“CONDUCTING EFFECTIVE MEETING”
I. Meeting - is one among the major activities of the Organization
II. Types of Meeting
Problem-Identification Meeting
Decision Making Meeting
Reporting and Information-Sharing Meetings
Reacting and Feedback Meeting
Combination Meeting
Note: Different types of meetings requires different roles and procedures
III. Pointers for Effective Conduct of Meeting
a. Pre-meeting preparation
Prepare agenda and Meeting Work Plan
Identify who will attend
Set the place, date and time
Send notice of meeting to participants stating the place, time, and
agenda at least 5 days before the meeting
Confirm resource person’s schedule ( If you wish to invite resource person)
Come on time
b. Meeting Proper
At the beginning of the meeting
Start the meeting on time and set clear time limits
Call meeting to order
Check attendance (Make sure that the attendance constitute 50% of the total
number of the members plus one or it must be more than 50% attendance).
Present the agenda for approval
Read minutes of the previous meeting to include agreement reached
c. During the meeting
Provide enough time for discussion, brainstorming, information
sharing
Create an atmosphere conducive to trust
Encourage maximum participation and interaction
Be open to suggestions and feedback
Engage in active listening
Allow participative decision making
Communicate on a non threatening manner
Assert but do not impose coercion
Discuss on issue not personalities
Be articulate and brief
d. At the end of the meeting
Establish action items, WHO,WHAT, WHEN and WHERE
Review what has been discussed and agreed
Set the date and place of the next meeting and come up with
proposed/tentative agenda
Evaluate meeting
e. After the meeting
Reproduce the minutes for distribution during the next meeting
Follow up on action items and work plan for the next meeting
IV. Roles and responsibility to be observed
A. Responsibility of the Facilitator/Chairman
a. Maintain strict neutrality during the meeting
b. In-Charge during the meeting
Encourage Participation
Listens Actively
Clarifies Issues
Encourages Feedback
Channels Conflict
Sums up the discussions of the meeting
c. Follow-up on meeting
Review the minutes of the meeting and distribute to
attendees
Submit Report on the result of the meeting
B. Responsibility of the members
Prepare and do the homework
Be on time
Listen without interrupting the one who is talking
Listen sympathetically
Think before you speak
Don’t speak unless you are acknowledged by the presiding chair
Don’t speak unless you have something interesting and relevant
things to say
Criticize only in good faith
Make sure you understand what has been decided
Say what you have to say during the meeting but it must be done in
appropriate time and always observe correct protocol .
“THE DIFFERENT PURPOSE OF A MEETING”
What type of meeting are you going to hold? There is a big difference between
meeting to make a decision and meeting to share information. Different types of
meetings need different roles and procedures to be effective.
1. Problem- Identification Meetings. We define a problem as a situation you want
to change. For a problem to exist, there has to be an agent and a desire for
change. This is one of the reasons why a meeting is conducted. There is no
energy in the meeting because no one recognizes a problem or wants to deal
with it. May be a lot of things could be changed, but if everyone is contented
there may be no reason for a meeting. A problem identification meeting can work
only if there are people in the meeting who are able to ( and want to) change
something to define a problem and who know how to go about doing it in a
group.
2. Decision-Making Meeting. Problem identification meeting attacks a problem
but does not necessarily make a decision. In a decision making meeting, there is
pressure to make a final decision by choosing from previously developed
alternatives.
In any case, before the meeting be sure that every one understand and
accepts how decision is going to be made and who is going to make it. In this
way, people will come prepared and will not feel steam rolled by the process they
did not expect. As the leader, make up your mind before a meeting is conducted.
Simply call an information-sharing meeting and announce your decision. It’s
more honest and is not likely to backfire.
Planning meetings is a future-oriented problem-solving meetings. When
you plan a meeting, you are deciding how to deal with a problem- solving
meeting hold for planning meeting as well. For short-term logistics, it is often
necessary to involve many people, however smaller your group, the quicker you
can make decision. But it is good to include many people during the meeting in
order to win commitment to organization goals.
3. Reporting and Information-sharing Meetings. A large percentage of regular
staff meetings are information-sharing or reporting sessions. They are one of the
most misused types of meetings. Much of the reporting should be done on a
one-on-one basis or in writing. Often the purpose of the meeting is for the
manager to check up on whether the staff is doing its work.
As long as reporting meetings are just lecturing to the rest, there isn’t
much need for rules , and there is really no limit to size of the group. If on the
other hand, reporting is used to spot problems to be dealt with collaboratively by
the group, the subsequent problem-solving session should be run.
Sometimes, facilitation is needed during the question-and-answer period
after the report. These discussion can become heated, and meeting can get off
the track easily. In this case the leader could facilitate and someone else should
record the mistake of leaping into these post report sessions and making snap
decisions, thereby cutting off collaboration and involvement by the staff. Be ware
that just because you have said something to a group, it doesn’t mean they have
heard or understood what you said. Allowing time for questions is one way to
increase the value of a report.
4. Reacting and Feedback Meeting . The dynamics of a feedback meeting are
very different from those of an information sharing meeting. Here you have many
people expressing their opinions or suggestions to one or several individuals.
Such meeting can be valuable because everyone has a chance to participate as
well as listen to other people opinions. It is a way of tapping the feelings and
ideas of a group in a form of participation.
Unlike reporting meeting, feedback sessions should be thoroughly
organized and properly programmed. The facilitator makes sure that everyone
has a chance to participate and protects the executive from personal attack.
Decision-makers should not try to run this kind of meeting. It is difficult to stay
open to negative criticism and not become defensive, even hostile. A skillful
facilitator cam maintain a positive tone and save the decision maker from getting
into a heated encounter.
The role of recorder becomes very important here. The record of key
ideas of the meeting, can capture and preserve ideas as they are expressed, as
well as give the participants some assurance that their ideas are recorded and
acknowledged. This assurance can be further strengthened after the meeting
back to the participants their recommendation.
5. Combination-Meeting. The meeting contains some reporting and reacting and
some problem-solving and decision –making. It can work out effectively as long
as the roles and procedures change as you switch from one type to another.
Meetings get into trouble when the transition are sloppy if in the middle of a
report, someone ask question, which surface a problem which leads to another
problems, which leads to arguments in which, as a results the manager impose a
decision. People leave the meeting stunned, wondering how things went from a
report to a unilateral decision by the boss.
If you think a meeting may switch from reporting to problem –solving,
make sure that a facilitator and recorder are available and that everyone agreed
to tackle the problem. If there is a jump from problem-solving to decision-making,
check out whether it is possible to make decisions and if someone, who is going
to make it and how. The old one thing leading to another can get you in trouble.
