CONDUCTING AN EFFECTIVE MEETING

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CONDUCTING AN EFFECTIVE MEETING

• By
• Godfery Kissey
• Jabatan Perikanan Sabah

Presented At The Lecture Series I - A Learning
Organisation Sabah Trade Centre, Kota Kinabalu
23 June 2001
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Encountered Any Of The Following ?

• A. When called for a meeting
• Delegate it.
• Feel its a waste of time.
• Feel skeptical about it.
• Regard it as necessary evils to get work done.
• B. During meeting
• Sit near the door to exit.
• Felt totally frustrated.
• Dont accomplish much.
• Sit at back to do something else or sleep.

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Presentations Outline

• Overview and introduction.
• Importance of an effective meeting.
• Planning a meeting.
• Conducting a meeting.
• Participating a meeting.
• Follow up work.

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Overview and Introduction

• Meeting process has impact on outcome.
• Managing meeting is a set of skill.
• Therere many types of meeting.
• An expensive activity.
• Tend to be often overlooked.
• All meeting basic are the same.

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Importance Of An Effective Meeting

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

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NO TEAM WORK
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Planning A Meeting

• I. Primary decision.
• II. Who does what?
• III. The agenda.
• IV. Pre-meeting preparation.

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Primary decision

• Content vs Process
• A. The Content
• 1. Is there a need for a meeting?
• 2. Determine what needs to be covered?
• 3. If theres nothing to make decisions,
• etc, then theres no need for a meeting.

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Primary decision

• B. The Process
• 1. Figure out how best to cover those items?
• 2. Do we need/want to
• - convey information?
• - have an open discussion?
• - make decisions?
• - brainstorm new ideas?
• - or have a combination of any the above?

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Who does what ?
8. Time keeper 9. Recorder 10. Note taker 11.
Observers 12. Technicians 13. Cleaner 14. Server

• The Complete Organiser
• 1. Advisor
• 2. Chairperson
• 3. Neutral facilitator
• 4. Facilitative leader
• 5. Secretariat
• 6. Presenter
• 7. Participant

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Who does what ?

• The Guide
• Possible to play more than 2 roles.
• Choose correct person playing 2nd role.
• No more than 3 roles.
• Almost everyone is a participant.
• Never, never, neverhave the chairperson take on
  a 3rd role.

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The Agenda

• A. Purpose of an agenda
• 1. A roadmap leading to destination.
• 2. To have participants the correct mindset.
• 3. To keep on track, allocate save time.
• 4. To have a clear purpose focus.

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The Agenda

• B. Elements of an agenda
• 1. Concise written.
• 2. Consist list of topics/items.
• 3. Presenter.
• 4. Realistic time frame.
• 5. Indicate requirement.

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The Agenda

• C. A standard agenda
• 1. Minutes of previous meeting.
• 2. Summary of past actions.
• 3. Review of progress.
• 4. Action items.
• 5. Problem solving.
• 6. Task assignments.
• 7. Other Business.
• 8. Reminder of next meeting.

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The Agenda

• D. Some agenda hint
• 1. Set an agenda stick to it.
• 2. Order it logically.
• 3. Review it at beginning of meeting.
• 4. Put important item first.
• 5. Work brief issues prior to meeting.
• 6. Include inputs to agenda setting process.
• 7. Have an agenda planning committee.

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Pre-meeting preparation

• Date Time.
• Identify Confirm Venue.
• Participants - identify, invite inform them.
• Minutes, agendas working papers.
• Equipments/Logistics.
• Refreshments.
• Transportation.
• Lodging.
• Pre-meeting discussion

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Conducting A Meeting

• I. The Chairperson.
• II. Facilitating decision.
• III. Ground rules.
• IV. Handling participants.

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The Chairperson

• A. General
• Meetings are conducted by a supervisor.
• Stay out in front if you intend to lead/chair.
• Can delegate - dependent on meeting.
• Start on time and end on time.
• Ask for suggested agenda addition.
• State your role at the beginning.
• State what authority a group will have.

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The Chairperson

• B. Main Function
• 1. Task function
• Keep the discussion on target.
• Inform and enforce groundrules.
• Get focus.
• Ensures action are assigned follow up.

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The Chairperson

• 2. Maintenance function
• Make sure everyone gets heard.
• Make sure people needs are met.
• Maintains control of the meeting flow.
• Handle control participant/s well.
• Maintain momentum.
• Reach closure.

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Facilitating decisions

• Pick one challenge at a time.
• Focus where things went wrong.
• Understand the problem, not assign blame.
• Brainstorm potential proposals/solution.
• Encourage tentative comment.
• Discuss pros and cons of different approaches.
• Use analysis techniques - SWOT, 4W1H.
• Find out where people agree and disagree.
• Assign further studies.
• Announce how when decisions will be made.

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Facilitating decisions
Analyse Understand
MEETING
Potential Proposal
Decision
Potential Solution
Impasse
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Ground rules

• Only one person speaks at a time.
• No smoking in meeting room.
• No private/side conversation.
• Dont interrupt each other.
• Everyone participates.
• Listen as an ally.
• Bio breaks as needed.
• Get closure and move forward.
• Start and end on time.
• Speak or ask direct to the point.

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Handling participants

• A. The talker.
• Likes to hear their own voice.
• Joins just about all topics.
• Wastes time for everybody.
• Drags meeting at length.
• Politely make sure everyone knows that its okay
  to speak about an issue, but no one likes
  unnecessarily long meeting

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Handling participants

• B. The belligerent.
• Just doesnt agree with anyone.
• Explaining means yelling scream.
• Puts everyone on the defensive.
• Not willing to listen.
• Not willing to compromise.
• Let him/her be the chairperson or tell him/her
  firmly of the poor behaviour.

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Handling participants

• C. The sleeper.
• Goes to zzz.ZZZZZZ.
• Suddenly joins midway.
• Makes nosy noise.
• Talk with the sleeper to stay awake in future or
  station somebody near him/her

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Handling participants

• D. The interrupter.
• Always jumps in conversation.
• Cant wait his/her turn to speak.
• Always his/her interruption is irrelevant.
• Discuss, suggest, nice, and unembarrasing ways
  that you can help overcome his/her personality
  trait.

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Handling participants

• E. The wanderer/sideliner.
• Goes Off on a tangent.
• Takes everyone to his trip.
• Its best to take this discussion later perhaps
  during coffee break or handle it off-line

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Handling participants

• F. The backsitter.
• Wants to escape.
• Not interested in the meeting.
• Will start own meeting at the back.
• Dont let him/her join in the next meeting Or
  Let him/her sit in front/nearby in future Or Ask
  him/her opinion on any juncture.

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Participating A Meeting

• Good communication skills
• Listening
• Speaking/Contributing
• Disagreeing

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Participating A Meeting

• Additional Tips
• Be prepared.
• Look confident and interested.
• Consider where you sit.
• Be cool.

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Follow Up Work

• Minutes of meeting.
• Meeting summary.
• Action taken.
• Meeting evaluation.
• Post-mortem.

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Thank You