Source: Prentice Hall December 2000 Meeting Management
How important is it to manage meetings efficiently? Some estimates of time spent in business meetings range from 40 to 60 percent. Nearly half of most managers' work hours are spent in meetings!
What are the usual complaints about meetings? "Boring!" "Off the topic!" "Waste of time!" Most of us have endured poorly run meetings in which the communication goes in circles, and nothing is accomplished. Yet, how much time, energy, and money do we spend meeting? Most organizations spend between 7 and 15 percent of personnel budgets on meetings. Community groups are literally run by meetings. Much of this effort may be volunteer, so there may not be a monetary cost, but there is a time cost, and time is a valuable resource to most people.
Good meetings don't just happen. More preparation goes into "seamless" meetings than you can imagine. This course will guide you in spending energy on the right activities.
A singular key to effective meetings is preparing an agenda and circulating it in advance—three days before your meeting if possible. When participants have advance agendas, you can expect them to show up on time, bring material relevant to the meeting, and be prepared to do what you've set up as the purpose of your meeting. An hour of preparation on your part can save several hours of actual meeting time, so get set for the pure gratitude of participants when you execute a productive meeting. There's nothing sweeter than to have several people approach you afterward to say, "That was a really good meeting!"
Audience
First consider the people attending your meeting. It's not enough to plan from your perspective alone, since each of us "sees" differently. Plus, if your intent is to deliver a message or solve problems, you need to adopt a relational approach. You're not just talking to folks; you're relating with them. You're trying to understand where they are coming from so that you can link with their ideas and feelings, at least enough to get your point across if not persuade them to your way of thinking.
In planning, you need to think from the other side of your desk and deliver your talk or conduct your meeting with listeners' viewpoints in mind. Here is information you should know about your audience before you convene a meeting.
Gender and age. You might not do anything differently if the audience was largely male or female, but your supporting material could be slanted toward either. Age could make a difference though; talking with retirees or elementary age children would require different focuses. If the crowd is mixed, try to tailor a few remarks to each.
Education, job/profession. High school graduates and Masters level people would hear you quite differently, as would nurses and retail workers, to name a few. Again, if these are attending a PTA meeting which you are planning to address, be aware of the level of language you use and aim for the middle ground.
Setting. Small groups behave differently from large ones. Sitting at a table on a dais calls for adjustments as much as having a meeting "in the round" with people surrounding you. Checking for AV equipment ahead of time is a good idea. Addressing "suits" is different from addressing a college crowd.
Expectations. Does the crowd want entertainment or some serious thoughts? Is this more or less a social gathering, or will the group break into smaller groups and discuss what you said? Are you team-building (rah!) or are you telling folks the plant is closing?
Now that we know with whom we're doing business, let's structure the meeting. Do this by making an agenda for every meeting you conduct—every meeting. Don't think you don't have time; you will waste more time in a meeting without an agenda than you'll spend constructing one. Agendas help you crystallize your thoughts, as well as provide some direction for the folks attending your meeting.
People want to know what to expect in advance. Don't call meetings unless they are necessary; when they are, let people know what your meeting is about by circulating the agenda at least three days in advance. Then show up on time, keep to the agenda time limits, follow up on responsibilities, and watch your popularity index climb!
In the sample agenda form provided, the first line asks for a meeting objective. Simply stated, why are you having this meeting? Why is it important? What's in it for the attendees? Write your meeting objective by answering the question, "During this meeting or when it's over, what do I want people to do?" This objective and your thinking behind it will determine whether your meeting is worth attending! People tend to gloss over this part of planning because they have a mental picture of their topic and what should happen. The problem is that the audience doesn't know all that.
Be specific.
Use action verbs, such as to identify, to analyze, to select. Be as concise as you can be. However, don't settle for "to inform about gun control," when you could use "to illustrate loopholes in the law concerning gun ownership" or, "to assess parental responsibility when minors use guns."
So, you've thought long and hard about the meeting objective and have developed one that will accomplish results: information will be imparted or exchanged; plans will be formed; ideas or opinions will be expressed; or decisions will be made. The objective determines the content of the meeting at the appropriate level of detail.
Agenda Sample
Agenda preparation order:
1- Write the objective. What are you trying to get people to do? What do you want to accomplish by delivering this presentation? That's your objective—the object of presenting. Don't confuse your main points with your objective. An objective is a concise statement, usually one sentence, that conveys the main idea of your presentation. The objective is the first element you prepare because all of the rest of your presentation is designed to support it. Speakers can be dynamic and have interesting visuals; but if the audience can't remember the intent of the message or what they're supposed to do as a result of listening to the message, the presentation probably lacked a clearly defined objective. A presentation is usually aimed at getting people to understand something, or actually to do something. Don't forget to tell your audience what your objective is, either before or after introducing yourself.
