Business Communications

1
Business Communications

• Lesson Two
• FJU/AIEDL
• Dr. M. Connor
• Based on Excellence in Business Communication,5/e
  Thill and Bovée

2
Teamwork

• Team work has become an important part of both
  the academic world as well as the corporate
  world.

3
What is a team?

• A team is a unit of two or more people who work
  together to achieve a goal.
• Team members have a shared mission and are
  collectively responsible for their work.

4
What kind of jobs?

• Team members may be responsible for writing
  reports, giving oral presentations, and attending
  meetings.
• Whether the goal is to solve a problem, monitor a
  process, or investigate an opportunity, team
  members must communicate effectively among
  themselves and with people outside their team.

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Popular workstyle

• In a recent survey of Fortune 1000 executives,
  83 said that their firms are working in teams
  or moving in that direction.

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Why?

• One reason is performance.
• A recent study of 232 organizations across more
  than eight industries showed that companies that
  worked in teams showed the highest improvement in
  performance.

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Another reason is creativity.

• Teams encourage creativity in workers through
  participative management, which means involving
  workers in the companys decision making.

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Types of teams

• The type, structure and composition of individual
  teams vary within an organization.
• Companies can create formal teams that become
  part of an organizations structure.
• Or they may establish informal teams that arent
  part of the formal organization, but are formed
  to solve problems, work on a specific activity,
  or encourage employee participation.

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Problem-solving teams and task forces

• Informal teams that assemble to resolve specific
  issues and disband once their goal has been
  accomplished.
• Team members often include representatives from
  many departments so that those who have a stake
  in the output are able to provide input.

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Committees

• A committee usually has a long life span and may
  become a permanent part of organizational
  structure.
• Committees usually deal with regularly recurring
  task.
• For example, a grievance committee may be formed
  as a permanent resource for handling employee
  complaints and concerns

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Virtual teams

• Bring together geographically distant employees
  to accomplish goals.
• A company may have plants and offices around the
  world, but it can use computer networks,
  teleconferencing, e-mail and global
  transportation to build teams that are as
  effective as those all in the same building.

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Always a good idea?

• Teams can play a vital role in helping an
  organization reach its goals.
• However, they are not appropriate in every
  situation.
• When deciding whether to use teams, managers must
  weigh both the advantages and disadvantages.

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At their best . . .

• teams can be extremely useful for making key
  decisions.
• The interaction of the participants leads to good
  decisions based on the combined intelligence of
  the group.

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Benefits

• Increased information and knowledge.
• Increased diversity of views.
• Increased acceptance of a solution.

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Increased information and knowledge

• By pulling together the resources of several
  individuals, teams bring more information to the
  decision process.

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Increased diversity of views

• Teams bring many different perspectives to the
  decision process.

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Increased acceptance of a solution

• Team members who participate in making a decision
  are more likely to enthusiastically support the
  decision and encourage others to accept it.
• Because they share in the final product, they are
  committed to seeing it succeed.

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More benefits

• Teams generally exceed performance levels that
  would have been accomplished had the members
  worked independently, perhaps because teams have
  the potential to unleash vast amount of
  creativity and energy in workers.
• Motivation and performance are often increased
  because workers share a sense of purpose and
  mutual accountability.
• Teams also fulfill the individual workers need
  to be part of a group.
• They can decrease employee boredom, increase
  feelings of dignity and self-worth and reduce
  stress and tension between workers.

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Disadvantages

• At their worst, teams are unproductive and
  frustrating, and they are a waste of everyones
  time.
• Some may actually be counter-productive, because
  they may arrive at a bad decision.
• A team may develop groupthink, the willingness of
  individual members to set aside the personal
  opinions and go along with everyone else, even if
  everyone else is wrong, simply because belonging
  to the team is more important to them than making
  the right decision.
• Groupthink can lead to poor-quality decisions and
  ill-advised actions, even inducing people to act
  unethically.

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Hidden agendas

• Some team members may have a hidden
  agendaprivate motives that affect the groups
  interaction.
• George may want to prove that hes more powerful
  than Lili Lili might be trying to share the risk
  of making a decision and Sam might be looking
  for a chance to postpone doing real work.
• Each persons hidden agenda can detract from the
  teams effectiveness.

