Transcript Producing Branded Presentation

Managing Meetings
Accenture Monterrey PTM Workgroup
Presented by Gabriel Rodriguez Munoz 09/04/2009
Contents
• Using Meetings Effectively
• Preparing For A Meeting
• Attending A Meeting
• Chairing A Meeting
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Using Meetings Effectively
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Using Meetings Effectively
• Meetings cost time and money, both of which are valuable. Hold Meetings only
when necessary and ensure that they are concise and constructive.
• A business meeting consists of people coming together for the purpose of
resolving problems or making decisions.
• The typical meeting has a clearly defined purpose summarized in an agenda – a
written list of issues to be discussed – that is circulated in advanced.
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Using Meetings Effectively – Knowing Your Aims
• Always be clear about the purpose of a meeting from the outset
• If an issue can be resolved without a meeting, cancel the meeting
• The purpose of most meetings will fall into one of the following categories:
– Imparting Information or advice
– Issuing Instructions
– Addressing grievances or arbitrating
– Making or implementing decisions
– Generating creative ideas
– Presenting a proposal for discussion
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Using Meetings Effectively - Meeting Informally
• Impromptu Meetings
– Meetings called at very short notice, and those that happen in passing or on the spur of the moment
• Small Informal Meetings
– Useful for discussing, problem-solving, and giving feedback, small informal meetings are planned –
Therefore they allow for preparation time, in contrast to impromptu meetings
• Brainstorming Sessions
– Use brainstorming sessions to generate new ideas or elicit quick ideas for solutions to problems
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Using Meetings Effectively – Meeting Formally
• Board Meetings
– Attended by the board of a company (Directors)
• Public Meeting
– Open to anyone
• Conference
– Meeting at which several presentations are given on one theme.
• External Meeting
– Consists of a group of people from one organization an another group from outside that organizations
• Annual General Meeting (AGM)
– An AGM is yearly, often mandatory to dicuss business during the past year and future plans
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Using Meetings Effectively – Choosing The Right
Type of Meeting
PURPOSE
CONSIDERATIONS
MEETING TYPE
Dealing with Information (E.g.
giving or receiving reports,
issuing instructions
Concerns up to three people
Informal
Concerns four or more people or
a team
Formal
Involves Shareholders
AGM
Concerns only one person
One-to-One or One-on-One
Concerns urgent problem
Impromptu
Involves recurring business
matters
Formal
Requires discussion or
authorization at the highest level
of the organization
oard
Needs fresh ideas to be
generated quickly
Brainstorming
Resolving Problems
Making Decisions (E.g.
Choosing between options
Encouraging Ideas
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Using Meetings Effectively – Keeping on Track
• Thinking Ahead
– Before any meeting it is important to plan carefully
– Circulate a clear agenda
– Allow enough time for the meeting so that you don’t end up rushing through major items on the agenda
• Avoiding Pitfalls
– Study all the material that has been circulated in advanced of a meeting
– Start and Finish the meeting on time
– Follow the agenda
– If Chairing the meeting, involve others as much as possible in questions and answers
– Make sure that participants are fully aware of the decisions that have been reached
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Using Meetings Effectively – Running A Meeting
• Running A Meeting
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Using Meetings Effectively – Running A Meeting
• Running A Meeting
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Preparing For A Meeting
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Preparing For A Meeting – Meeting Formally
• Inviting Participants
– Selecting Attendees
•
Invite Individuals whose communication skills will help the group work productively and achieve set
goals
•
If some participants are needed for only part of a meeting, give them estimated start and finish timesfor
the relevant items
– Evaluating Contributions
•
Do they have information to share?
•
Can they offer specific advice or information?
•
Can they implement agreed action?