2- Select the key points. The simpler and clearer your points, the easier it will be for your audience to remember your message. If you can, use the "rule of three" with your material. Most messages are organized into three main points, presumably based on what the audience can remember without losing interest. Thinking through all your material and distilling the main points provides structure for grouping information. When you group information, the audience can understand it better.
For greater effect relate the point you want them to remember— the most important one—last. Organizational schemes you can use:
Chronological order. Key points can be presented in the order that they occur in time. Examples include what happened first, then what, then what; OR past, present, and future; OR first, second, and third steps.
Spatial arrangement. Key points can be related by geographic areas—East, West, Midwest, South; or topographically—mountains, low-lying areas, deserts.
Topical approach. Key points can be presented in the order of their importance. Take your listeners from the least significant point to more important ones, and then to the most important one.
Concerns/solutions. Key points are presented in two categories. Ex amples include: problem/solution,advantages/disadvantages, objections/ answers, ideal/reality, old way/new way, feature/benefits, and compare/ contrast. Use this form when you have six or eight items you want to include and they logically fall into two categories.
Mnemonic devices help people remember your key points. Try using the first letter of each key word to form an acronym that people will remember (w w w). Or try phrasing your key points so that they all start with the same letter (push, pull, protect). Or form a word with your starting letters (M E M O).
3- Add supporting material for each key point. What will help people accept your major points? Key points alone are not sufficient to persuade people. You must include supporting materials that relate to the key point and create meaning for your audience, which, in turn, helps them remember your message. Where does supporting material come from? Internal sources include information within the organization, such as newsletters or reports. Interviews can also yield useful material. If your presentation concerns improving a parking situation or the cafeteria, interviewing the parking services coordinator or the cafeteria manager should work.
Two other sources for supporting material are external and personal. External sources are newspaper articles, books, trade journals, television shows, or the Internet. Personal sources come from your experience.
Supporting material may occur in one of these forms.
Examples. Supplying a "for instance" or "for example" applies a general point to a specific person or event,making you more credible. Using a "word picture" of what could occur is also effective; with visualizing, the audience can better understand your key point.
Comparisons. Clarifying a point by comparing it to something with which the audience is familiar helps them understand and makes them more receptive to your ideas. When a direct comparison isn't handy, use an analogy. An analogy implies that if two things are alike in one respect, they may be alike in other respects, too. Finally, using contrast shows points that oppose each other; differences are highlighted.
Quotations. Providing a statement from a celebrity or an authority lends credence to key points. Make sure the "expert" is well known. Make sure you give credit to the author of the quote!
References, facts, numbers. Supplying quantitative evidence from reports or statistics validates key points. Use only current data; make sure it's accurate. Which of these types of supporting material should you use? All of them, in a balanced way. Don't use one type of material to support all points. How much supporting material should you use? Don't cover up the importance of your main points, but use enough to appear credible and convincing. Gather lots of information and have it ready. If you don't use it in the first meeting, you can use it in later meetings. Better to have too much than too little! Remember, you're distilling information for use.
4- Include transition statements between your major points. Transitions step listeners from one key point to the next. They are small but critical steps. Transitions help your listeners follow your thinking and make your message easier to remember. As a presenter, you know when you're moving on, but your audience doesn't, unless you use transitions.
5- State your key points into brief sentence form, so that people are reminded of the highlights of your message. The audience is more likely to be persuaded by what they hear frequently and recently. The preview is a window that gives the audience an advance view of the key points. The summary reminds people of where they've been.
6- Design the opening. Figure out a way to get attention, pique curiosity, introduce your topic. What gets people's attention?
7- Design the closing. Ask the audience for agreement or action. Leave people something to do, and make this part of your close. State it in one of three ways: a reminder, an application of the information, or request for approval. "I encourage you to consider hot air ballooning as the exciting adventure I find it to be. Join me next Saturday!"
Types of Meetings
Meetings in organizations usually have one of these purposes: information giving, information exchange, problem solving, and decision making.
Information-giving meetings are favored when:
new programs or policies are announced or updated;
clients need to be sold on company products or services;
employees need training on new equipment or procedures;
employees need to build up their team spirit.
