Effective Meetings Training Course - One Day

Introduction

The purpose of this course is to answer the following question.

“How can we have more productive meetings that are Goal focused, well designed, well managed, well prepared and held in the correct frame of mind?”

The high cost of meetings

If you are going to have a meeting, then make sure that the value derived from the meeting outweighs the cost of the meeting.

This course sets out the method by which you may avoid the pitfalls of bad meetings and reap the benefits of good meetings.

1. The cost of the meeting is very high. Therefore, the value of the meeting must be even higher.
2. Don't hold a 2k meeting for a 1k decision
3. What are the three practical alternatives to having a face to face meeting?
4. What are the benefits to having a face to face meeting?

The five qualities of productive meetings

In order for your meetings to be more productive, they should conform to the following five key principles:

1. Clear Purpose
   There must be a definite purpose to the meeting - Too many meetings drift on without purpose.
2. Accurate Language
   The language must be focused and accurate. Not too much ambiguity, vagueness, repetition or digression.
3. Planned Approach
   The meeting should have an agenda, a definite structure.
4. Rational conflict management and decision methods.
   The meeting will often be held in order to make some kind of decision, or to analyse a difficult situation, therefore, the meeting may create disagreements and some conflicts. Such Decisions, analysis and conflicts need to be discussed and aired rationally, not emotionally: With logic, not with upset or anger.
5. Positive atmosphere
   To be most valuable, the meeting must be held in the spirit of cooperation: not antagonism.

The role of the chairperson

The chair person is a member of the meeting who directs and coordinates the activities of the delegates.
Notes on the chairing the meeting skills.

The agenda

The agenda is a written document that states the purpose of the meeting. It gives the meeting a structure.

The minutes / notes

The minutes of the meeting are the written notes (or recordings) of the main essentials of the meeting. Notes on note taking skills.

The Delegates

The delegates are those people who attend the meeting. They come in various types:

• The railroader
  The railroader is the person who tries to dominate the meeting by pushing his ideas on the others without proper thought.
• The joker
  The joker misuses humour and detracts rather than adds value to the meeting.
• The digresser
  The digresser is the person who cannot keep his mind on the issue at hand and talks for too long about non-related or trivial issues.
• The cynic
  The cynic is the person who criticises all ideas without having any positive or practical ideas of his own to offer in their place.
• The 'broken record'
  The person who is obsessive over one issue: The delegate who cannot stop from thinking and talking about only one thing.

Most meetings are about making decisions

• Don't procrastinate unnecessarily on making the decisions.
• Don't be tempted to endlessly delay making the decision on the grounds that you do not yet have perfect knowledge.
• You need to decide even in the face of incomplete and uncertain knowledge.

Decision matrix methods

There are six types of decision:

1. Yes or No? Decisions. (Should we or should we not.)
2. Which one, What kind? Decisions
3. What is the priority order? Decisions
4. What is the correct logical sequence? Decisions.
5. Problem cause solution. Decisions.
6. Problem implication and countermeasure. Decisions.

Three skills of proper analysis.

1. Analyse the MEANING of key words and phrases. Agree a SINGLE meaning of your key terms.
2. Analysis: Analysis is the act of breaking complex concepts into their constituent parts.
3. Analysis of problem cause and solution. Assume that all problems have multiple causes, each of which suggest potential solutions.

The importance of taking good notes

1. In the meeting take good written notes.
2. Mental notes. (Memory training).
3. Make up your written notes.
4. Make up your action plans.
5. Review your notes. Don't ignore them.

Meeting skills. A Practice Exercise.

Let us hold a meeting in order to come to definite conclusions.
Let us see how well you do.
Discussion and questions.

Summary and Action Plan.