In keeping with the spirit of the official languages program, federal institutions support the creation of an environment conducive to the use of English and French, where appropriate.

Meetings are excellent opportunities to foster a bilingual environment. Bilingual meetings can take a little longer, but there are no short cuts to making everyone feel truly welcome.

We know from experience that when a meeting is held in both official languages, we are more willing to participate, speak with greater ease and feel respected because our first official language is being used.

Ten tips

To make sure that employees reap these important benefits in bilingual regions, here are ten tried and true tips for chairing bilingual meetings:

1. Send a bilingual invitation.
2. Convey all material simultaneously (before, during, after) in English and French.
3. Remember that the presence of some unilingual participants does not prevent a bilingual meeting.
4. Use a bilingual co-chair if you cannot chair in your second language.
5. Open with a bilingual greeting.
6. Announce right away that everyone can use the language of their choice.
7. Provide on-going summaries if needed and alternate between English and French throughout the meeting.
8. Invite participants to ask for clarification when needed.
9. Treat all ideas equally, whether voiced in English or in French.
10. Ask for feedback on how the bilingual meeting went.

We all win when we work together in our official language of choice.