Managing Meetings -

Home
>
Business Management
>
Managing Meetings

Managing Meetings

Plan/prepare - lack of purpose causes aimless meetings. Know why you're there - what the meeting is for.

Unnecessary meetings waste time, and regular meetings, e.g. weekly, become habitual/traditional, regardless of need. Only have meetings when necessary, and cancel when not.

Set agendas which are more than a list of headings without explanation. Each agenda item can have only three reasons for inclusion - to discuss, decide, or inform. Adding short descriptions of items can help people prepare and decide attendance.

Choose an appropriate order. Most important first encourages punctuality. Leave less important items to the end - if necessary they can be postponed/abandoned. Putting them last discourages taking too much time on them.

Attendance needs managing - absence can cause delays, and lead to fruitless discussion. Check important people are attending, and make judgement calls to cancel/reschedule if not. Consider phoning for input during meetings if people can't physically attend, or get briefed beforehand.

Poor timekeeping is rude, disrespectful and a waste of time. If not dealt with, it becomes acceptable, and things usually get worse. Very few meetings have an end-time. Why? Try to give an end-time - it allows people to plan adequately. Otherwise people assume meetings will always be an hour.

Too many people are hard to control - discussions take longer! If people are only needed for some items, let them leave after them, saving everyone's time.

Unhelpful behaviour needs controlling. People digress, ramble, don't pay attention, argue pointlessly, interrupt, even fall asleep! You owe it to others to take action. Be assertive - ask people politely to behave. If necessary, take a break for 5-10 minutes, and during it, take people to one side and privately deal with the problem - ask them to be more considerate.

Tackle past problems head-on - take a few minutes at the beginning of a meeting to lay down some ground rules, or have a private word with difficult people.

Poor chairmanship/control of meetings causes problems. Mischievous or bad-mannered people will misbehave if allowed - it's human nature. If the leader doesn't control things properly, step in. You risk undermining their authority, but they might be grateful for help/support. In any event, your time is at stake!

Action required post-meeting is often unclear. Mixed messages mean several people duplicating time and effort, or things left undone. Be clear about who is doing what, by when, otherwise, the next meeting can be pointless. Be clear - set objectives. Taking minutes, typing them up, and distributing them can be an unnecessary ritual. Only take minutes if necessary.

Learn from your mistakes. If you attend fruitless or badly-managed meetings, make apologies in future.

Recommended action:

· Don't suffer in silence, take action.

· Be ruthless with your time. Don't attend unnecessary meetings out of politeness.

· You may have to make waves or undermine a meeting chairperson to improve things. Think of the long-term benefits.

Julie-Ann Amos is a professional writer and business consultant. For more information, visit http://www.hackingreality.com