Information-exchange meetings are called for when:
the information is complex or controversial;
the information has major implications for the meeting participants;
there is symbolic value to a personal approach.
Again, memos work here, but phone calls are better, and, increasingly, electronic mail allows information exchange more quickly.
Problem-solving meetings allow several people to combine knowledge and skills at once.
These are useful when:
a problem requires immediate response;
a staff considers operational difficulties in new products/processes;
a conflict or difference of opinion is possible;people need to be persuaded to change their minds on an issue.
There aren't many good alternatives to face-to-face communication, but conference calls, interactive videos, and Web chat rooms are possible.
Decision-making meetings are needed:
as follow-ups to problem-solving discussions;
for majority decisions or evaluations on issues.
It may be possible to use telephone surveys or mailed response sheets for these, but the feeling of closure on an issue is more complete if done by face-to-face agreement.
THE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION FOR MANAGERS IS: DO WE NEED TO HAVE A MEETING?
A rule of thumb to use in determining whether to have a meeting is to ask if you are sure of the outcome. If you already know the answer, you could telephone, write, or not have a meeting. If you aren't sure how you OR the issue will be received AND this is important to you or your company, better to go in person and have a meeting.
The final step in preparing for your meeting is that of assigning meeting roles to those who will assist you during the meeting. These meeting roles include Recorder, Facilitator, Participants, and you as Leader. Meet with the Facilitator to discuss his/her role. Meet with the Recorder to let that person know what you expect. Let's consider these meeting roles.
- Start on time to indicate the importance of the meeting and show respect for those who make the effort to be there on time.
- Create a cordial, yet businesslike atmosphere by clarifying meeting roles and setting up ground rules for the meeting. Ground rules, such as not interrupting other speakers, everyone participates, stick to the agenda, complaints must be accompanied by solutions, no judgments on brainstormed ideas—whatever you think the group needs to do to create an orderly meeting. Create ground rules ahead of time or have participants create them at the beginning of the meeting.
- Use the agenda throughout the meeting. Start by going over the meeting objective and reviewing the steps of the meeting. - Participate as a group member by stating your thoughts during the discussion. Wait to voice yours until after others' statements.
- Change the format of the meeting if you feel the meeting process is not accomplishing your objective. - Summarize key decisions and actions. When Participants arrive at a point or a decision, paraphrase what has transpired.
- Tell the Recorder what to write on the board or the overhead transparency to record the "group memory."
- End the meeting on time.
The Facilitator
- Manage the "people" side of the meeting, so that the Leader can manage the "content" side, by making sure everyone contributes to the discussion, preventing speakers from interrupting others, and protecting people from verbal attacks.
- Monitor time spent on each agenda item, and keep Leader and Participants within the time frame allotted to that item.
- Listen for discussion "drift" and get everyone back to the issues at hand. Emphasize the meeting objective, if necessary.
- Monitor people creating problems and deal with them—tactfully, but directly.
- Refrain from offering your own opinions. Mediate conflicting opinions.
- Suggest other approaches when a process isn't working.
- Take your cues and direction from the Leader.
- Keep a visual record of the meeting without editing or paraphrasing what people actually say. Don't write until the Leader tells you to!
- Check regularly with the Leader and Facilitator to ensure accuracy.
- Try to capture the words expressed, not your interpretation. When in doubt, ask for clarification.
- Use key words and phrases. Don't try for complete sentences, but do try to capture the complete idea.
- Keep mental track of what has been said and done, in case the Leader or Facilitator forget or lose track.
- If note-keeping is stopping the meeting from going forward, ask the Leader to name an assistant. (Large groups may need several of you!)
- If you use a brown or white board, copy the contents for the Leader or ask another person to copy contents on a sheet of paper.
This role is very important since the results are sometimes the only documentation of what occurred in the meeting. In general, if you are taking minutes which will be copied and sent to participants, include: the date, time, and place of the meeting and those in attendance; agenda items with brief discussions and major contributors; problems discussed and decisions made; action assignments and deadlines
Participants
- Be prepared for the meeting, especially if you have a role to fulfill.
- Be on time.
- Participate fully in discussions. Focus on the meeting objective, and help to gain consensus. No social loafing!
- Listen to others' viewpoints without rushing to judgments based on your biases.
- Follow the ground rules, and avoid causing meeting distractions.
