Effective Group Discussions

& Meetings 1
 Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
 distinguish between the various types and purposes
of discussions/ meetings.
 construct a complete meeting agenda and minutes
of meeting
 analyze participant behaviour at meetings and
identify methods to encourage full participation of
all members
 conduct and participate in a meeting

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Effective Group Discussions & Meetings

Effective Problem
Communication solving
in groups communication

Types of Planning &

Meetings Conducting
Meetings

Memo,
Working Meeting
in groups agenda &
minutes

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 Working in Groups

Groups can have

Most modern advantages over Group work relies
jobs involve individuals: heavily on
working with Productivity, communication
others Accuracy & and other skills
Enthusiasm

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 Functional Roles Of
Group Members

Task Functions Relational Functions Dysfunctional Roles

Information giver Participation encourager Blocker
Information seeker Harmonizer Attacker
Opinion giver Tension reliever Recognition-seeker
Opinion seeker Evaluator of emotional Joker
climate
Starter Praise giver Withdrawer
Direction giver Empathic listener
Summarizer
Diagnoser
Energizer
Gatekeeper

Table 8-2: Functional Roles of Group Members (abbreviated)

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 Working in Groups

• Small group discussions/ meetings can be formal or

informal in nature in which members of the group come
together to solve problems, negotiate and make
decisions. 6
Problem-Solving Communication

Reflective Decision
Making
Thinking
Methods

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 Reflective Thinking

Define the Problem

Analyze the Problem

Establish criteria of solution

Consider possible solutions

Decide on a solution
Implement the solution
Follow-up on the solutions
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Decision-Making Methods

Consensus

Minority
Decision

Majority
Vote

Expert
Opinion

Authority
Rule 9
Effective Communication in Groups
Progress towards goals

Shared norms or values or goals

Minimal feelings of threat

Shared group experiences

Competition from outside

Interdependence among members

 Working in Groups

• Typical scenarios which involve working in groups

include small group discussions/ meetings 11
Types of Meetings
Information
Sharing

Ritual

Virtual

Problem
Solving
Information-sharing Meeting
Weekly
• Usually held by corporations to keep
members up-to-date on the progress of
the company divisions

Shift
• Off duty members share information
with members taking over shift

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 Virtual Meeting

Online
Teleconferences Videoconferences
Meetings

Less expensive
Easier to schedule
Takes less time
Allows more people to attend
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 Ritual Meetings

• Also known as Progress Review

Session

• Conducted out of the office

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Problem-solving / Decision Making

Conducted to take some

action or make a change in the most common form
existing policies or procedures of meeting
in a department or
organization

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 Participants of a meeting

 Chairperson
 Secretary
 Treasurer
 Heads, Executives,
Supervisors (other
members, etc)

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 Planning the Meeting
1. Decide whether a meeting is appropriate
2. Choose the right attendees
3. Schedule enough time for tasks at hand
4. Choose or propose meeting time and location
convenient to most members
5. Arrange the necessary room and facilities
6. Circulate a memo containing the agenda of the
meeting

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 MEMO
• A form that is used to send important messages
within an organization.
• Memos should be short and to the point
• Every memo should contain the following
elements:

Heading Date

Addressee Sender Subject

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 Memos vs Letters

Use memos rather than letters when you are

communicating within your organization, including
members of your department, upper management,
employees at another branch of your company in
another city, etc.

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 Example: Memo
MEMORANDUM

TO: Editorial staff

DATE: 17th January 2018
FROM: Mr. Abdul Karim Osman, Head Editor
SUBJECT: Memo format

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to let you know how to set up a memo.

Heading Information: The material at the top of the memo always includes the date,
the names of the writer and the receiver of the memo, and the subject of the memo.

1.  Use a courtesy title (Mr., Miss, Mrs., Ms., Dr.) before the recipient's name and a job title after it
2. Use a job title after your name, and hand write your initials by your name. This confirms that you take responsibility for the contents of the
memo.
3.  The subject heading should be as specific as possible.

Formatting Memos: use all the same formatting devices as other documents, including the following:
• Headings to help the reader skim for sections of the document.
• Numbered and bulleted lists to make information easily accessible.
• Typographical devices such as underlining, boldfacing, italics, etc. to make headings and important information stand out.