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7759470.stmcid=1276422140ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNH0OCQCDsMgd_vg5Hj2c3OVy34aZAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=5QyHuUVkfqwJimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45169000/jpg/_45169867_usmanufacturing.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120101022.htmlcid=1276422140ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHfXZ1Ay_AIewIfR_s_X9yluyvlGAManufacturing index drops to 26-year low/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWashington Post,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Institute for Supply bManagement#39;s/b monthly index of manufacturing activity fell to 36.2 from October#39;s 38.9. The reading is worse than Wall Street b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/01/news/economy/ISM_November/%3Fpostversion%3D2008120110cid=1276422140ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHlRbGAoLMqKnnobgWBJm_dtrpAogManufacturing index at 26-year low/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNNMoney.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/manufacturing-falling-fastest-pace-27/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B01759E58-3EB4-4E5E-A1A1-2BC26F9A8A8D%257Dcid=1276422140ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHTC9-7BGa7Vknetfy_G1ONBmvHgACORRECT: Manufacturing falling at fastest pace in 27 years/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2008/12/01/daily9.htmlcid=1276422140ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNGe4SlOHGFumZhGMUpqCCOIc5sizQManufacturing hits 26-year low/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/12/01/manufacturing-retail-consumer-markets-econ-cx_cg_1201markets18.htmlcid=1276422140ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEsJHAZ-7WYctIbZWYimttbNPrnzwnobrForbes/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-weekbox1-2008dec01,0,7052508.storycid=1276422140ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNG6QNf5exM1HygzuXEoD-pGyP8S0gnobrLos Angeles Times/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276422140hl=ennobrall 617 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/551/story/387420.htmlcid=1276553836ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHQgCO_msyqhNaSz4j6mFKdy348Wwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=_opva8BCsOsJimgurl=media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2008/12/01/13/CONSTRUCTION.sff.embedded.prod_affiliate.138.jpg width=64 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2CharlotteObserver.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/business/economy/02econ.html%3Fhpcid=1276553836ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEyStwn80HRmGJNr_VeA0pRTg6rUQConstruction Spending Reflects Economic Slowdown/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Institute for Supply bManagement/bâ€™s monthly index of manufacturing activity fell to 36.2, from Octoberâ€™s 38.9. The reading is worse than Wall Street b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/01/america/Economy.phpcid=1276553836ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNFttr6QckR1Tea4RzODWXYYCVhGLgOctober construction spending drops 1.2 percent/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInternational Herald Tribune/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/12/01/daily2.htmlcid=1276553836ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHSVeH2ebAIyN23xHsw6zL8JTluYwConstruction spending fell again in October/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.globest.com/news/1297_1297/washington/175494-1.htmlcid=1276553836ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEIyZTNk7puLRk_KxkH5-Phkqx2owConstruction Spending Drops 1.2%/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrGlobeSt. com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/12/01/Construction_spending_declined_in_October/UPI-93301228148546/cid=1276553836ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNFHcm4r0W4keoD47nz66FUlO0gIwwnobrUnited Press International/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122814301063168901.htmlcid=1276553836ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNGvMZiHOMpNatD4W5l-jUKq-THMWgnobrWall Street Journal Blogs/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276553836hl=ennobrall 269 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.wnct.com/nct/news/state_regional/article/early_christmas_tree_sales_up_in_nc/24998/cid=1276433807ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNGKZdizzo5ODyCYfDRSq-ecMOuEswimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=IV0dEMt91z4Jimgurl=media.wnct.com/wnct/img-story/images/uploads/Christmas_Economy_Graphic_AP.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WNCT/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/price-tags-on-partridges-and-pear-trees-a-different-cpi/cid=1276433807ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNGiFwCO8wO6tG70DA4jGD-koUlLZgPrice Tags on Partridges and Pear Trees: A Different CPI/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Catherine Rampell For the last 24 years, PNC Wealth bManagement/b (or its predecessor, Provident Bank) has released this whimsical index, a measure of the b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D_PPfujQH9BIcid=1276433807ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHpvRPGO8AyaXjb2ErBOL2UioVCuAVideo: 12 Days of Christmas#39; Items Would Cost $86,609/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/_PPfujQH9BI/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/_PPfujQH9BItype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hbRtA6z3x9Zijla9K78YuJGQEq3QD94PT2QO0cid=1276433807ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNGQSiIr08rXYSoLrpeyd1fCY-POiA#39;12 