When talking with individuals in organisations I regularly hear people express the opinion that meetings are a waste of time. This can be for a variety of reasons from: the inability of individuals to facilitate the meeting, having to attend too many meetings, to the meetings being too long or too boring. All these issues can be addressed by taking a number of steps to ensure that meetings provide worthwhile information, allow for decision making and creativity and result in clearly defined outputs. In the Go MAD publication' How to Save Time and Money by Managing Meetings Effectively' I describe 101 simple ways to ensure people leave meetings feeling focused, valued and inspired. Here are just seven of these tips for you to use.
1. Think clearly about your role
Consider in advance of the meeting whether you will be a facilitator who is solely concerned with the process i.e. achieving the goals through gaining the input of others, or whether you will also contribute content to the meeting. You might need to make it obvious to other participants that your ideas are ‘only ideas’, or perhaps they are not! Is your role to achieve consensus or to make the final decision?
2. Have a role model
Ensure that you have an appropriate role model at the meeting – whether that is yourself or someone who is displaying the qualities that are necessary at the meeting. This may be someone who will contribute lots of ideas, has a positive attitude or has the required knowledge for that meeting and is willing to share it with the group.
3. Use personal examples
Use personal examples, where possible, to illustrate specific points. This will bring to life the content for those in the meeting. These should be things that have happened to you or others that give emphasis and clarity to the agenda item.
4. Nurture and grow creativity
see creative thinking techniques to stimulate possibilities:
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Use objects out of the ordinary to guide or make the meetings memorable i.e. bells, juggling balls, things that inspire you, pictures, toys. |
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Display relevant quotes to inspire and enthuse. There are many sources of quotes, including books and the internet.
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Music can be a great way to liven up or quieten down the atmosphere – depending on your choice of music! If you want to invigorate the group put on a lively piece of music; if you want to promote quiet thinking time put on a piece of soft classical music. |
5. Focus on what you want
Concentrate on what you do want to achieve rather than what you don’t want. For example, “We will finish this meeting at 12 o’clock,” rather than, “We will not run over the allotted time for this meeting”. You will get what you focus on, so focus on the positive!
6. Speak positively
Use positive language. 'I can','I will', 'certainly', 'great' or even 'brilliant' and 'excellent' in response to input from participants. Avoid using the word 'try'. When someone tells you that they will try and do something, what does it really mean? They probably won’t do it!
7. Think win/win
This means not only should you be looking for a result that meets your needs but also understand and look for a result that will meet the needs of others involved.
A question to ask yourself:
How might I increase the effectiveness of the meetings I attend or facilitate?
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