Welcome to“Effective Meeting Skills”

Dr. Karima Zaid

Objectives Be able to plan

and prepare a productive team meeting

Conduct an effective meeting using interaction process guidelines

Every day

83 million people attend

11.5 million meetings

Overview and Introduction

Meetings are necessary to coordinate Meetings are necessary to coordinate individual efforts, collaborate on joint individual efforts, collaborate on joint projects, sell ideas, solve problems, and projects, sell ideas, solve problems, and make decisions.make decisions.

Managing meeting is a setManaging meeting is a set

of skill.of skill.

What are Meetings?

Meetings are a gathering of two or Meetings are a gathering of two or more persons to collectively accomplish more persons to collectively accomplish what one person cannot.what one person cannot.

Are all meetings necessary?

Many meetings don’t need to be held, Many meetings don’t need to be held, and often those that are held are and often those that are held are attended by more people than attended by more people than necessary.necessary.

What I have to do?

First Decide If You Need To First Decide If You Need To Have A MeetingHave A Meeting

Do I Need To Have a Meeting?

First, decide if the meeting is First, decide if the meeting is necessary:necessary:

Objectives.Objectives.Reasons.Reasons.

ObjectivesObjectives

Why am I scheduling or attending this Why am I scheduling or attending this meeting?meeting?What do I want to accomplish or gain?What do I want to accomplish or gain?What information will be exchanged or What information will be exchanged or decisions made?decisions made?Who will be attending that I need?Who will be attending that I need?

ObjectivesObjectives

There are other ways to meet objectives There are other ways to meet objectives Without holding meeting:Without holding meeting: - - Phone calls.Phone calls.

- Conference calls.- Conference calls.

- Memos/ Letters.- Memos/ Letters.

- Postal mail.- Postal mail.

- E-mail.- E-mail.

- Teleconferencing.- Teleconferencing.

ReasonsReasons

To accomplish objective/s. To accomplish objective/s. To exchange & convey information.To exchange & convey information. To organise & coordinate work. To organise & coordinate work. To solve problem.To solve problem. To make decision/sTo make decision/s To brainstorm & get new idea/s.To brainstorm & get new idea/s. To collaborate interagency work.To collaborate interagency work.

Effective Meeting Components

Purpose

(Logistics)(Roles & Responsibilities)

(Structure / Agenda / Flow)

(Goals & Objectives)

(Topics)

PlanningPeople

ProcessContent

How to organize for a How to organize for a meetingmeeting

Purpose.Purpose. Participant.Participant. Structure.Structure. Location and Time.Location and Time. Agenda.Agenda. Responsibilities.Responsibilities. Confirmation. Confirmation.

How to run effective How to run effective meetingsmeetings

Begin on time and Begin on time and end on time.end on time.

Use an ideas bin.Use an ideas bin. Establish and use Establish and use

ground rules.ground rules. Control dominating Control dominating

individuals.individuals. Bring food.Bring food. Summarize.Summarize.

Responsibility of leader

Setting the meeting tone. Keeping the discussion on track. Making sure everyone has a fair

chance of being heard. Summarize relevant points. Tie things together when the

discussion jumps around between interrelated topics.

IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT MEMBERS

Listen, but do not debate Talk privately with members who

continually exhibit disruptive behaviors Turn negative behaviors into

positive contributions Encourage the group to share the

responsibility for handling difficult members

Don’t take it personally Try different strategies, small groups/pairs

How to Deal with Disruptive Members

• Make sure that all meeting participants understand their responsibilities.

– All members were invited to the meeting for a reason– All members should feel free to contribute

• Members who are silent– Begin meetings by engaging every member of the group

•“Fatma, haven’t you done this in your work? What was your experience?" •“Noura, you’ve been rather quiet to this point, do you have an opinion or an idea?"

– Consider breaking larger group into smaller groups to develop input

How to Deal with Disruptive Members (con.)

• Members who are vocally dominant– Redirect discussion to other members

"We all recognize your expertise in this area, but let’s hear from some others in case some new ideas emerge.“

"John has made his opinion clear; does anyone else have something they would like to add?"