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Free-riders

• Team members who dont contribute their fair
  share to the groups activities because they
  arent being held individually accountable for
  their work.
• Their free-ride attitude can mean that some tasks
  dont get done.

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High cost of coordinating group activities

• Aligning schedules, arranging meetings, and
  coordinating individual parts of a project can
  eat up a lot of time and money.

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Teams arent effective for every situation.

• "When the ship goes down, you dont call a
  meeting. The captain gives an order or everybody
  drowns.
• Peter Drucker, management expert

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Group dynamics

• The interactions and processes that take place in
  a team.

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More effective than others

• Some teams are more effective than others simply
  because the dynamics of the group facilitate
  member input and the resolution of differences.

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Rules

• To keep things moving forward, productive teams
  also tend to develop rules that are conducive to
  business.
• Often these rules are unstated.
• They just become standard group practice or
  normsinformal standards of conduct that groups
  share and that guide member behavior.

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Strong identity

• When a team has a strong identity, the members
  observe team rules religiously.
• They are upset by any deviation and feel a great
  deal of pressure to conform.
• This loyalty can be positive, giving members a
  strong commitment to one another and highly
  motivating them to see that the team succeeds.
• However, an overly strong identity could leave to
  negative conditions such as groupthink.

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Group roles

• Members of a team can play various roles, which
  fall into three categories.
• Members who assumed self-oriented roles are
  motivated mainly to fulfill personal needs, so
  they tend to be less productive than other team
  members.
• Far more likely to contribute to team goals are
  those members who assume team-maintenance roles
  to help everyone work well together.
• Task facilitating roles help solve problems or
  make decisions.

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Which role?

• To a great extent, the roles that individuals
  assume in a group depend on
• their status in that group, and
• their reasons for joining the group.

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Status

• Status depends on many variables including
• personal attractiveness,
• competence in a particular field,
• past successes,
• education,
• age,
• social background, and
• organizational position.

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Status varies

• A persons status also varies from team to team.
  
• In most teams, as people try to establish their
  relative status, an undercurrent of tension can
  get in the way of real work.
• Until roles and status have stabilized, a team
  may have trouble accomplishing its goals.

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Five Phases of Team Decisions

• While teams grow and evolve in their own ways,
  research shows that most teams typically reach a
  decision by passing through five phases.
• Orientation
• Conflict
• Brainstorm
• Emergence
• Reinforcement

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Orientation

• Team members socialize, establish their roles,
  and begin to define their task or purpose.

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Conflict

• Team members begin to discuss their positions and
  become more assertive in establishing their
  roles.
• If members have been carefully selected to
  represent a variety of viewpoint and expertise,
  disagreements are a natural part of this phase.

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Brainstorm

• Team members air all the options and discuss the
  pros and cons fully.
• At the end of this phase, members begin to settle
  on a single solution to the problem.

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Emergence

• Team members reach a decision. Consensus is
  reached when the team finally finds a solution
  acceptable enough for all members to support,
  even if they have reservations.
• This consensus happens only after all of the
  members have had an opportunity to communicate
  their positions and feel that they have been
  listened to.

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Reinforcement

• Group feeling is rebuilt and the solution is
  summarized. Members receive their assignments
  for carrying out the groups decision, and they
  make arrangements for following up on those
  assignments.

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Developing an effective team

• In effective team collaborations, all team
  members recognize that each individual brings
  valuable assets, knowledge and skills to the
  team.
• They are willing to exchange information, examine
  issues, and work through conflicts that arise.

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Trust is important

• They trust one another, looking forward to the
  greater good of the team and organization rather
  than focusing on personal agendas, making
  unilateral decisions or pulling power plays.

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Characteristics of effective teams

• Clear sense of purpose
• Open and honest communication
• Decision by consensus
• Creative thinking
• Focused

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Clear sense of purpose

• Team members clearly understand the task at hand,
  what is expected of them, and their role on the
  team.

