Whatever type of meeting you attend the overall objective is to bring together a group of people, each of whom should have something to contribute. The delivered product is an agreement based on the free exchange of ideas, facts
and opinions.
Do you need to meet?
A meeting is a good way to share information, collect ideas or make group decisions. However, meetings are not good for doing detailed analysis or writing reports. Therefore avoid meetings where:
- You have already made up your mind but want to give the impression you are consulting others.
- Delicate personal or confidential matters might arise.
- The job could be done better by memo, Zoom, telephone or face-to-face discussion with each person in turn.
Why do Meetings Go Wrong?
Here are the most common causes of failure in meetings:
- Confused objectives
- Unclear roles and responsibilities
- Conflicting expectations
- The need to win i.e. get one’s own proposal accepted)
- Manipulation by the group leader (abuse of power to achieve personal objectives)
- Poor agenda and time management
- Unresolved questions of authority. Does the meeting have the authority to take the decision being discussed?
Making Meetings More Effective
Two ways to make meetings more effective are:
- Better preparation
- Better chairmanship and meeting conduct
Preparation for the Meeting
- Prepare thoroughly for the meeting:
- Establish the purpose of the meeting
- Decide who should attend, and provide a safe environment to allow people to speak freely
- Produce an agenda, distribute it
- Decide how long the meeting should last and tell attendees
- Make the physical arrangements
- Organise a minute taker (if appropriate)
- Take actions AND…follow them up! These can be checked in the next meeting
Conduct of the Meeting
At the meeting the chairman’s responsibilities are:
- To open the meeting introducing attendees to each other, where appropriate, and state the objectives of the meeting.
- To be a participating member, but in charge
- To channel discussion in the direction of the meeting’s objectives
- To manage the agenda and the time spent on each item
- To act as participating referee when the ground rules are infringed
- To ensure that the minute taker has accurately recorded what has been agreed
- To restate and re-emphasise what has been said, what ideas have been introduced, and what decisions arrived at
- To develop action lists – allocate responsibilities and completion dates
- To end the meeting on a positive note.