Paragraphing: As in all technical and business communications, long paragraphs of dense text make reading more difficult. Keep your
paragraphs short and to the point. 21
 Setting an Agenda
• An agenda is a list of topics to be covered in a meeting. It
gives a sense of direction and purpose for the meeting.
• Enough copies of the agenda should be distributed to all
members of the meeting prior to the meeting.
• An agenda should encompass the following:

What
What do we conversations What
need to do to will be information
achieve our important to will we need to
objective? the people that bring?
attend?
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 Components of a Complete Agenda

Time Location Participants Background Information Items and Goals

SAMPLE AGENDA 1

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 SAMPLE AGENDA 2
Name of Group
Location/ Venue of meeting
Date - Start Time - End Time
1. Welcome address by Chairperson
2. Reading of Minutes of Previous Meeting
3. Approval/Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting
4. Matters arising from previous minutes
5. Committee/ Unit Reports
6. Special Business
7. Any other Business
8. Wrap Up (date, time and place of next meeting)
9. Close and Adjourn
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Conducting the meeting

Open the meeting

Encourage balanced participation

Maintain a positive tone

Solve problems creatively

Conclude the meeting

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1 Opening the Meeting

The Chairperson needs to:

• identifies the goals for the meeting
• provide necessary information
• clarify expectations for member’s roles
• preview sequence of events the meeting
• identify time constraints

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2 Encourage Balanced Participation

• Use questions to draw out quiet members.

• Redirect off-track comments with references to the
agenda and relevance
• Suggest moving on when an agenda item has been
dealt with adequately
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3 Maintain a Positive Tone

 Use questions and paraphrasing as non-defensive

responses to hostile remarks
 Rephrase dubious comments to support progress

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4 Solve Problems Creatively

• Define the problem clearly

• Analyze the cause and effect of the problem
• Brainstorm / develop clear criteria for resolving the
problem
• Decide possible solutions
• Develop methods of implementing the solution

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5 Conclude the meeting

• Keep meeting within pre-agreed length

• End early if agenda items have all been discussed
• Summarize the meeting’s results and preview
future actions
• Acknowledge contributions of group members
• Set date for future meeting or meetings

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 Closing the meeting

Chairperson and
members must follow
Base upcoming
up on assignments
meeting agenda upon
and responsibilities
results of outcomes
assigned to them
of previous meeting
from previous
meeting

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Minutes of meeting
An official record of the proceedings of a meeting.

The minutes are normally recorded by the Secretary.

Minutes are prepared based on the Name of organization

outline of the agenda and should Date, time, venue
include the following: Agenda

Minutes of the previous meeting are normally endorsed by the

members before the start of the meeting.

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Items to include in Minutes of Meeting
PRODUCTION UNIT MEETING NO 1 / 2018
DATE: January 17th, 2018
TIME: 2.00 PM
VENUE: LEVEL 3 MEETING ROOM, BLOCK B

1. List of members present:

2. List of members absent with apologies:

3. Agenda for PRODUCTION UNIT MEETING NO 1 / 2018

4. Minutes of PRODUCTION UNIT MEETING NO 3 / 2017

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 Minutes of meeting template
NO AGENDA ACTION
1 Welcome address by Chairperson
1.1
1.2

2 Reading of Minutes of Previous Meeting

2.1
3 Approval/Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting
3.1
4 Matters arising from previous minutes
4.1
5 Committee/ Unit Reports
5.1
6 Special Business
7 Any other Business
8 Wrap Up (date, time and place of next meeting)
9 Close and Adjourn

Minutes prepared by, Minutes approved by ,

___________________ ___________________
(NAME) (NAME)
SECRETARY PRESIDENT
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Roles members play during meetings

During a meeting, members often These roles are played consciously

assume roles or unconsciously and include:
Task functions
Social / Relational functions
Dysfunctional roles

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 Useful Phrases During Meetings

• Please refer to page 117-119 for a list of phrases

that can be used at the following instances of a
meeting:

• Start of meeting
• During meeting
• End of meeting

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 Sample of a
Business Meeting
Question:
• THE TASK
• In groups of 5, you are to conduct a meeting for an
event the group has agreed to organize. Each group is
given 30 minutes to prepare. The meeting should last
between 15 - 20 minutes. As a group, you are to
decide on an issue that is to be deliberated during
the said meeting. Each member is to assume a role
(Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Unit Heads, etc)
and to prepare an agenda for the meeting. You will be
evaluated on a group basis.
• SCENARIO: SEDEX
• Based on low visits by the general public in the
previous Science & Engineering Design Exhibition
(SEDEX), your committee has been given the task to
enhance public interest in visiting the exhibition.
Discuss and decide on the strategies for the said
purpose. 38
THE END

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