Source : Prentice Hall December 2000 Meeting Management
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A highly engaging one-day training program packed with a plethora of fun activities and games focusing on the key characteristics of high performing teams. The high energy training program will help you equip members of a team with the essential skill set and mind set to be a professional team player in a high performing team in which every individual takes responsibility to be productive, proactive and reliable.
The ability to handle yourself properly today can sometimes outweigh even your technical skills. If you know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it with grace and style, you’ll have a competitive edge in your career. All business experts agree that good manners promote good business. This is how important business etiquette is.
The main focus of this one day tailored training program is to help call center agents reduce their AHT – Average call handling time by equipping them with the required call control and questioning skills needed to effectively control each call more efficiently and help them lead and steer conversations with customers tactfully towards a more...
In this two-day interactive training program, participants will learn a structured process that will enable them to systematically develop their people and unlock their potential to improve their performance. Participants will learn through a series of hands-on activities, and practice two different coaching models (Continuous support coaching model & GROW coaching model)...
No matter if you are the boss at your company or an employee, change affects everyone. In dealing with change, people must address their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors first to be able to go through the labyrinth of change. There are loads of books and training programs addressing organizational change. The different thing about this training program...
The "Communication Skills for Customer Service Staff" training program is designed to assist all front-line customer service staff in enhancing their communication skills in order to provide a positive experience for customers. This program consists of seven modules that cover a variety of communication skills, such as having personal energy and passion...
Elevate your sales game with this dynamic training program! Gain the tools and strategies to build rapport, understand customers deeply, forge authentic connections, deliver exceptional service, overcome objections, and confidently close deals. Discover the secrets of tailoring your communication style and uncover persuasive conversations that leave a lasting impact.
This energetic training program focuses on the most essential communication skills needed for the challenging and competitive working environment of today. It starts off with a fun exercises that will put the listening skills of your class participants to the test and lay the ground for many of the concepts throughout the program.
Conflict is inevitable, we’ve all had conflict situations in the past and probably will have them in the future. This two day conflict resolution training program will teach you or help you teach others how to more confidently deal with workplace conflict situations. Participants will discover how conflict situations can be turned around into opportunities.
This highly interactive workshop introduces a variety of creative problem solving and decision making tools and techniques. Participants will learn to analyze problems, generate creative solutions, and decide which solution most closely matches their needs. In addition to the numerous activities and exercises throughout the training where participants get to practice the different tools and techniques learned...
Through a series of hands-on activities and key emotional intelligence concepts, this one-day training program will help participants improve their emotional intelligence skills enabling them to use emotional information from themselves and others, integrate this with their thinking for better decision making helping them to more easily get what they want from the immediate situation and from life in general.
This fun high energy two day call center customer service excellence program combines the best in corporate training with the best in personal motivation. Throughout the training program agents discover that it’s truly up to them to make a difference and that each agent is directly responsible for the success of the business.
Many retail store sales agents may believe that focusing on sales and achieving sales targets will necessarily affect the level of customer service they provide. However, when retail employees focus on how their customers feel and make decisions throughout the experience, they deliver excellent service and develop valuable two-way RELATIONSHIPS.
It’s no fun being on the receiving end of a frustrated angry shouting caller who just had a bad customer experience and out to get his/her revenge, particularly when the caller’s issue was not even your fault in the first place. This one day program will help you teach call center agents a simple but powerful 3 step process. Using this process.
The sophisticated ability of humans to influence and be influenced by each other is probably one of the key foundations of the evolutionary success of our species. It’s an essential part of human communication and a powerful tool in both the personal and professional lives of people of all sorts. We all need to use the art of influencing others in some aspect of our lives...
The best leaders have the ability to share their vision with passion and commitment, giving their people a purpose, a challenge they are willing to embrace and carry on to achieve amazing results. This two day activity based training program will empower you as a leader in bringing out the best in yourself and others by exploring the most critical success...
This two-day training program aims to help you transition from thinking like a consumer to thinking more like a marketer. It takes a step by step approach to clearly outline the whole marketing process from market research to putting together a marketing strategy and a marketing plan.
In today’s complex and competitive work environment, understanding and effectively navigating office politics is essential for career success. The "Mastering Office Politics" training program is designed to equip professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in any organizational setting. Through this comprehensive program, participants will explore the dynamics of workplace politics...
Packed with fun, hands-on activities, this two-day program will help you teach your class four core management fundamentals that are essential for each new line manager and supervisor. From setting clear objectives to monitoring performance to motivating your team, situational leadership and more...
