How to run your first meeting

Once you’ve registered your Circle and invited members to join you, it’s time to prepare for your first meeting. We recommend you use our Kickoff Meeting Guide for your first meeting to get to know one another better and lay the groundwork for a successful Circle.

Download and read through the Kick-off Meeting Guide:

If you are following one of our playlists, select the playlist to download the accompanying kick-off guide.

If you are choosing your own topics to discuss each month, use this kickoff guide.

First meeting:

In order to have time for everyone to openly share and get to know each other, we recommend you spend 90 minutes together for your first Circle meeting.

Agenda:

All of these activities and prompts are provided for you in the Kickoff Meeting Guide.

• Introduction
  To ensure that everyone starts the meeting with a shared sense of purpose, you’ll start by reading aloud some statements about “why we are here” and what people can expect to get out of Circles. You’ll also share why you created this Circle.
• Icebreaker
  An icebreaker is a great way to get people talking. Given that this is your first meeting, start by going around your Circle and introducing yourself as if you’re meeting everyone for the first time (even if you’re not). Create space for others to share why they joined this Circle, too.
• Circle Fundamentals
  You'll get the most out of your Circle if you feel like you can be vulnerable and safe. To facilitate that, we encourage you to make certain commitments to each other. Use our suggested fundamentals, or come up with your own.
• Connection Activity
  Use our connection activity—a series of connection questions—to get to know your Circle members on a deeper level in a short amount of time. The questions are focused on sharing personal stories and benefiting from each other's ideas and experiences. It’s a powerful way to set the tone for the level of openness and vulnerability you will bring to your Circle.
• Wrap Up
  Discuss a date and time that works best for everyone to schedule future meetings, how you will stay in touch between meetings, and whether you will have one Circle Leader or rotate the role each month.
  If there’s time, talk through what worked—and what didn’t—in today’s meeting and brainstorm any adjustments moving forward.
• One Action
  Finally, you’ll go around your Circle and share your One Action with the group (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing your One Action to your Circle will help hold you accountable, giving you the little extra push you need to go for it.

For additional support, join our private Circle Leaders group on Facebook—it’s a great place to exchange ideas, share best practices, and network with other Circle Leaders.