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Open and honest communication

• The team culture encourages discussion and
  debate.
• Team members speak openly and honestly, without
  the threat of anger, resentment, or retribution.
• They listen to and value feedback from others.
  As a result, all team members participate.

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Decision by consensus

• All decisions are arrived at by consensus.
• No easy, quick votes are taken.

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Creative thinking

• Effective teams encourage original thinking,
  considering options beyond the usual.

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Focused

• Team members get to the core issues of the
  problem and stay focused on key issues.

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This all takes time

• Learning team skills takes time and practice, so
  many companies now offer employees training in
  building their team skills.

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Understanding conflict

• Conflictclashes over differences in ideas,
  opinions, goals, or procedures.
• Conflict can be both constructive and destructive
  to a teams effectiveness.

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Constructive

• When it increases the involvement of team members
  and results in the solution of a problem.

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Destructive

• When it diverts energy from the more important
  issues, destroys the morale of teams or
  individual team members, or polarizes or divides
  the team.

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Conflict can arise for many reasons

• Teams and individuals may believe that they are
  competing for scarce or declining resources, such
  as money, information, and supplies.
• Team members may disagree about who is
  responsible for a certain task (usually the
  result of poorly defined responsibilities and job
  boundaries.)

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Conflict reasons

• Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings
  and misperceptions about other team members, and
  intentionally withholding information can
  undermine member trust.
• Basic differences in values, attitudes and
  personalities can lead to arguments.

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Conflict reasons

• Power struggles may result when one party
  questions the authority of another or when people
  or teams with limited authority attempt to
  increase their power or exert more influence.
• Conflict can also arise when individuals or teams
  are pursuing different goals.

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Resolving conflict

• The following measures can help team members
  resolve conflict
• Proaction
• Communication
• Openness
• Research
• Flexibility
• Fair play
• Alliance

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Proaction

• Deal with minor conflict before it becomes major
  conflict.

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Communication

• Get those directly involved in the conflict to
  participate in resolving it.

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Research

• Seek factual reasons for the problem before
  seeking solutions.

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Flexibility

• Dont let anyone lock into a position before
  considering other solutions.

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Fair play

• Dont let anyone avoid a fair solution by hiding
  behind the rules.

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Alliance

• Get parties to fight together against an "outside
  force instead of against each other.

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Overcoming resistance

• Part of dealing with conflict is learning how to
  persuade other people to accept your
  point-of-view.
• In business situations, usually reason prevails.
  
• However, you sometimes encounter people who react
  emotionally.
• When you face irrational resistance, try to
  remain calm and detached so that you can avoid
  destructive confrontations and present your
  position in a convincing manner.

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Four steps to resolving conflict

• Express understanding
• Make people aware of their resistance
• Evaluate others objections fairly
• Hold your arguments until the other person is
  ready for them

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Express understanding

• Most people are ashamed of reacting emotionally
  to business situations.
• Show that you sympathize.
• You might say, "I can understand that this change
  might be difficult, and if I were in your
  position, I might be reluctant myself.
• Help the other person relax and talk about his or
  her anxiety so that you have a chance to offer
  reassurance.

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Make people aware of their resistance

• When people are noncommittal and silent, they may
  be tuning you out without even knowing why.
• Continuing with your argument is futile.
• Deal directly with the resistance, without being
  accusing.
• You might say, You seem cool to this idea. Have
  I made some faulty assumptions?
• Such questions force people to face and define
  their resistance.

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Evaluate others objections fairly.

• Dont simply repeat yourself.
• Focus on what the other person is expressing,
  both the words and the feelings.
• Get the person to open up so that you can
  understand the basis for their resistance.
• Others objections may raise legitimate points
  that youll need to discuss, or they may reveal
  problems that youll need to minimize.

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Hold your arguments till the other person is
ready for them

• Getting your point across depends as much on the
  other persons frame of mind as it does on your
  arguments.
• You cant assume that a strong argument will
  speak for itself.
• By becoming more audience-centered, you will
  learn to address the other persons emotional
  needs first.

