ discussion topic and become familiar with the content so you feel comfortable facilitating the discussion.
+ Start and end on time
Start the meeting on time even if everyone hasn’t arrived and keep track of time during the meeting so it can end on schedule. Sticking to the schedule shows respect for your teammates. If someone arrives late, acknowledge their arrival but don’t go back over what you’ve already discussed. For example, say “Robert, please check in with someone after the meeting to see what you missed.”
+ Follow the agenda
The agenda is a roadmap that guides you in facilitating each part of the meeting. Before you begin, briefly summarize the discussion topic so teammates know what to expect. Focus on one agenda item until it’s resolved and, after each, summarize key points and check for agreement before moving on. For example, “We’ve just decided to raise money by hosting a car wash. Does everyone agree with this idea?”
+ Facilitate the discussion
Everyone participates differently in groups – some talk more, others hang back. In a successful Keystone meeting, the facilitator pays attention to everyone and makes sure all voices are heard and included. See GUIDELINES FOR FACILITATING MEETINGS for ideas about what to do if Keystoners aren’t saying anything, are getting sidetracked or have a difference of opinion.
+ Model a positive attitude
Show that you’re excited and enthusiastic about Keystone. Your teammates will reflect your attitude so it’s important to present yourself with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. You might say something like, “Today’s a big day, and I’m excited – after all the brainstorming we’ve done, now we get to choose what projects to do this year.”
+ Keep a pulse on the team
As the meeting progresses, keep a pulse on how the team is doing. Check to see that everyone is engaged and participating in the discussions and decision-making. Talk with teammates regularly about how everyone is feeling about the process.
+ Create safety
To get the best contributions from team members, make sure all Keystoners feel comfortable and empowered to speak. Listen carefully and model an attitude of respect and openness to new ideas.