Define a parking lot in meeting facilitation.

• A. A reserved space for confidential documents.
• B. A list of parking lot items that will be ignored.
• C. A system to penalize participants who derail meetings.
• D. A mechanism to capture off-topic ideas or issues for later discussion to keep the meeting on track.

Answer: (D)

In meeting facilitation, a parking lot is a mechanism to capture off-topic ideas or issues so they can be discussed later without derailing the current discussion. When someone raises a tangent or a side concern, you acknowledge it briefly and say you’ll park it for later, while you continue with the agenda. The parked items are collected in a visible place with a quick note of what the idea is and who will follow up, so nothing gets forgotten. At the designated time—often at the end of the meeting or in a separate follow-up session—you review the parking lot items, decide what’s relevant to address, assign owners, and set timelines. The purpose is to keep the meeting focused and productive while still valuing contributions and ensuring important topics aren’t lost.