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Collaborating on Team Messages

• Collaborative messages, or team messages, involve
  working with other writers to produce a single
  document or presentation.
• For instance, you might sit down with your boss
  to plan a memo, work independently during the
  writing phase, and then ask your boss to review
  the message and suggest revisions.

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Using technology to collaborate

• Videoconferencing allows people in several
  locations to "meet via video and audio links.

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Software options

• One form of videoconferencing technology is
  decision-making software (also called groupware
  or electronic meeting systems).
• This software offers distinct advantages. For
  example, participants can anonymously type any
  message they want, and it flashes on the screen
  for all to see. Such anonymity allows people to
  be brutally honest without penalty.
• In addition, this approach is up to 55 faster
  than face-to-face meetings because chitchat is
  eliminated.

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Drawbacks

• You must be a good typist.
• Also, those with the best ideas dont get credit
  for them.
• Finally, you miss out on vital face-to-face
  nonverbal feedback.

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Web technology

• Also allows team members to collaborate.
• More and more companies are developing
  large-scale work spaces on the internet for
  online discussions, video conferencing, and data
  sharing.
• The primary benefits of Web-based collaboration
  are that its easy, cost-effective, and allows
  you to do multiple functions in a seamless manner.

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Preparing effective team messages

• You must be flexible and open to the opinions of
  othersfocusing on your teams objectives instead
  of your own.
• You must also get organized.
• Select a leader and clarify goals.

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First step

• Before anyone begins to write, team members must
  agree on the purpose of the project and on the
  audience.
• Your team must also plan the organization,
  format, and style of the document.

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Guidelines

• Select team members wisely.
• Select a responsible leader.
• Promote cooperation.
• Clarify goals.
• Elicit commitment.
• Clarify responsibilities.
• Instill prompt action.
• Apply technology
• Ensure technological compatibility.

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Select team members wisely

• Choose team members who have strong interpersonal
  skills, understand team dynamics, and care about
  the projects.

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Select a responsible leader

• Identify a group leader who will keep members
  informed and intervene when necessary.

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Promote cooperation

• Establish communication standards that motivate
  accuracy, openness and trust.

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Clarify goals

• Make sure team goals are aligned with individual
  expectations.

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Elicit commitment

• Create a sense of ownership and shared
  responsibility for the document

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Clarify responsibilities

• Assign specific roles and establish clear lines
  of reporting.

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Instill prompt action

• Establish a timeline and deadlines for every part
  of the project.

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Apply technology

• Use electronic tools to communicate quickly and
  effectively with other team members.

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Ensure technological compatibility

• Use the same word-processing program to make it
  easier to combine files.

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Speaking with team members

• Given a choice, people would rather talk to one
  another than write to each other.
• Talking takes less time and needs no composing,
  keyboarding, rewriting, duplicating or
  distributing.
• Even more important, oral communication provides
  the opportunity for feedback.
• When people communicate orally, they can ask
  questions, and test their understanding of the
  message.

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Think before you speak!

• However, speaking is such an ingrained activity
  that we tend to do it without much thought.
• This casual approach can cause problems in
  business.
• You have far less opportunity to revise your
  spoken words than to revise your written words.
• You cant cross out what you just said and start
  all over.

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To improve your speaking skills

• Be more aware of using speech as a tool for
  accomplishing your objectives in a business
  context.
• Break the habit of speaking spontaneously,
  without planning what you are going to say or how
  youre going to say it.
• Before you speak, think about your purpose, your
  main idea, and your audience.
• Organize your thoughts, decide on a style that
  suits the occasion and your audience and edit
  your remarks mentally.

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Focus on your audience

• Perhaps the most important thing you can do.
• Try to predict how your audience will react, and
  organize your message accordingly.
• As you speak, watch the other person and judge
  from verbal and non-verbal feedback whether your
  message is making the desired impression.
• If it isnt, revise it and try again.

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Listening to team members

• Because listening is such a routine, everyday
  activity, few people think of developing their
  listening skills.
• Unfortunately, most of us arent very good
  listeners.
• We may hear the words, but that doesnt mean
  were actually listening to the message.
• Most of us face so many distractions that we
  dont always pay full attention to whats being
  said.

