Meeting
Meeting
10 Commandment of Meeting
Since mass laryngitis is not an option, you need the Ten Commandments of Meetings. Moreover, you
need to post them prominently in meeting rooms so that everyone can begin to follow them – especially
the leader. Remember that even Moses had trouble with his unruly flock from time to time, so be prepared
for the occasional outburst of the modern corporate version of Baal worship.
Thou Shalt Remember the Golden Rule of Meetings: Praise in Public, Criticize in
Private
Shut off public criticism when it arises. It's extremely destructive to morale and should be prevented.
Indeed, much misery could be avoided in the business world if all members of the corporate community
would remember a simple fact: if they are working for the same employer, then they are all on the same
team. Corporate politics we will always have with us, but that doesn't mean that we have to accept them
tamely. Help your vocally critical teammates by making it clear, in advance of each meeting, who is in
charge, how long the meeting will last, and what the point of the meeting is. Then deal with attempts to
take the meeting in other, more vicious directions as simple misunderstandings of the agreed-upon ground
rules. Politely but firmly steer the meeting back to the right terrain.
Thou Shalt Remember that the Best Model for Meetings Is Democracy, Not
Monarchy
Resist the temptation to railroad your fellow participants into a decision you want. You need to lead by
moral persuasion, not by virtue of your title. Brute force is not the appropriate mode for meetings, though
jujitsu sometimes is. As a leader, you should always strive to understand the sense of the meeting. If you
want to issue edicts, publish them in the media available to you. You don't need a meeting to announce a
new course of proceeding that is not up for discussion. And watch out for other participants in the meeting
trying to take control. Hijacking a meeting is a cherished corporate game, but a nasty one. It's your job as a
leader to prevent that from happening.
Thou Shalt Terminate a Regularly Scheduled Meeting When Its Purpose for
Being No Longer Exists
If you can no longer clearly state the reason for having a regular meeting, it's time to kill it. Purposes
change, and when the meeting has lost its reason fortaking place, be the first one to put an end to it. All
periodic meetings should have a stock-taking every few sessions to determine if the meeting still has a
purpose. It's just one way to fight corporate bloat and bureaucratic encrustation. Of course, for this
discipline to work, you must have decided what the regular meeting was for when it was begun. Goal-
setting is just as important in meetings as it is in the rest of corporate life.
The only meetings that people wish had run longer are those magical ones that take place when lovers first
set eyes upon one another. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your business meeting is that thrilling.
Keep its timing, purpose, and tone in perspective. Live to meet another day.
What needs to happen now, based on the meeting? And who’s doing it? Make sure you decide if you have
any projects and actionable items. If so, decide the next actions on them, and track those in your reminder
system. Are there any deliverables other people committed to that you care about? If so, track those on
your Waiting For reminder list.
Does anyone else need an update or debrief from you? If so, pass that information on appropriately.
Is there any information that was shared that doesn’t have action tied to it, but possibly needs to be
retrieved in the future? If so, put it in your reference system – into support or information files organized
by project, theme or topic. Update client histories and project status reports.
If you use a spiral or loose-leaf notebook for chronological journal-writing (as many execs do), then
option two works, but you must be in the habit of reviewing those notes regularly, and have some way to
code that the notes have been processed – either by crossing out the paragraphs, or putting checkmarks in
the margins, drawing lines across the page between meetings, thoughts or captured items. It needs to be
visually clear what’s been processed and what hasn’t. The advantage to this method is that you could keep
the processed notes at hand to retrace things if required, and if you’re carrying a notebook for other
reasons anyway, then it’s one less piece of hardware to carry along. If you work with a loose-leaf planner,
I recommend that you take notes into a notes tabbed section, and at least once a week clean out all the
previous pages to start fresh.
Leading a Meeting
Want to lead your next group meeting, but aren't sure what to do first? Follow these guidelines and it'll be
easier than you think!
Don't get caught up on halves and wholes. Many people will automatically allocate either 30 minutes or a
full hour when scheduling a meeting simply because these quantities of time are common and expected.
Schedule a 40-minute meeting if that's the amount of time it takes to cover the subject. Don't feel
pressured to fill an hour if you don't have an hour of issues to cover.
Carefully consider who should be attending the meeting. Only invite those whose attendance is absolutely
necessary. If there's someone who should know what happened in the meeting, but whose attendance isn't
absolutely necessary, send them a quick e-mail outlining the outcomes of the meeting. All of us already
attend too many meetings. These individuals will be thankful for that one extra meeting they DIDN'T have
to attend that week.
As the meeting begins, provide an overview of agenda items and introduce the overall objective of the
meeting. This provides direction for the meeting and reinforces what needs to be accomplished during this
time. Introduce each agenda item by mentioning who will speak next and what will be discussed.
As the meeting leader, you're responsible for recording the meeting notes, whether it's on an interactive
whiteboard, flipchart or in a notebook. This will free participants from the burden of note-taking and
encourage richer, more in-depth discussions.
It's also your responsibility to keep the meeting on track. This means steering the meeting discussion in a
way that fulfills the meeting objectives. If you have difficult personalities in the room or opposing views,
this can be challenging! Try using sentences such as, "That's a valid point, but doesn't directly apply to
this discussion. Perhaps we should schedule a separate meeting to address it fully." Or, "It's obvious there
are some opposing views surrounding this issue. Perhaps our time would be best spent working towards a
compromise. Any suggestions?" If a meeting becomes particularly heated, it's best to address what's
possible in the meeting but consider hiring a professional facilitator for the next meeting – a neutral leader
who's trained to deal with high-pressure, high-conflict meetings.