Days of Christmas#39; items would cost $86609/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/2008/12/01/costly-classical-christmas/cid=1276433807ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEI30_JVCkOQhDt_BSR8Isq52wkCgCostly Classical Christmas/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://sev.prnewswire.com/banking-financial-services/20081201/NY4898601122008-1.htmlcid=1276433807ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNH2VUew9wUA5_-xNKnpfqgNOmRPPAnobrPR Newswire (press release)/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1683934.htmcid=1276433807ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHeL8nyYkMyLQ2VKzO4Lh-qaHL30gnobrPR Web (press release)/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276433807hl=ennobrall 351 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/AGC-LCM-Declare-Dividends/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B641366A4-F68C-4D7E-8870-F3ADCB0D1839%257Dcid=1276595346ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNFEUNtZPmuzraPV18KiROQQW_LQ7AAGC and LCM Declare Dividends/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1a diversified closed-end bmanagement/b investment company, has declared its December monthly dividend of $0.0664 per share, reflecting a reduction of $0.0286 b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0456755.htmcid=1276595346ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNERkDDWnrRSfoRa5o2a_i3FEPZ94QMadison Strategic Sector Premium Fund (MSP) Declares Quarterly b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCNNMoney.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/PPR-0340-November-Dividend/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B3C32D15F-9E55-4B98-AA4A-987CFA7EF69A%257Dcid=1276595346ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNFAG5xGWQekDkKBbfOAqqRNs0RrJgPPR - $.0340 November Dividend/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/WIW-Declares-Monthly-Dividend/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B817D8E56-4EF0-411B-A366-BFA950A03F90%257Dcid=1276595346ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHPUsUmmourAnrX0whfoZLUPd38jAWIW Declares Monthly Dividend/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276595346hl=ennobrall 58 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSTRE4AP0Z620081201cid=1276378241ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNE6_KpsjvFIASuolheeHogmIsS7lQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=zD_6cUQ7_F0Jimgurl=www.reuters.com/resources/r/%3Fm%3D02%26d%3D20081201%26t%3D2%26i%3D7025988%26w%3D192%26r%3D2008-12-01T161406Z_01_BTRE4AP0IB600_RTROPTP_0_AIG width=80 height=55 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Reuters/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/01/business/01aig.phpcid=1276378241ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEf5rTzoFGGcHXTprccgQRf8iVPDgAIG sells wealth bmanagement/b unit to Abu Dhabi group/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fInternational Herald Tribune,nbsp;Francenbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1NEW YORK: American International Group, the troubled insurance giant, said Monday that it had agreed to sell its wealth bmanagement/b provider AIG Private Bank b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSBNG40949220081201cid=1276378241ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEnes3DGR1GTWXpWSqOH-6MgMMuPgUPDATE 1-AIG to sell AIG Private Bank to UAE#39;s Aabar/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://newsticker.welt.de/index.php%3Fchannel%3Dfin%26module%3Dsmarthouse%26id%3D817064cid=1276378241ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHfytu1T9UU3CcaM6lr0hKSMPqxxQAIG Announces Agreement to Sell AIG Private Bank Ltd to Aabar b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWELT ONLINE/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081201/REG/812019992cid=1276378241ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNF--wfxngCjcQ0_Zwqq4t55kYepJQAIG to sell bank to Abu Dhabi firm/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInvestmentNews/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/International/AIG-to-sell-it%27s-Private-Bank-1216.htmlcid=1276378241ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNHiskyPJ7iLyBcjmZuufYY4tPRWeQnobrCapital FM/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3540381/AIG-begins-asset-sales-to-pay-back-153bn-funding-lifeline.htmlcid=1276378241ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNG5izudKN7g2KfFlHViMxFRh6cu-AnobrTelegraph.co.uk/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276378241hl=ennobrall 171 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Research-Markets-Training-Management-Maturity/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B7D6818E5-8250-4A6D-B555-A9CD4D5EA73A%257Dcid=1276579789ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEiRszNfew1HhIP_i_ZCf9z4tpZPQResearch and Markets: Training bManagement/b Maturity Model: A b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1How effective is your current training bmanagement/b system? What do you need to do to improve it? Find out with this best practice model and set of assessment b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Research-Markets-Fundamentals-Quality-Control/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B179937E7-E40D-4AED-8F23-F04BD5B29EC0%257Dcid=1276579789ei=i4s0SeueHI_u6gPbsdXqAQusg=AFQjCNEUGYAC70JliIoof5m3SJ7v-6f8DQResearch and Markets: Fundamentals of Quality Control and b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1276579789hl=ennobrall 12 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

management - Google News

Managing Meetings

Business Management