• Members who are negative– Probe the negativity to validate concerns– Redirect discussion to other members– If behavior persists, consider speaking off-line

or excluding them from future meetings“Let’s not shoot down this idea prematurely; let’s give

it some time for evaluation."

Disruptive Behavior Coming in late

Argumentative

Side Conversation

Reward and thank those who were there on time.

Keep temper in check and model for group. Find some merit in points made. Speak in private.

Avoid sarcasm. Restate last comment made. Explain to group the need to hear information.

Disruptive Behavior II Losing Focus

Griper

Won’t Talk

Implement “parking lot” for divergent ideas. Restate purpose of discussion.

Point out what can and can’t be changed. Ask group for ideas on how to best operate.

Examine what motivates them. Ask for their opinion.

Maintain or Enhance Self Esteem

Listen and Respond with Empathy

Ask for Help and Encourage Involvement

Be Specific and Sincere

Maintain or EnhanceSelf Esteem – Key 1 People need to feel

good about themselves

People need to feel that their opinions and ideas are valued

People need to feel that they are respected and important in the process

Tips for Maintaining or EnhancingSelf Esteem

“That’s a good idea”

“I really appreciate that”

“Thanks for taking the time”

“Thanks for having that handy”

“Congratulations_____________

Listen and Respondwith Empathy – Key 2 Showing you

understand is the heart of open two way communication

Show understanding of participants’ feelings

Reinforces good feelings and helps the participant feel valued

Tips for Listening & Responding

with Empathy

“I understand how disappointing (satisfying) it can be to…”

“I can see why you feel that way. It can be …when…”

“I’d feel…too, if…happened to me.” “Something like that happened to

me once. I understand how you feel.”

______________________________

Ask for Help and Encourage Involvement – Key 3 Encourage your team members’

contributions (their help generally leads to better ideas, solutions, and decisions)

Demonstrate to your team members that you value their experiences and expertise

Involvement and participation help accomplish the tasks

Asking team members for ideas and opinions encourages them to take responsibility

Tips on asking for Help and Encouraging Involvement “What did you have in mind?” “How do you think we should handle that?” “You have had some excellent ideas in the past.

Would you help us with this problem?” “Could you help put some of these ideas into

action?”

Be Specific and Sincere- Key 4 This will give you more credibility with

your participants Be specific, using details, with your

acknowledgements of accomplishments

People want to be praised, but only for the things that are important to them

Compliment your participants when they deserve the compliment

Be Specific and SincereTips Not just “Thanks for a good job”…but “I appreciate the work you did on the

Quality Project. Moving the stops on the fixture was a great idea!”

Meeting Norms &Guidelines Operational

(Guidelines) Start/Stop on time Publish minutes Rotate Roles

Leader Scribe

Set Objectives

Behavioral(Norms) Have fun Respect others Support Team

Decisions No interruptions

Norms & guidelines set the tone

Final Thoughts

• Praise! Praise! Praise! • Praise people twice as much as you criticize. • Never let any good deed or action go unheralded in the group. • Say thank you publicly at every meeting. • Recognize the value of peoples’ contributions at the beginning or within the

meeting.

• Plan. Plan. Plan. • Meeting design is the Number 1 mechanism for effective meetings. • For each agenda item, make sure the group is clear about the goals,

processes, and functions.

• Never, Never, Never attempt to compose, draft, or edit a report or document in committee!

Take home message!

• The techniques described in this presentation can be applied to any type of meeting you encounter.

• Effective meetings are the result of deliberate planning.

References

H. C. Wedgewood, “Fewer Camels, More Horses: Where Committees Go Wrong,” Personnel, Vol. 44, No. 4, July-Aug 1967.

A. Jay, “How to Run a Meeting,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1976, pp. 43-57.

Sadler and Tucker, Common Ground, South Melbourne, Macmillan, 1981.

Pearce, Figgens & Golen, Principles of Communication, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1984.

B. L. Shoop, “How to run an Effective Meeting,” Focal Point, Optical Society of America, October 1996. Reprinted in IEEE CrossTalk, Vol. XXXIV, No. 8, January 1998.

Thank You