Meetings
Common Compliants About
Meetings:
 Purpose is unclear.
Key people are absent
or late.
Conversation does not
stay focused / on track.
Participants who do
not discuss issues, either:
 Dominate
conversation
Argue
Take no
part at all
Meeting outcome
is predetermined, with no
discussion or negative input
allowed by
participants. (Often called "Yes
Meetings" or
"Rubber Stamp Meetings")
Decisions made are not
followed up.
It is estimated that
upper-level managers
spend 60 - 70% of business day
in meetings.
Facilitating / Managing
a Meeting
Meeting guideline
considerations:
Start the meeting on
time and end as scheduled.
Take responsibility
for the meetings progress
and outcome.
Keep the discussion
on track. Maintain order
and focus.
Facilitate conflict
resolution. Allow disagreement,
but insure that it
does not get out of control.
If the meeting is
not making progress, try other
techniques such as
brainstorming.
Four Stages of Meetings
- Participants feel each other out and
orient themselves.
- Conflict erupts between members - quite often over
what the group is supposed to be doing.
- Group agrees on certain rules or norms,
to guide their deliberations.
- Members settle down to assigned task(s).
There is no
typical or desirable
sequence.
Groups will
jump back and forth
among the stages.
An effective
group may experience
conflict and then
go back to
orientation.
Gauge your
contribution or
management of the meeting
accordingly.
Orientation Stage
Clear up
any potential "grey areas"
about procedures or agenda.
Take
clarification questions from the
participants.
Do not try
to deal with every detail in the
stage.
Beware of
using forceful "must do"
statements may prompt group to
withdraw and not
participate for
remainder of the meeting.
Handling Questions and
Answers
How the
facilitator/meeting manager
accepts questions and
answers is an
an important
factor in motivating or
inhibiting
individual participation.
If question
or answer is repeated do not
not pass over,
ignore, or cut them off.
Act as a
prober - have the person expand
on the statement.
New ideas may
surface in
the explanation.
Various roles of
participants
Acceptance and
Rejection Positioning
A
participant's positioning will signal
acceptance and rejection of
ideas.
Anyone
positioned with their back to
speaker will probably reject
speaker's
proposals before they are
even presented
to them.
The person
sitting directly opposite the
speaker's position is in the
best position
to recieve open,
positive feelings
depending (or closed negative
feelings
on what is being
sent).
If this
person turns away and avoid eye
contact, he/she is hesitant to
accept the
speaker's ideas.
These
messages can help facilitator /
presentor tailor
presentations and
introduction determine the "timing" of
the of the new
ideas.
Closing a Meeting
Look for
opportunities to summarize
Avoid
forcing revolution of issues that
the group wants to leave
ambiguous.
Ask for
volunteers to do follow-up work
on a particular matter.
When leaving
do not mutter negative
statements about it being time
wasted.
If you hear
these compliants, take the
person aside and in a
non-threatening
way ask for reasons and
suggestions
for improvements.
Keep an
open mind to new ideas and
try to implement those
that seem to have
merit.
Give the
person credit for suggestion(s).
Person will
appreciate the credit and is
likely to be a better
supporter / contributor
in the future.
Will send
message to other participants
that ideas
and suggestions are
welcomed.
Participating
in Meetings
Prepare before
attending a meeting:
Find out what is to
be discussed
(request an agenda).
Review the points
you want to make.
Gather supporting
data.
If your points are
likely to be contrary to other
views, you may want to
tell this person(s) in
advance. Let
them know the issues you
wish to raise
and the reasoning to support it.
Arrive a few minutes
early. As others arrive,
pay attention to what is
said and to such
non-verbal behavior as
seating selections.
Using forceful
statements during the meeting
may prompt the group to
freeze you out of the
remaining porion of
the meeting.
New Member to a Group
That Has Met Previously
Ask before occupying
a seat. Members are
likely to assigned
themselves to seats around
the table and expect to
sit in that same seat
each meeting.
Certain seats also
carry more "clout" than
others.
Around a
rectangular table, the
facilitator / leader almost
always sits at
the head of
the table.
Another dominant
participant will assume seat
on the opposite end / foot
of the table.
When participants
randomly assume seats,
those who sit in the end
seats will end up
acting more forcefully
than usual. Observe
the participants body
language.
Once Meeting Has Settled Down
Groups that meet
often usually settle down
quickly.
Listen
carefully, then pick your moment
to volunteer you point.
Make sure
that you have facts to support
your position.
This is especially
relevant when
a point(s) are raised for
the first
time.
If feeling
less confident, wait for a
moment when it can be
introduced as a
helpful response to a
remark made by
someone else.
Present
your idea as an outgrowth of
the discussion.
Disagreeing
Be very
conscious of need for everyone to
"save face."
Consider:
Going
back to purpose of meeting.
Perhaps ask a question.
Suggesting
a look at issue in a broader
content.
Adopting
role of devil's advocate -
raise objection in
this context.
(If in
greater risk taking mood)
Use / accept part of the
viewpoint
enthusiastically
and restate the rest;
slightly altering it to
fit your own
view.
These "Management Files" are mainly for Middle & Senior Management and Business
Owners. The various topics are meant to remind and to stimulate management
thought.
Please note: Our firm does not carry-out or furnish research in
these areas. This area of the Select, Assess & Train Web site is available only
as a public service to foster thought and better management in today's
fast-paced environment when the human factor of business is often taken
for granted and/or even overlooked. We are not a source of facts.
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