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further. Use stronger words such as "That's a very good point", "I see that might be a good option", or "Yes, I believe that approach might be very useful". Again, use names where appropriate.

Stay on Topic
When irrelevant or unacceptable discussion occurs, or the group gets into way too much detail on an item, the facilitator needs to redirect the group back to the topic with firm but friendly words. For example, "I think we've explored the color choices pretty well, so let's get back to discussing the overall package", or "We'll have to save your wonderful ideas on the testing phase for a later time, but now lets go on to the next idea on our board".

Status Check
Verbally give a status report during the meeting so everyone feels that you're making progress. For example, "We've covered the first two items pretty quickly, but I think item #3 will take a little work, so lets started now and plan to be finished by 10:30", or "Now that you're all back from coffee, I want to do a quick review on the three steps we've completed, and then we'll start discussion on the last two so we can finish by 4:00".

AT THE END OF THE MEETING
When the work of the meeting is complete, thank the group for their participation. Make sure they know what will happen to the information they've provided so they continue to feel valuable. For example, "Thanks everyone for your hard work today. I think we've got a good framework to move forward.", or "Thanks for coming today. I'll send you a copy of our report, and let you know when the next meeting is scheduled.", or "Thanks everyone. I'll send you a copy of the plan. If you have comments or corrections make sure I get them by Tuesday before my meeting with the Costing Group".

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