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Effective listeners

• Effective listeners welcome new information and
  new ideas.
• The payoff is that they stay informed and
  up-to-date.
• Good listening gives you an edge and helps you be
  more effective when you speak. It strengthens
  organizational relationships, enhances product
  delivery, and allows the organization to manage
  growing diversity, both in the customers it
  serves and in the workforce.

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Most people listen poorly

• In fact, people
• listen at or below a 25 efficiency rate,
• remember only about half of whats said in a 10
  minute conversation,
• forget half of that within 48 hours,
• when questioned about material theyve just
  heard, people are likely to get the facts mixed
  up.

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Why????

• Because effective listening requires a conscious
  effort and a willing mind.
• Learning to listen effectively can be a
  difficult skill, but its one of the best ways to
  improve your communication skills.
• It enhances your performance, which leads to
  raises, promotions, status and power.

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Types of listening

• Three types of listening differ not only in
  purpose, but in the amounts of feedback or
  interactions that occur.
• You can improve your productivity by matching
  your listening style to the speakers purpose.

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Types of listening

• Content listening
• Critical listening
• Empathic listening.

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Content listening

• Goal of content listening is to understand and
  retain the speakers message.
• You may ask questions, but basically the
  information flows from the speaker to you.
• Thats what youre doing right now. It doesnt
  matter if you agree or disagree, approve or
  disapprove, only that you understand.

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Critical listening

• The goal of critical listening is to understand
  and evaluate the speakers message on several
  levels the logic of the argument, the strength
  of the evidence, the validity of the conclusions,
  the implications of the message for you and your
  organization, the speakers intentions and
  motives, and the omission of any important or
  relevant points.
• Critical listening often involves interaction as
  you try to uncover the speakers point-of-view
  and credibility.

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Emphatic listening

• The goal of emphatic listening is to understand
  the speakers feelings, needs and wants so that
  you can appreciate his or her point-of-view,
  regardless of whether or not you share that
  perspective.
• By listening in an emphatic way, you help the
  speaker vent the emotions that prevent a
  dispassionate approach to the subject.
• Avoid the temptation to give advice.
• Try not to judge the individuals feelings.
• Just let the other person talk.

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The Listening Process

• Listening involves five related activities, which
  usually happen in sequence
• Receiving
• Interpreting
• Remembering
• Evaluating
• Responding

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Receiving

• Physically hearing the message and taking note of
  it.
• Physical reception can be blocked by noise,
  impaired hearing or inattention.

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Interpreting

• Assigning meaning to sounds according to your own
  values, beliefs, ideals, expectations, roles,
  needs and personal history.
• The speakers frame of references may be very
  different from yours, so you may need to
  determine what the speaker really means.

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Remembering

• Storing a message for future reference.
• As you listen, you retain what you hear by making
  notes or by making a mental outline of the
  speakers key points.

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Evaluating

• Applying critical thinking skills to weigh the
  speakers remarks.
• You separate fact from opinion and evaluate the
  quality of the evidence.

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Responding

• Reacting once youve evaluated the speakers
  message.
• If youre communicating one-on-one or in small
  groups, the initial response generally takes the
  form of verbal feedback.
• If youre one of many in an audience, your
  initial response may take the form of laughter,
  applause, or silence.
• Later on, you may act on what you have heard.

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Giving Constructive feedback

• There are a number of things to keep in mind in
  order to give constructive feedback
• Focus on particular behaviors
• Keep feedback impersonal
• Use "I statements
• Keep feedback goal-oriented
• Make feedback well timed
• Ensure understanding
• Direct negative feedback toward behavior that is
  controllable by the recipient.

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Focus on particular behaviors

• Feedback should be specific rather than general

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Keep feedback impersonal

• No matter how upset you are, keep feedback job
  related, and never criticize someone personally.

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Use "I statements

• Instead of saying, "You are absent from work too
  often, say "I feel annoyed when you miss work
  frequently.

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Keep feedback goal-oriented

• If you have to say something negative, make sure
  its directed towards the recipients goals.
• Ask yourself whom the feedback is supposed to
  help. If the answer is essentially you, bite
  your tongue.

