Making meetings useful
Housekeeping › mobile phones › break times › toilets › emergencies © smallprint 2
Workshop overview At this workshop the following will be addressed: › reasons for holding meetings › strategies for managing effective, useful meetings › holding meetings that achieve specific objectives › roles of different personnel © smallprint 3
Workshop expectations What do you know about the topic? What do you need to know? What outcomes do you expect from this workshop? © smallprint 4
Topic 1 Meeting purposes © smallprint 5
Why? In a meeting, two or more people come together (often in a formal setting) to discuss a (usually) predetermined topic or set of topics. © smallprint 6
Meeting types © smallprint 7
Be organised © smallprint 8 Disorganised meetings lead to boredom. Boring meetings lead to inattention.
Personnel › chairperson › minute taker/ secretary › participants › guest speaker/s © smallprint 9
Activity © smallprint 10
Topic 2 © smallprint 11 Planning and organising
Use tools that help with organising ‘Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.’ (Albert Einstein) © smallprint 12
Who will attend? © smallprint 13 ‘Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.’ (John Kenneth Galbraith) Pick me!
Venues © smallprint 14
Discussion activity © smallprint 15
Activity © smallprint 16
Topic 3 © smallprint 17 At the meeting
Opening © smallprint 18 Controlling the meeting
Keeping on track © smallprint 19 What are the desired outcomes? How do you keep people focused on them?
Motions, decisions, voting © smallprint 20
Managing conflict © smallprint 21
Outcomes © smallprint 22
Encourage involvement and participation © smallprint 23
Scheduling breaks © smallprint 24
Closing ‘A good close to a meeting is like the last chapter of a great novel – it summarises all that happens and leaves you wanting to read the sequel.’ (Anon.) © smallprint 25
Minutes ‘A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted.’ (James T Kirk) © smallprint 26
Activity © smallprint 27
Summary Before leaving today please share: › 1 thing you learned › 1 new practice you will undertake when at work › 1 activity you enjoyed Thankyou for your attendance and participation. © smallprint 28