Some more thought and concrete tips on how to make people feel more competent.
When people see the goal of the meeting and why you want them there then they can either accept the meeting or send you a message to say that you should invite this person instead. At the start of the meeting you can go through the reason for the meeting and why each participant is there, then they will feel more competent and also gives them a clear goal for why they are there which will also reduce any unnecessary stress. Another things that happens when you call people for experts is that you set a higher goal for what you want to achieve.
Other things you can do at the start of the meeting is to:
• Ask for their opinion
• State their role for the meeting, or competence they bring, or give them the space to do it.
• Acknowledge their contributions
• Give people time to think or let them think aloud.
• Use How might we – questions.
• When you determine what to do, make sure it is clear that this is something we will try out and evaluate, and that no-one here is certain if it will work or not.
Marcus Degerman 