Design and Facilitation

Good meetings are designed for impact. 

Designing a meeting is designing for the outcomes you want to achieve and the experience you want participants to have. We call this process design, and our team specializes in it. 

Our team of expert facilitators uses leading whole-systems and human-centered approaches to design meetings that achieve real results and produce actionable next steps. 

Let us lead the meeting, or facilitate it yourself.

We offer three ways to work with our facilitators, so you can be as involved or as hands-off as you like.

Meeting Design
Design and Facilitation
Ongoing Project Facilitation

GET TOOLS TO LEAD A SUCCESSFUL MEETING

Meeting Design

Our expert facilitators will coach you through our agenda design process, helping you learn meeting design skills and create a group experience you can lead with confidence.

Customized to each project, meeting design may look like: 

  • Co-designing meeting outcomes, facilitation guide, and materials from start to finish.

  • Reviewing and providing recommendations to an existing activity or meeting design

  • Designing visual templates, worksheets, or online materials to support an existing agenda

LET US MAKE YOUR MEETINGS WORK

Design and Facilitation

Our team makes complex conversations simple, strategic, and actionable with high-impact facilitation that produces innovative ideas and clear next steps.

By blending human-centered design thinking, systems mapping, and strategic facilitation frameworks, we create future-focused and results-driven meetings like:

  • Leadership retreats where strategy meets real-world execution

  • Foundation building project kickoffs and team development workshops

  • Focus groups and listening sessions that spark insight

  • Memorable and participatory conferences and convenings

  • Multi-stakeholder workshops aligned to meet shared priorities

Before the Meeting

We work with you to design the meeting agenda and materials to achieve outcomes.

During the Meeting

Our facilitators guide the process from start to finish so you can fully engage in the experience.

After the Meeting

We meet to review next steps and recommendations to keep the momentum going.

TURN MOMENTUM INTO MOVEMENT

Ongoing Project Facilitation

For teams launching a new initiative or continuing momentum following a major meeting, we offer long-term project facilitation to support strategy development and execution over a 3-12 month period. 

Think of us as a long-term process consultant, where we: 

  • Support project timeline development and task tracking. 

  • Customize routine meeting agendas to align with priorities. 

  • Utilize leading project facilitation practices to keep the project moving forward.

Visual Notetaking

For meetings with many speakers or large-group discussions, Dancing with Markers provides a team of visual artists and notetakers who capture key insights and takeaways in words and images.

Our team can help you engage participants in a live interactive mural or produce live strategy maps to enhance strategic planning initiatives.

Check out visual services on Dancing with Markers.

Testimonials

Testimonial
“Lauren was responsive, helpful, and appropriately creative throughout the entire process—she followed up quickly with a well thought-out agenda and touched base with me ahead of time to align.”

Kate Marden, Diplomatic Language Services

“Our meeting was not only a fun way for us to bond as a team, but also a productive step toward greater alignment with actionable outputs to better meet our goals.”

Veronica Bernie, GTI Energy

“Hiring Lauren to support the Revisioning Program was one of the best decisions we made. Lauren immersed herself in the project, and as a result, we were able to achieve actionable change.”

Rebkha Atnafou, Johns Hopkins University

“Lauren skillfully transitioned between agenda items, maintaining a steady pace and keeping everyone engaged. She also had tactfully managed a challenging situation with a cheeky panel member.”

Heather Cox, TCG

“Lauren is an emotionally intelligent and trustworthy coach and facilitator. She is is gifted and skilled at designing in person and virtual sessions so individuals and groups contribute and grow.”

Gary Slater

“Lauren is so easy to work with and a real expert in digital facilitation, in-the-room facilitation, and graphic recording. She creates psychological safety with every group she leads.”

Gina D'Andrea Weatherup, Chantilly Mediation and Facilitation

“Lauren is one of the best in our field and I am a better consultant today because of the time we spent working together.”

Carlos Valdes-Dapena

“We can’t thank MeetingMakers enough for bringing your many talents and positive energy to a productive, stimulating, and fun day of group discussions to help build community and plan for the future.”

Jennifer Wolff, Johns Hopkins University

“Having the report and materials ready afterward gave us a greater chance to use them right away. It removed barriers and let us dive straight in.”

Melisa Lindamood, Johns Hopkins University

“Thank you for facilitating a superb training session. Our participants walked away with the tools for facilitating impactful meetings and a renewed way of thinking about client engagement.”

Senior HR Business Partner, World Bank

Ready to get started?

Visit our contact page to start the conversation and learn how we transform your next meeting, conference, retreat, or workshop.

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