Committee Articles

WHO THE HECK IS FOOBERMAN?
(Or How to Keep Committee Members Interested and Involved)

This question posed by Dave Barry in one of his columns in the Miami Herald, is a good example of a person who misses the point:

Q: I am in the field of business, and people keep saying they want to ''touch base'' with me. They'll say, ''I just wanted to touch base with you on the Fooberman contract,'' or ''We need to touch base on the rental sheep for the sales conference.'' But my understanding of the rules is that if you touch base WITH somebody, at the same time, at least one of you is out. So my question is, who the heck is ``Fooberman''?

As a high school English teacher, for the sake of getting my students’ attention, I would often be dramatic.  I died as Lady Macbeth, cried in my oral interpretation of The Scarlett Ibis, and jumped on the table as Sir Lancelot. Mostly, this was well received,  but inevitably there was the student who would raise his/her hand and ask a question or make a statement that totally showed he/she was somehwere else – like “Is there an assembly today?” or “You almost fell when you jumped.” 

As a teacher of pulic speaking and an executive director of three non-profit organizations, I learned that there are two things that you must do to keep committee members coming back and participating: keep them interested and involved.  True, there will always be that one special person who misses the point, but there’s nothing you can do about him/her except think about Fooberman and smile.
How do you keep them interested?  On the nonprofitbuzz.org website, you will find a number of great ideas.  There are several articles with good ideas that answer this question – look under quick links.

How do you keep them involved?  (1) Give them the opportunity to speak during the meeting.  If you have people who don’t want to join in, find a way to break into groups and have the groups work together to come up with a plan which they present to the whole.  At least each person feels like they’ve participated in this instance.  A committee meeting should not be a lecture by the chair.   (2) Give each person an assignment.  Always ask for volunteers first, but if nobody volunteers then say, “Fooberman, could you look into this for us?”  Then they have to come back, to make their report.  (3) Have part of the meeting be interactive so people are working one-on-one or with others.  Anyone who feels like a loner won’t come back. (4)  Be gracious and greatful.  Let each committee member know how much she/he is appreciated.