Making Meetings More Effective A leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University. *This powerpoint should be used in conjunction with the Effective Meetings lesson plan found at http://leadership.cas.psu.edu/Training.html

Effective Meetings: Overview Introduction Lesson Objectives Lesson Content Reflection Questions References

Introduction Social society and we like to meet As organizations grow and spread, meetings become necessity and not luxury Companies, schools, community groups, houses of worship, etc. Important to maximize this time with team members and make meetings as effective as possible

Lesson Objectives At the end of the lesson, you will be able to: Identify some strategies you can use to make your meetings more effective

Meetings Reasons for meetings Effectiveness from two different angles To plan an event To make a decision To get work done Effectiveness from two different angles Process stand point Effectivemeetings.com Providing ground rules for participants Tool Pack

The Process Stand Point from Effectivemeetings.com Steps to take before, during, and after a meeting Only hold a meeting if necessary All meetings must have clear objectives All meetings must have an agenda that includes topics for discussion, presenters if applicable, and order of business Meeting information needs to be circulated to everyone prior to the meeting Meeting objectives and agenda Location/date/time Any necessary background information Assigned items for preparation

The Process Stand Point from Effectivemeetings.com Start meetings on time Meeting notes must be recorded and made part of the company’s meeting information archives The decisions made by the group must be documented Assigned action items must be documented and someone must be appointed to follow-up on the completion of all action items Meeting effectiveness must be reviewed at the end of each meeting and suggested improvements applied to the next meeting

Providing Ground Rules from Tool Pack To be followed by all who attending a meeting Stay focused Squash conflict Encourage discussion during silence Get ideas flowing Brainstorm, use a suggestion box, or break into discussion groups Expect some conflict Should surround ideas and not people, and remains neutral Spread the power around All should have a voice in decision making power to provide buy-in Always follow through Every member should have some level of responsibility

Reflection Questions Look at the “process” steps to making your meetings more effective. Are you doing any of those right now? What are some process steps you can take as a leader to make your meetings more effective? Would some be easier than others to implement? Look at the ground rules to making your meetings more effective. Which of those that you are not doing could you easily complete for your next meeting?

References Effective Meetings. (2004). Retrieved on October 1, 2006, from http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingba sics/training.asp Toolpack Consultants. (2001-2005). Retrieved on October 1, 2006, from http://www.toolpack.com/meetings.html