Items that surface and must be addressed should be assigned during the meeting discussion. Assign a
particular individual or group to follow-up on each action item. A deadline and priority level should also
be assigned for the action items.
Meeting 101
If you want to have more effective meetings, first you have to learn the basics. Here are some simple,
easy-to-follow and proven guidelines that should be followed each and every time your group meets.
Print this page. Hang it on your meeting room wall. Write the guidelines on a poster. Memorize them by
heart. Do whatever it's going to take to improve your meetings!
Guidelines you and your group can follow before, during and after your meeting:
1. Only hold a meeting if necessary.
2. All meetings must have clear objectives.
3. Invite a neutral facilitator to sensitive meetings.
4. All meetings must have an agenda which includes:
topics for discussion
presenter or discussion leader for each topic
time allotment for each topic
5. Meeting information needs to be circulated to everyone prior to the meeting.
Make sure to include:
meeting objectives
meeting agenda
location/date/time
background information
assigned items for preparation
6. Meetings must start precisely on time so as not to punish those who are punctual. This also sets the
stage for how serious you are about making the meeting effective.
7. Meeting participants must:
arrive on time
be well-prepared
be concise and to the point
participate in a constructive manner
8. Meeting notes must be recorded and made part of the company's meeting information archives.
9. The decisions made by the group must be documented.
10. Assigned action items must be documented, and the host, or an appropriate participant, must be
appointed to follow-up on the completion of all action items.
11. Meeting effectiveness must be reviewed at the end of each meeting and suggested improvements
applied to the next meeting.
Are your recurring meetings as effective as they could be? The best way to find out is sitting right in front
of you – ask the attendees themselves. By directing a few general questions to the people who know the
meeting best, you'll get feedback that will quickly help you identify and address any problems that you
may not be aware of yourself.
To determine if your meeting needs a little tune-up, set aside 15 minutes at the end of a meeting and ask
your colleagues the following questions:
Secret Survey
If your colleagues prefer not to openly discuss all this, ask them to anonymously fill out a questionnaire
based on these three questions. Encourage them to be constructive – and creative – when offering
solutions.
By taking this approach, you'll quickly pinpoint the answers to your meeting problems and have several
possible solutions in hand – all specific to the meeting and the people who attend it.
6 Tips to more effective meeting
1. Don't Meet
Avoid a meeting if the same information could be covered in a memo, e-mail or brief report. One of the
keys to having more effective meetings is differentiating between the need for one-way information
dissemination and two-way information sharing. To disseminate information you can use a variety of
other communication media, such as sending an e-mail or posting the information on your company's
intranet. If you want to be certain you have delivered the right message, you can schedule a meeting to
simply answer questions about the information you have sent. By remembering to ask yourself, "Is a
meeting the best way to handle this?" you'll cut down on wasted meeting time and restore your group's
belief that the meetings they attend are necessary.
One benefit of setting objectives for the meeting is to help you plan the meeting. The more concrete your
meeting objectives, the more focused your agenda will be. A second important benefit of having specific
objectives for each meeting is that you have a concrete measure against which you can evaluate that
meeting. Were you successful in meeting the objectives? Why or why not? Is another meeting required?
Setting meeting objectives allows you to continuously improve your effective meeting process.
Don't serve snacks. Some participants feel the need to drag the meeting out in order to justify their
morning coffee break.
-During round-table discussions, have the meeting leader do a roll call. If participants have
something to add, they must do so in 15 seconds or less. If they don't, instruct them to just say "pass."
-Put a 5-minute time limit on individual topics. Once the discussion goes over, move on. If the
topic warrants further discussion, assign someone the task of scheduling a separate meeting.
No one will be required to recite knock-knock jokes, wear silly costumes or balance a spoon on their nose,
but a little laughter can go a long way towards improving productivity and employee morale. Unless the
meeting is scheduled to deliver bad news, why not try a few of these ideas?
Most people learn by doing. Whenever possible, include hands-on activities, live demonstrations,
field trips, games, role-playing, etc. Don't be afraid to mix it up – variety is what keeps people
interested.
Bribery works! Organize contests to generate ideas and offer prizes to encourage participation. A
little friendly competition can bring great results.
If your meetings tend to be dominated by a few people, try passing out five pennies to each
meeting attendee. Attendees must "spend" a penny each time they talk. And no borrowing allowed!
Consider appointing a Director of Fun for meetings. The Director will be responsible for dreaming
up participatory activities, bringing in additional fun materials (videos, comic strips, articles,
snacks) that relate to the meeting topic. A different Director could be appointed for each meeting.
For a fun change of pace, consider hosting a meeting in talk-show style. Have the speakers act as
guests, attendees are audience members and the meeting facilitator can be the talk show host. The
host will encourage the audience to ask questions and share their opinions on the speakers'
comments.
Having fun at the office leads to a more enjoyable workplace and increased employee loyalty. It's
important to always provide employees with the caveat up front that they're free to decide to what extent
they wish to participate. Some employees will warm up more slowly to an unconventional meeting style
than others. It's not fun to have your meeting facilitator (or worse, your boss) breathing down your neck to
hurry up and start enjoying yourself. People will participate when they're comfortable and relaxed.
Remember, laughter stimulates blood flow, strengthens the immune system, reduces levels of hormones
that create stress, and reduces pain perception (this is especially important when you're attending the sixth
meeting of the day). Happy Meeting!