Examine Your Meeting Process

Assign the last few minutes of every meeting as time to review the following questions: What worked well in this meeting? What can we do to improve our next meeting? Every participant should briefly provide a point-form answer to these questions. Answers to the second question should be phrased in the form of a suggested action. For example, if a participant's answer is stated as Jim was too long-winded, ask the participant to re-phrase the comment as an action. The statement We should be more to-the-point when stating our opinions is a more constructive suggestion. Remember – don't leave the meeting without assessing what took place and making a plan to improve the next meeting!

Summary

Meetings

In a meeting, two or more people come together for the purpose of discussing a (usually) predetermined topic such as business or community event planning, often in a formal setting.

In addition to coming together physically (in real life, face to face), communication lines and equipment can also be set up to have a discussion between people at different locations, e.g. a conference call or an e-meeting.

Meetings are vital for management and communication. Properly run meetings save time, increase motivation, productivity, and solve problems. Meetings create new ideas and initiatives. Meetings diffuse conflict in a way that emails and memos cannot. Meetings are effective because the written word only carries 7% of the true meaning and feeling. Meetings are better than telephone conferences because only 38% of the meaning and feeling is carried in the way that things are said. The other 55% of the meaning and feeling is carried in facial expression and non-verbal signals. That's why meetings are so useful.

The main typesof meetings are:

· Decision making meeting

· Information giving meeting

· Problem solving meeting

Meetings also fall into several categories, the most common of which are:

2) Work Meetings, which produce a product or intangible result such as a decision

3) Staff meeting – typically a meeting between a manager and those that report to the manager (possibly indirectly).

4) Team meeting – a meeting among colleagues working on various aspects of a team project.

5) Ad-hoc meeting – a meeting called together for a special purpose

6) Management meeting – a meeting among managers

7) Board meeting – a meeting of the Board of directors of an organization

8) Annual general meeting (AGM) -is an annual meeting that official bodies are often required by law to hold. It is an opportunity for the shareholders and partners to receive copies of the company's accounts as well as reviewing fiscal information for the past year and asking any questions regarding the decisions the business will take in the future

9) One to one meeting – a meeting between two individuals

10) Off-site meeting – also called "offsite retreat" or "retreat" and known as an Awaydaymeeting in the UK

11) Kick-off Meeting– is the first meeting with the project team and the client of the project to discuss the role of each team member

The choice of structure and style in running an effective meeting is hugely dependent on several factors:

• the situation (circumstances, mood, atmosphere, background, etc)
• the organisational context (the implications and needs of the business or project or organisation)
• the needs and interests of those attending
• the aims of the meeting.

Meeting aimsinclude:

· giving information

· training

· discussion

· generating ideas

· planning

· workshops

· consulting and getting feedback

· crisis management

· setting targets and objectives

· setting tasks and delegating

· making decisions

· motivating

· finding solutions/solving problems

· performance reporting/assessment

· special subjects – guest speakers

Meetings consist of a chairperson and participants. Both have specific responsibilities to guarantee that a meeting is effective. A combination of language and general communication skills is essential.

Chairperson	Participants

Structure

Meetings generally follow a more or less similar structure and can be divided into the following parts:

I - Introductions

Opening the Meeting

Welcoming and Introducing Participants

Stating the Principal Objectives of a Meeting

Giving Apologies for Someone Who is absent