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Make feedback well timed

• Feedback is most meaningful when there is a short
  interval between the recipients behavior and the
  receipt of feedback of that behavior.

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Ensure understanding

• If feedback is to be effective, you need to make
  sure the recipient understands it.

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Direct negative feedback

• Direct negative feedback toward behavior that is
  controllable by the recipient.
• Theres little value of reminding someone of a
  shortcoming over which he or she has no control.

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Barriers to effective listening

• Prejudice
• Self-centeredness
• Listening selectively

111
Prejudgment

• One of the most common barriers to effective
  listening.

112
Difficult to overcome

• It is an Automatic process.
• To operate in life, people must hold assumptions.
• However, in new situations, these assumptions can
  often be incorrect.
• Moreover, some people listen defensively, viewing
  every comment as a personal attack. To protect
  their self-esteem, they distort messages by
  tuning out anything that doesnt confirm their
  view of themselves.

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Self-centeredness

• Causes people to take control of conversations,
  rather than listening to whats being said.

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Example

• If a speaker mentions a problem (Perhaps the
  manager is trying to deal with conflict between
  team members), self-centered listeners eagerly
  relate their own problems with team conflict.
• They trivialize the speakers concerns by
  pointing out that their own difficulties are
  twice as great. And they can top positive
  experiences as well.
• No matter what subject is being discussed, they
  will know more than the speaker doesand theyre
  determined to prove it.

115
Listening selectively

• Also known as out-listening.
• You let your mind wander to things such as
  whether you brought your dry cleaning ticket to
  work.
• You stay tuned out till you hear a word or phrase
  that gets your attention once more. The result
  is that you dont remember what the speaker
  actually said.
• Instead you remember what you think the speaker
  probably said.

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Fast brains!

• One reason our minds tend to wander is that we
  think faster than we speak. Most people speak at
  about 120 to 150 words per minute. But depending
  on the subject and individual, studies show that
  people can process information at 500 to 800
  words per minute.
• You should be using this difference to pull the
  argument together, but some people let their
  minds wander and tune out.

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Understanding non-verbal communication

• Good listeners pay attention to more than just
  verbal communication.
• Such non-verbal communication consists of all the
  cues, gestures, facial expressions, spatial
  relationships and attitudes towards time that
  enable people to communicate without words.

118
Actions speak louder than words.

• Thats a saying in English.
• It is certainly true.
• It has been said that up to 80 of communication
  is non-verbal.
• But you have to know the culture of the speaker,
  as non-verbal clues change from culture to
  culture.

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In the same culture

• Because nonverbal communication is so reliable,
  people generally have more faith in non-verbal
  messages than in verbal messages.
• If a person says one thing but transmits a
  different non-verbal message, people will
  inevitably believe the non-verbal message

120
The types of non-verbal communication

• facial expression
• gesture and posture
• vocal characteristics
• personal appearance
• touching behavior
• and use of time and space.

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Facial expressions

• The face and eyes command particular attention as
  sources of non-verbal messages.
• But remember, this is highly contextual to
  culture.

122
Walters and Qaddafi

• After her interview with Col. Muamar el-Qaddafi,
  Barbara Walters, an American journalist said, He
  wouldnt look at me. I found it disconcerting
  that he kept looking all over the room but rarely
  at me.
• Like many people in the United States, Walters
  was associating lack of eye contact with
  trustworthiness, so when Quadaffi withheld eye
  contact, she felt uncomfortable.
• But in fact, Quadaffi was paying Walters a
  compliment. In Libya, not looking confers
  respect, but looking straight at a woman is
  considered nearly as serious as physical assault.

123
Gesture and posture

• By moving your body, you can express both
  specific and general messages, some voluntary,
  some involuntary.
• Knowing how to read people helps you be a more
  effective communicator.

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Personal appearance

• Grooming, clothing, accessories style all
  modify a personas appearance.
• If your goal is to make a good impression, adopt
  the style of the people you want to impress.

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Touching behavior

• Touch is an important vehicle for expressing
  warmth, comfort and reassurance.
• Perhaps because it implies intimacy, touching
  behavior is governed in various circumstances by
  strict customs that establish who can touch whom
  and how.

