Welcome to “Effective Meeting Skills” Dr. Karima Zaid

Objectives Be able to plan and prepare a productive team meeting Conduct an effective meeting using interaction process guidelines

Every day 83 million people attend 11.5 million meetings

Overview and Introduction Meetings are necessary to coordinate individual efforts, collaborate on joint projects, sell ideas, solve problems, and make decisions. Managing meeting is a set of skill.

What are Meetings? Meetings are a gathering of two or more persons to collectively accomplish what one person cannot.

Are all meetings necessary? Many meetings don’t need to be held, and often those that are held are attended by more people than necessary.

First Decide If You Need To Have A Meeting What I have to do? First Decide If You Need To Have A Meeting

Do I Need To Have a Meeting? First, decide if the meeting is necessary: Objectives. Reasons.

Objectives Why am I scheduling or attending this meeting? What do I want to accomplish or gain? What information will be exchanged or decisions made? Who will be attending that I need? Clearly define the objectives. To help u think through ur objectives, ask yourself the following questions.

Objectives There are other ways to meet objectives Without holding meeting: - Phone calls. - Conference calls. - Memos/ Letters. - Postal mail. - E-mail. - Teleconferencing.

Reasons 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.

Effective Meeting Components (Goals & Objectives) Process (Topics) Content People Planning

How to organize for a meeting Purpose. Participant. Structure. Location and Time. Agenda. Responsibilities. Confirmation. If you have determined a meeting is the best way to carry out ur team’s objective, then you should begin to organize for an effective meeting.

How to run effective meetings Begin on time and end on time. Use an ideas bin. Establish and use ground rules. Control dominating individuals. Bring food. Summarize. If you have determined a meeting is the best way to carry out ur team’s objective, then you should begin to organize for an effective meeting. Ground rules: Only one person speaks at a time. No smoking in meeting room. No private/side conversation. Don’t 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.

Responsibility of leader Setting the meeting tone. Keeping the discussion on track. Making sure everyone has a fair chance of being heard. Summarize relevant points. Tie things together when the discussion jumps around between interrelated topics. As a leader in our professional society, it is your responsibility to ensure that our volunteer meetings are efficient and effective.

IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT MEMBERS Listen, but do not debate Talk privately with members who continually exhibit disruptive behaviors Turn negative behaviors into positive contributions Encourage the group to share the responsibility for handling difficult members Don’t take it personally Try different strategies, small groups/pairs

How to Deal with Disruptive Members Make sure that all meeting participants understand their responsibilities. All members were invited to the meeting for a reason All members should feel free to contribute Members who are silent Begin meetings by engaging every member of the group “Fatma, haven’t you done this in your work? What was your experience?" “Noura, you’ve been rather quiet to this point, do you have an opinion or an idea?" Consider breaking larger group into smaller groups to develop input

How to Deal with Disruptive Members (con.) Members who are vocally dominant Redirect discussion to other members "We all recognize your expertise in this area, but let’s hear from some others in case some new ideas emerge.“ "John has made his opinion clear; does anyone else have something they would like to add?" Members who are negative Probe the negativity to validate concerns If behavior persists, consider speaking off-line or excluding them from future meetings “Let’s not shoot down this idea prematurely; let’s give it some time for evaluation."

Disruptive Behavior Coming in late Argumentative Side Conversation Reward and thank those who were there on time. Keep temper in check and model for group. Find some merit in points made. Speak in private. Avoid sarcasm. Restate last comment made. Explain to group the need to hear information.

Disruptive Behavior II Losing Focus Griper Won’t Talk Implement “parking lot” for divergent ideas. Restate purpose of discussion. Point out what can and can’t be changed. Ask group for ideas on how to best operate. Examine what motivates them. Ask for their opinion.

Key Principles Maintain or Enhance Self Esteem Listen and Respond with Empathy Ask for Help and Encourage Involvement Be Specific and Sincere

Maintain or Enhance Self Esteem – Key 1 People need to feel good about themselves People need to feel that their opinions and ideas are valued People need to feel that they are respected and important in the process

Tips for Maintaining or Enhancing Self Esteem “That’s a good idea” “I really appreciate that” “Thanks for taking the time” “Thanks for having that handy” “Congratulations _____________

Listen and Respond with Empathy – Key 2 Showing you understand is the heart of open two way communication Show understanding of participants’ feelings Reinforces good feelings and helps the participant feel valued

Tips for Listening & Responding with Empathy “I understand how disappointing (satisfying) it can be to…” “I can see why you feel that way. It can be …when…” “I’d feel…too, if…happened to me.” “Something like that happened to me once. I understand how you feel.” ______________________________

Ask for Help and Encourage Involvement – Key 3 Encourage your team members’ contributions (their help generally leads to better ideas, solutions, and decisions) Demonstrate to your team members that you value their experiences and expertise Involvement and participation help accomplish the tasks Asking team members for ideas and opinions encourages them to take responsibility

Tips on asking for Help and Encouraging Involvement “What did you have in mind?” “How do you think we should handle that?” “You have had some excellent ideas in the past. Would you help us with this problem?” “Could you help put some of these ideas into action?”

Be Specific and Sincere - Key 4 This will give you more credibility with your participants Be specific, using details, with your acknowledgements of accomplishments People want to be praised, but only for the things that are important to them Compliment your participants when they deserve the compliment

Be Specific and Sincere Tips Not just “Thanks for a good job”…but “I appreciate the work you did on the Quality Project. Moving the stops on the fixture was a great idea!”

Meeting Norms & Guidelines Operational (Guidelines) Start/Stop on time Publish minutes Rotate Roles Leader Scribe Set Objectives Behavioral (Norms) Have fun Respect others Support Team Decisions No interruptions Norms & guidelines set the tone

Final Thoughts Praise! Praise! Praise! Praise people twice as much as you criticize. Never let any good deed or action go unheralded in the group. Say thank you publicly at every meeting. Recognize the value of peoples’ contributions at the beginning or within the meeting. Plan. Plan. Plan. Meeting design is the Number 1 mechanism for effective meetings. For each agenda item, make sure the group is clear about the goals, processes, and functions. Never, Never, Never attempt to compose, draft, or edit a report or document in committee! Praise! Praise! Praise! Praise people twice as much as your criticize. Never let any good deed or action go unheralded in the group. Say thank you publicly at every meeting. Recognize the value of peoples contributions at the beginning or within the meeting. It’s cheap psychology, and it works wonders. One of the best ways to boost group morale and keep it high, is to notice peoples work and praise it regularly. Plan. Plan. Plan. Meeting design is the Number 1 mechanism for effective meetings. For each agenda item, make sure the group is clear about the goals, processes, and functions. Never, Never, Never attempt to compose, draft, or edit a report or document in committee!

Take home message! The techniques described in this presentation can be applied to any type of meeting you encounter. Effective meetings are the result of deliberate planning.

References H. C. Wedgewood, “Fewer Camels, More Horses: Where Committees Go Wrong,” Personnel, Vol. 44, No. 4, July-Aug 1967. A. Jay, “How to Run a Meeting,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1976, pp. 43-57. Sadler and Tucker, Common Ground, South Melbourne, Macmillan, 1981. Pearce, Figgens & Golen, Principles of Communication, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1984. B. L. Shoop, “How to run an Effective Meeting,” Focal Point, Optical Society of America, October 1996. Reprinted in IEEE CrossTalk, Vol. XXXIV, No. 8, January 1998.

Thank You