MEETINGS

What is Meetings?
• Is a general term indicating the coming together of a number of
people in one place, to confer or carry out a particular activity. 
• A meeting is a formal gathering of people who need to conduct
business activity or hold a formal discussion. Sometimes, these
meetings are combined with informal activities..
• Meetings are typically held in conference rooms or convention
centers. 
TYPES OF MEETINGS:
• Annual general meetings.
• Board meetings.
• Management meetings.
• Training or onboarding meetings.
• Meetings with suppliers and dealers.
• Team building meetings.
• Product launches.
Components of Meetings;
INTERNAL MEETINGS:

• Internal meetings like team meetings, status meetings, 

1:1 meetings, or brainstorming sessions, are held with
attendees from within your organization and team.
ExTERNAL MEETINGS:
• external meetings are with attendees outside of your
organization like customers, job applicants, and independent
service providers. 

• External meetings are used to create connections, build

relationships, share updates, resolve issues, and gather
feedback or data from customers, investors, partners, potential
hires, or service providers for your organization.
TYPES OF MEETINGS:
( ACCORDING TO PURPOSE)
• Informational – people exchange information
• Problem-solving – people try to solve a specific problem
• Brain-storming – people define objectives and generate ideas
• Performance review – people review individual and group
performance
• Strategic – people wrestle with large issues cutting to the heart
of the organization’s future, and set goals and priorities
TYPES OF MEETING STYE
OR SET-UP:
• Auditorium Style
-Appropriate for a short lecture or larger groups that do
not require extensive note-taking.
U- SHAPED:
• A U-shaped seating arrangement is just what the name
describes – a letter U setup of tables and chairs arranged in an
open-ended shape with the participants facing inwards. It is a
classic boardroom setup that enables members to both face
each other and the speaker.
Banquet Style Setup
• The banquet style room arrangement is a round table setup
with participants facing each other like at a dinner table. This
encourages full interaction between people sitting at one table.
It is often used for interactive workshops with group
discussions and exercises.
Classroom Style Seating:
• It is a classic classroom style setup where tables and chairs are
arranged in parallel rows facing the front of the room. It is
common for lectures and primarily supports interaction
between the speaker and the audience and less between
participants. Although, participants sharing a table can do
small group exercises or sharing their work with one another.
Boardroom Setup or
Conference Style
• Conference or boardroom style has one large table that fits
around 7 to 20 people with room for their various equipment
such as laptops, mobile devices and video conferencing
devices. All participants face the middle to enable discussion
and interaction from all directions. The boardroom or
conference style can also be adjusted to include many tables
that form a hollow square/rectangle.
Fishbowl format:
• The fishbowl setup is used for dialogue type events. Four to
five chairs are arranged in an inner circle – the fishbowl –
while the remaining chairs are arranged in concentric circles
around the middle area.
• This style is often used for forums or large group discussions
where participants can openly discuss topics covered with the
speakers or experts. It enables the whole group, or all
members, to actively participate and be involved with the
content, i.e. ask questions, make suggestions or give their own
conclusions.
Theater Style
• Theater style seating is a classic one: participants are seated in
rows of chairs, much like in a theater or cinema, to watch and
listen to a speaker or several speakers as well as visual and
auditory aids. There’s generally a gap in the middle to allow
easy access for central seats and a large stage to
accommodate speakers, visuals and auditory aids. This style,
thus, is typical for events with a large number of attendees
where content is delivered as a lecture.
Main Goal:
• The goal is to bring together
people from an organization, a
project, or an industry with the
aim to discuss plans, set goals, or
strategize for challenges.
IMPORTANTS OF
CONDUCTING MEETINGS:
• 1. Sharing important company information
• Some employers or managers may hold meetings with
employees to share essential company information that could
impact all teams or specific departments. Many organizations
hold quarterly or annual company-wide meetings to discuss any
changes happening to the company or any accomplishments
team members met during that time.
• Having a meeting with all team members to share this news can
be a great way for the entire staff to celebrate important
achievements together or remain informed of significant
changes happening to the company. Consider scheduling
company-wide meetings with supervisors or executives and
encouraging them to engage and share updates on their
departments to keep everyone informed and engaged.
• 2. Making key decisions
• There may be moments where team members or senior
employees make important decisions that could impact their
department or the company overall. This can lead them to
schedule a meeting with each other to share ideas and
feedback with one another. These meetings allow teams to
explore their options for certain decisions and provide
different outlooks or perspectives on potential outcomes.
• During these meetings, try to pitch potential decisions and
encourage others to talk about the benefits or repercussions
of each. You can then continue to work together with the
team to arrive at resolutions that all or a majority of the group
agrees on before the meeting ends. From there, establish a
strategy for moving forward with the decision and a plan for
announcing it to other employees.
• 3. Providing updates on a project's status
• If you're in charge of an upcoming project, you may schedule
regular meetings with team members to determine everyone's
progress, updates and needs. It's also beneficial to hold an
initial meeting to describe the purpose of the project, explain
which team members you've assigned to certain tasks and
share a timeline for deliverables.
• You can regularly schedule meetings with employees to learn
how far they've progressed with their tasks, if they believe
they can submit the assignment on time and what additional
resources they need to complete all of their work items. These
meetings can be important as they provide you with insight
into the employees' performances and how on track you are
to submitting the entire project by the client's expected due
date.
• 4. Brainstorming new ideas
• An effective way to develop innovative ideas is through conducting
brainstorming sessions with your team. These are collaborative
meetings that encourage employees to listen to each other's ideas
and express their own opinions. This can lead team members to
build off of one another's strategies until they come to a creative
solution, method or strategy. Consider sending an update to team
members a few days in advance to inform them of the upcoming
brainstorm sessions.
• Tell employees what ideas you'd like them to bring to the meeting
and share the key purpose for the brainstorm session. This gives
employees plenty of time to develop and note their ideas. During
the meeting, try to remain positive and open to new thoughts by
encouraging everyone to share their opinions. Remind employees to
remain positive, professional and polite to one another when they
express their thoughts. This makes participants feel more
comfortable and confident about sharing their valuable ideas. Once
you've finished the meeting, you can have a set of strong ideas for
the team to implement.
• 5. Solving organizational challenges
• Meetings can be an effective place for employees to use their
problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills to solve any
ongoing organizational challenges. You can use these sessions to
present an issue the department or company faces and ask
employees to prepare potential solutions to overcome these
obstacles. Try to conduct these meetings with a smaller number of
participants. This can make the conversations more collaborative
and engaging as all employees can get opportunities to talk and
share their perspectives.
• When inviting team members to this meeting, consider releasing
the purpose of it beforehand and asking attendees to come
prepared with a presentation or pitch for how they can resolve the
problem. They can share their action plan for solving the problem,
while other employees share their opinions and develop the
strategy further. This increases the chances of the meeting ending
on a productive note with a clear plan for overcoming the obstacle
and improving the company's performance.
• 6. Asking for feedback
• If you're searching for ways to improve processes within the
organization, consider conducting a meeting where employees
share their feedback and suggestions. This shows employees
that the company encourages open communication and that
managers appreciate their opinions.
• Applying feedback provided by employees can help the
company improve and develop into an organization that
performs effectively and treats their employees with respect.
This can improve employee retention and attract other
talented candidates to apply as well.