OPENING THE MEETING BUSINESS SKILLS

Introduction It is always good practice in any meeting to have one person act like chair. But being the chair is a very difficult role. That’s because the other people at the meeting are often peers rather than subordinates, which means your authority is limited and temporary. Chair – předsedající Peers – osoba stejného postavení Temporary – přechodný, časově omezený

Introduction Quick thinking and good linguistic skills are also needed, especially if it is a multinational, multicultural and „multi- language“ group. If you have to chair a meeting in English, then get started in an organized way. Here’s a useful checklist: 1. Roll call (kontrola docházky) 2. Aims and motivation 3. Names protocol 4. Review agenda 5. Time problems

Roll call First, you need to check that everyone is there who should be there. Then choose the secretary and the time- keeper. You might say something like this: „OK. Shall we start? Let’s check who’s missing. Does anyone know where John is? David is our secretary today and Marianne our timekeeper.“ Timekeeper - časoměřič

Aims and motivation Then make a general statement of aims, and go on to motivate and encourage the participants: „It’s good to see you all. The main items we have to discuss today concern standardizing our IT systems and coordinating the way we decide on new applications. It is important to get both of these resolved as soon as possible. They are steps towards creating a global approach and I’m sure we all have a lot of good ideas we can add to our discussions” Resolved (an item) – vyřešit, najít řešení (bodu jednání)

Names protocol Next, talk about names and their use during the meeting. If people do not know each other very well, you might ask them what they want to be called: „So, before we start, there are one or two details we need to discuss. First of all, shall we use first or last names?”

Review the agenda The next practical step is to review and, if necessary, change the agenda: „Everyone should have received the agenda. Does anyone have any comments or suggestions for last-minutes changes or additions?” Additions - doplnění

Review the agenda Do remember, however, that participants will not have had time to prepare for any additional items. And you, as the chair, will not have had the chance to think about the best way to organize the discussion. Such additional items should be included only if an urgent decision is needed, or if the information is of great importance to the group. If possible, these adjustments to the agenda should be made by before the meeting. Adjustments - přizpůsobení

Time problems Another detail is to find out whether anyone has to leave early or whether someone is coming later. The chair should also make sure that participants keep their inputs short. You could say something like this: „A couple of practical things before we start – does anyone have to leave early? Jane? When do you have to go? OK. We should have dealt with most of the points by then. Anyone else? No? Good. Finally, do remember to keep your inputs short, so that we can finish on time.“ Input - příspěvek

Time problems Have your checklist ready when you start the meeting, to make sure you cover these practical points, and to give yourself the chance to establish yourself as a well- organized meeting leader.

The end Good luck with your meetings