126
Norms vary

• The established norms vary, depending on the
  gender, age, relative status and cultural
  background of the persons involved.
• In business situations, touching suggests
  dominance, so a higher-status person is more
  likely to touch a lower-status person that the
  other way around.

127
Taboos

• Touching has become controversial, however,
  because it can sometimes be interpreted as sexual
  harassment.
• It is also taboo in some cultures.
• It is never OK for a strange woman to touch an
  Orthodox Jewish man and vice versa.
• The same goes for strict Muslims.

128
Use of time and space

• Like touch, time and space can be used to assert
  authority. Some people demonstrate their
  importance by making other people wait (which I
  think is rude and arrogant, but sometimes a
  gesture of authority is needed, so this is good
  to know)
• Others show respect by being on time.
• People can also assert their authority by
  occupying the best space.

129
Space

• In US companies, the chief executive usually has
  the corner office and the prettiest view.
• Apart from serving as a symbol of status, space
  determines how comfortable people feel talking to
  one another.
• When others stand too close or too far away, we
  are likely to feel ill at ease.

130
Cultural differences

• Personal space varies from culture to culture, so
  its always good to do some advance reading
  before meeting people from a different culture.
• There are a myriad of different books out there
  on international business etiquette, many of them
  culture specific.

131
Increasing meeting productivity

• Meetings help teams solve problems by providing
  the opportunity for giving and getting feedback,
  whether your goal is to develop ideas, identify
  opportunities or decide how to maximize
  resources.

132
Many meetings are unproductive

• In a recent study, senior and middle managers
  reported that only 56 of their meetings were
  actually productive and that 25 of them could
  have been handled by a memo or a phone call.
• Meeting productivity is affected by the way you
  prepare for them and the way you conduct and
  participate in them.

133
Preparing for meetings

• The biggest mistake in holding meetings is not
  having a specific goal.
• So before you call a meeting, make sure that you
  really need one.
• Perhaps you could communicate more effectively
  through a memo or individual conversations.
• If you decide that you do need the interaction of
  the group, make sure you plan enough time to
  achieve your goals.

134
For successful meetings

• The key to productive meetings is careful
  planning of
• purpose,
• participants,
• location, and
• agenda.

135
Decide on your purpose

• Although many meetings combine purposes, most are
  usually informational or decision making.
  Informational meetings allow participants to
  share information and perhaps coordinate action.
• Briefings may come from each participant or from
  the leader, who then answers questions from the
  attendees.
• Decision-making meetings usually involve
  persuasion, analysis, and problem solving.
• They often include a brain-storming session,
  followed by a debate on the alternatives, and
  they require that each participant is aware of
  the nature of the problem and criteria for the
  solution.

136
Select participants

• Being invited to this or that meeting can be a
  mark of status, and you may be reluctant to leave
  anyone out.
• Nevertheless, try to invite only those people
  whose presence is essential.

137
Participant logistics

• If the session is purely informational, and one
  person will be doing most of the talking, you can
  include a relatively large group. However, if
  youre trying to solve a problem, develop a plan
  or reach a decision, try to limit participation
  to between six and twelve people.
• The more participants, the more comments and
  confusion you are likely to generate. But even
  as you try to limit participants, be sure to
  include key decision makers and those who can
  contribute.
• Holding a meeting is pointless if the people
  with necessary information are not there.

138
Choose an appropriate location

• Decide where youll hold the meeting and reserve
  the location.
• For work sessions, morning meetings are usually
  more productive than afternoon sessions.
• Also, consider the seating arrangement. Are rows
  of chairs suitable or do you need a conference
  table?
• Plus, give some attention to details such as room
  temperature, lighting, ventilation, acoustics and
  refreshments.
• These things may seem trivial, but they can make
  or break a meeting.
• You might also considering meeting in cyberspace.

139
Set and Follow an Agenda

• Although the nature of a meeting may sometimes
  prevent you from developing a fixed agenda, at
  least prepare a list of matters to be discussed.
• Distribute the agenda to participants several
  days before the meeting so that they know what to
  expect and can come prepared to respond to the
  issues at hand.