The customer experience has emerged as a critical difference in today's competitive corporate environment. In this practical training workshop, we'll introduce you to the world of customer experience (CX) and provide you the tools you need to manage it successfully. Participants in this hands-on course will acquire the skills necessary to design customer journey maps, a crucial tool for enhancing CX, through a variety of practical exercises.
Negotiating is a part of everyday life. We negotiate in our work, with our friends, and even our family members. In this two day class, participants will learn what negotiation is and how to get the most from their personal negotiations. Participants will discover their personality style and how to negotiate effectively with other personality styles.
Making the move from industry to classroom is difficult for many new college instructors. Your day is not your own anymore – each moment is about focusing on the adult learners in your classroom. You may be used to clocking into a 9 to 5 job but teaching in a college is much different: you’ll need to know how to manage your time, prepare lesson plans, develop assignments and tests, and how to evaluate your students.
This two day training program is packed with techniques for improving the most essential basic business writing skills as well as both verbal and non-verbal communication in general in addition to proper time management and general office organization techniques that will help administrative assistants, secretaries and office managers in performing their day to day tasks more confidently and professionally.
We all know an angry face when we see one. Anger is such a universal and powerful emotion that can make you physically and emotionally ill, sap your energy and poison your relationships or it can motivate you to make needed changes and add vitality to your life. This training program aims to help you adopt a more constructive attitude towards your anger and to more effectively manage anger in others as well.
A highly engaging one-day training program packed with a plethora of fun activities and games focusing on the key characteristics of high performing teams. The high energy training program will help you equip members of a team with the essential skill set and mind set to be a professional team player in a high performing team in which every individual takes responsibility to be productive, proactive and reliable.
The ability to handle yourself properly today can sometimes outweigh even your technical skills. If you know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it with grace and style, you’ll have a competitive edge in your career. All business experts agree that good manners promote good business. This is how important business etiquette is.
The main focus of this one day tailored training program is to help call center agents reduce their AHT – Average call handling time by equipping them with the required call control and questioning skills needed to effectively control each call more efficiently and help them lead and steer conversations with customers tactfully towards a more...
In this two-day interactive training program, participants will learn a structured process that will enable them to systematically develop their people and unlock their potential to improve their performance. Participants will learn through a series of hands-on activities, and practice two different coaching models (Continuous support coaching model & GROW coaching model)...
No matter if you are the boss at your company or an employee, change affects everyone. In dealing with change, people must address their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors first to be able to go through the labyrinth of change. There are loads of books and training programs addressing organizational change. The different thing about this training program...
The "Communication Skills for Customer Service Staff" training program is designed to assist all front-line customer service staff in enhancing their communication skills in order to provide a positive experience for customers. This program consists of seven modules that cover a variety of communication skills, such as having personal energy and passion...
Elevate your sales game with this dynamic training program! Gain the tools and strategies to build rapport, understand customers deeply, forge authentic connections, deliver exceptional service, overcome objections, and confidently close deals. Discover the secrets of tailoring your communication style and uncover persuasive conversations that leave a lasting impact.
This energetic training program focuses on the most essential communication skills needed for the challenging and competitive working environment of today. It starts off with a fun exercises that will put the listening skills of your class participants to the test and lay the ground for many of the concepts throughout the program.
Conflict is inevitable, we’ve all had conflict situations in the past and probably will have them in the future. This two day conflict resolution training program will teach you or help you teach others how to more confidently deal with workplace conflict situations. Participants will discover how conflict situations can be turned around into opportunities.
This highly interactive workshop introduces a variety of creative problem solving and decision making tools and techniques. Participants will learn to analyze problems, generate creative solutions, and decide which solution most closely matches their needs. In addition to the numerous activities and exercises throughout the training where participants get to practice the different tools and techniques learned...
Our training material packages come with all you need to provide
a professional and accelerated learning solution with
To support immersive learning, a high impact professionally designed power point slide deck to engage trainees at all levels.
A comprehensive reference workbook you can give out to your class participants as a quick future reference.
With step-by-step clear directions with tips and suggestions on what to say and how to present each slide.
Various training material and support documents to help you both explain and debrief the different exercises, activities and games Plus a fun final Jeopardy style review game as a fun ending for your training program.
To ensure you have all you need to deliver a complete and professional training program, additional supporting documents are included with each full course material package. From training evaluation forms to 5 different certificate templates that you can edit and hand out to your participants at the end of your training.
Specific forms designed to extend and reinforce the training that participants can utilize back on the job to help them apply the new learned concepts (Select training material packages)
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