– Notifying Attendees
•
One of the hardest parts or organizing a meeting is finding an appropriate time to suit all those you
wish to invite
•
If you find that someone cannot make the proposed date, consider whether it is feasible to hold the
meeting without them before you rearrange times
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Preparing For A Meeting – Preparing An Agenda
• Structuring An Agenda
– Agenda is headed with date, time and location of meeting
– Each item is numbered
– Start time is allocated for each item
– Details of next meeting are included at end of agenda
– Order topics logically
– Agenda should start off with “housekeeping” matters (Apologies for any absences)
– Next item current issues
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Preparing For A Meeting – Preparing an Agenda
• Distributing an Agenda
– Once drafted an agenda, send it to the other participants for comments, additions, or
approval
– If you wish to delete items from a formally approved agenda, you will need to obtain the
consent of the participants
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Preparing For A Meeting – Locating a Meeting
• Assessing Environments
LOCATION
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Your Office
• All your reference material is at hand
•Your authority may be enhanced
Subordinate’s Office
• May boost the status or morale of a subordinate
On-Site Meeting Room
• Outsiders may interrupt to contact the attendees
Off-site Meeting Room
• Ensures neither party dominates on “home” ground
Conference Center
• Has the capacity to accommodate large numbers
Out of Town
• High costs in terms of travel, time, and accommodation
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Preparing For A Meeting – Seating Participants
• Supporting
– Sit at right angles to the other person. This helps break down barriers and allows eye
contact
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Preparing For A Meeting – Seating Participants
• Collaborating
– Sit Next to the other person to suggest collaboration
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Preparing For A Meeting – Seating Participants
• Confronting
– Sit on opposite sides of the table to distance yourself from the other person. This position
enables disagreements to be aired more freely
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Preparing For A Meeting – Seating Groups
• Confronting Opposition
– When you are discussing issues or intending to make decisions, sit parties with opposing
points of view on either side of a rectangular table
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Preparing For A Meeting – Seating Groups
• Indicating Hierarchy
– If you wish to indicate hierarchy, put the chairperson at the head of a rectangular table and
seat the other attendees in descending order of authority
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Preparing For A Meeting – Seating Groups
• Discussing Freely
– Use a round table for a meeting in which open discussion takes precedence over the status
of the participants
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Attending A Meeting
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Attending A Meeting – Taking an Active Role
• Gathering Information
– Work out what you want to say before a meeting begins
• Identifying Opposition
– Brief other participants about problem issues before a meeting
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Attending A Meeting – Being Seen And Heard
• Looking the part
– Keep your facial expression and your tone of voice positive
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Attending A Meeting – Listening To Others
• Gaining Confidence
– If you appear to be confident, people will perceive you as such and are more likely to be convinced by your
such and more likely to be convinced by your arguments
• Participating Strongly
– If a meeting is small and intimate, you may be able to interject and make point frequently, but always make
sure to have something relevant
– Take a deep breath before starting to speak
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Attending A Meeting – Listening To Others
• Listening Attentively
– Do not interrupt other speakers – always let them have their say
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Attending A Meeting – Listening To Others
• Betraying Signs of Negative Body Language
– As a listener, you should try to be aware of the signals you are giving out unconsciously
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Attending A Meeting – Taking Minutes
• Writing Clear Minutes
– When writing minutes, make sure they are brief, exact, and laid out in a legible format.
Number each new point to make it obvious where one point ends and the next one begins
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Chairing A Meeting
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Chairing A Meeting – Understanding The Role
• Skills
– Essential skills for a chair person
•
Firmness in running meetings to time and dealing with problems
•
Ability to summarize points
•
Flexibility when dealing with the different tones and styles of attendees
•
Openness and receptiveness when listening to opinions that you do not share
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Chairing A Meeting – Pacing A Meeting
• Staring on time
– At the start of a meeting inform attendees how long it is planned to last
– Schedule meetings before lunch – It is more likely they will end on time
• Keeping to the Agenda
– Time limit to complete a meeting’s agenda
– Research shows that the attention span of most participants picks up for the first 10 to 15 minutes.
– The ideal meeting length of 45 minutes minimizes loss of attention time
• Providing Breaks
– Provide breaks in a long meeting
– Breaks allow bodies and brains to relax
– In order to achieve optimum productivity, the maximum time you should allow a meeting to run without
breaks is 90 minutes
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Chairing A Meeting – Controlling A Meeting
• Reading Negative Signs
– Checking a watch, gazing out of the window, rustling papers and yawning
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Chairing A Meeting – Controlling A Meeting
• Reading Positive Signs
– An open posture with arms and hands relaxed and the body leaning forward or toward the
speaker.
– Eye Contact
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Chairing A Meeting – Keeping Order
• As a chairperson, you must ensure that the meeting is conducted in an orderly
fashion and restore calm if tempers become frayed
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Chairing A Meeting – Keeping Order
• As a chairperson, you must ensure that the meeting is conducted in an orderly
fashion and restore calm if tempers become frayed
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Chairing A Meeting – Closing A Meeting
• Summarizing Decisions
– Ensure decisions are all recorded in writing
• Concluding A Meeting
– Thank everybody for attending and all the speakers for contributing
– Always try to end a meeting on a positive note
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Chairing A Meeting – Using Formal Procedure
• Formal procedure provides a ready-made framework for running a meeting
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Reference
– Essential Manager’s Manual , Robert Heller & Tim Hindle DK Publishing
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Thank You For Your Time …
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