140
Agendas

• Include the names of the participants, the time,
  the place, and the order of business.
• Make sure the agenda is specific.
• For example, the phrase development budget
  doesnt reveal much, whereas the longer
  explanation Discussion Proposed reduction of
  2006-2007 development budget due to our new
  product postponement helps committee members
  prepare in advance with facts and figures.

141
Starting and ending on time!

• Agendas help you start and end your meetings on
  time.
• Starting and ending on time sends a signal of
  good organization and allows attendees to meet
  other commitments.
• In fact, one solution for improving meetings is
  simply telling people when the meeting will end.

142
Agenda questions

• A productive agenda should answer three key
  questions
• 1) What do we need to do in this meeting to
  accomplish our goals?
• 2) What conversations will be of the greatest
  importance to all the participants?
• 3) What information must be available in order to
  have those conversations?

143
Conducting and participating in meetings

• Whether youre conducting a meeting or just
  participating, there are behaviors of which you
  should be aware.

144
Keeping the meeting on track

• A good meeting is not a series of dialogues
  between individual members and the leader.
• Instead, its a cross-flow of discussion and
  debate, with the leader occasionally guiding,
  mediating, probing, stimulating, and summarizing,
  but mostly letting the others thrash out their
  ideas.

145
Leader jobs

• Thats why its important for leaders to avoid
  being so domineering that they close off
  suggestions.
• Of course, they must not be so passive that they
  lose control of the group.

146
More leader responsibilities

• Youre responsible for keeping the meeting moving
  along.
• If the discussion lags, call on those who havent
  been heard from.
• Pace the presentation and discussion so that you
  have time to finish the agenda.
• As time begins to run out, interrupt the
  discussion and summarize what has been
  accomplished.
• However, dont be too rigid. Allow time for
  discussion, and give people a chance to raise
  issues.

147
Follow Parliamentary Procedure

• One way you can improve the productivity of a
  meeting is by using parliamentary procedure, a
  time-tested method for planning and running
  effective meetings.

148
What can it do?

• Used correctly, it can help teams
• Transact business efficiently
• Protect individual rights
• Maintain order
• Preserve a spirit of harmony
• Accomplish team and organizational goals.

149
Roberts Rules of Order

• The most common guide to parliamentary procedure
  is Roberts Rules of Order, available in various
  editions and revisions.
• Also available are less technical guides based on
  Roberts Rules.
• You can determine how strictly you want to adhere
  to parliamentary procedure.

150
Encourage participation

• As the meeting gets underway, youll discover
  that some participants are too quiet and others
  are too talkative.
• To draw out the shy types, ask on their input on
  issues that pertain to them. You might say
  something like, May, youve done a lot of work
  in this area. What do you think?
• For the overly talkative, simply say that time is
  limited and others need to be heard from.

151
The best meetings

• The best meetings are those in which everyone
  participates, so dont let one or two people
  dominate your meetings while one or two doodle on
  notepads.
• As you move through your agenda, stop at the end
  of each item, summarize what you understand to be
  the feelings of the group, and state the
  important points made during the discussion.

152
For participants

• Try to contribute to both the subject of the
  meeting and the smooth interaction of the
  participants.
• Use your listening skills and powers of
  observation to size up the interpersonal dynamics
  of the people, and then adapt your behavior to
  help the group achieve its goals.
• Speak up if you have something useful to say, but
  dont monopolize the discussion.

153
Close and follow up

• At the conclusion of the meeting, tie up the
  loose ends.
• Either summarize the general conclusion of the
  group or list the suggestions.
• Wrapping things up ensures that all participants
  agree on the outcome and gives people a chance to
  clear up any misunderstandings.
• Before the meeting breaks up, briefly review who
  has agreed to do what by what date.

154
Be sure to follow up

• As soon as possible after the meeting, make sure
  all of the participants receive a copy of the
  minutes or the notes, showing recommended
  actions, schedules and responsibilities.
• The minutes will remind everyone of what took
  place and will provide reference for future
  actions.