1. Welcome to “Effective Meeting Skills”
Dr. Karima Zaid

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

3. Every day
83 million people attend
11.5 million meetings

4. 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.

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

6. 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.

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

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

9. 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.

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

11. 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.

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

13. 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.

14. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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."

20. 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.

21. 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.

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

23. 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

24. 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
_____________

25. 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

26. 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.”
______________________________

27. 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

28. 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?”

29. 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

30. 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!”

31. 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

32. 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!

33. 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.

34. 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
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 Reprinted in IEEE CrossTalk, Vol. XXXIV, No. 8, January 1998.

35. Thank You