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How to Make Meetings More Productive
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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Contents
Please Read This First.............................................................................2
Preparing for the Meeting .....................................................................9
Chairing the Meeting .............................................................................11
Keeping a record - the Minutes .........................................................15
Example of Minutes ...............................................................................17
Encourage Wide Participation ...........................................................20
Concluding the Meeting........................................................................22
Being a Good Participant .....................................................................25
Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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Problems and Remedies.......................................................................32
Asking Questions the Right Way ......................................................35
Meetings Out Of Your Office...............................................................40
Video and Teleconferencing ...............................................................45
Running Your Video Conference or Teleconference....................................... 47
A Word from Pete Harmon ..................................................................51
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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About the Author
Pete Harmon has been involved with meetings in sporting, social and
business areas for most of his adult life.
Pete has always been focused on making a positive contribution to the
organizations of which he was a member.
Like many other members, he found this very difficult at first. But, he worked very hard to be a more effective member.
He also slowly improved his presentation and other personal skills which
helped with his club activities. He also believes that his career has been
helped by this effort as well.
In the depressed economy and tight job situation, it can be a real plus when
someone shows they can present their self and their point of view effectively
in all kinds of social and business situations.
Pete said that he is not a professional meeting organizer or a lawyer, and he
has no special talent or secret.
He learned by watching and doing.
“That’s the best way, but it takes a fairly long time. And, some mistakes that I’ve seen people make have been costly to their reputations and their
ambitions, both personal and professional.”
“So, I wrote my book to help others learn from their armchair in a couple of
evenings what took me years.”
Pete’s book will give you the basic knowledge to get better outcomes for
yourself and the organizations you support as well as give you more self-
confidence in all kinds of public situations.
Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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Introduction
A lot of meetings are mostly a waste of time.
They take busy people away from their main tasks, often at the most
inconvenient times.
They are seen as interruptions to the work in progress rather than a valuable
tool.
Researchers have demonstrated that interruptions to a person’s workflow
mean that he or she will lose more time by having to prepare for the
meeting.
There is also a serious cost to the organization’s bottom line from what it
costs your business to have the staff in the meeting instead of performing
their regular duties!
Everyone involved also loses some productive time because they have to
prepare for the meeting and travel to and from it.
They also need some time to adjust back to their normal working pattern
after the meeting is over.
It's our duty to do everything we can to ensure that every meeting we take
part in produces useful results.
My book will help you to get maximum value from the meetings you attend
and suggest ways to prevent you wasting time and money when you have to
organize, attend and participate in meetings.
This book is not a manual on procedures.
I give you some general information on procedures and other matters related
to formal meetings but the rules vary widely according to the country and
type of organization. It’s an area which is often subject to laws and
regulation which are specific to the area where you are located.
I have included links and suggestions for resources on procedures and other
related subjects in the reference section at the end of the book.
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This book is focused on information which will help you produce better results from the time and effort you invest in whatever kind of meetings you take
part in.
I’ve included some information about how to put forward your views and the
ways which I’ve found best to interact with people, including those whose
views are widely different to mine, wherever possible.
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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Preparing for the Meeting
If you are given the responsibility to organize and perhaps chair a meeting,
don’t worry too much. My experience is that most people at most meeting
will respect the Chair, even an inexperienced one provided they show they
have done some preparation and do their task without bias or pressure.
When you decide to hold a meeting or are co-opted to organize one, make a
list of the people who you believe may need to be at the meeting.
Then, contact them about their availability and interest in the meeting.
Keep the number of people that your meeting takes away from their regular
work to a minimum. Avoid the temptation to invite everyone who might have
even just a peripheral interest in the main topics to be discussed.
Support People
If you are chairing the meeting, you will need to find someone willing to
record what happens at the meeting and confirm that the agenda items are
attended to.
You will also need someone to look after any equipment or supplies which are
required for the meeting.
Prepare Your Agenda
Give the people you contact a list of topics which you expect to discuss at the meeting and ask them for suggestions of topics which they would like to add.
Sometimes, you may get suggestions for changes to the items which you
have on your initial list. Someone may have reasons for wanting more time
for a particular topic.
You may even discover that some items have been dealt with.
Check with them if they can suggest other people who might benefit from
being at the meeting or who could be a source of relevant information which
could be helpful to the group at the meeting. This information might be
supplied in written form or verbally by you if there is no other reason for the provider to actually be at the meeting.
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Provide the agenda to all the relevant people in a timely manner before the
meeting so that they can prepare themselves, gather relevant material and
fit the meeting time into their personal schedule.
Write the agenda items in a way that makes it clear to the group how each
item will be treated:
A decision about action
Information about current status, outstanding problems or future
possibilities
Suggestions for improvement
Providing a clear agenda in advance will help everyone concerned to decide
whether or not they need to be at a particular meeting.
This can also help anyone that is unable to attend the meeting. They can
contact the organizer or another attendee and provide them with relevant
material.
Sometimes, you can't arrange a time which is convenient for all stakeholders
but you should do your best to ensure that as many as possible are present
and all are consulted.
Check that they will either attend the meeting or contact someone else who
will be able and willing to offer their information and suggestions to the
group.
Check records (minutes) of previous meetings for items which were to be
acted on between meetings and confirm that responsible people will attend
to, report and answer questions, if any.
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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Chairing the Meeting
Someone has to control the meeting and that role usually falls to the person
that organized it.
Check that morning with the person who agreed to help you by recording the
minutes. Don’t leave that to the very last minute.
Instead of just waiting “a few extra minutes” for any latecomers while the
people who have arrived chat among themselves, always start the meeting
on time.
You can introduce yourself and then ask each person to introduce themselves
with their name and what they do which is relevant to the purpose of the
meeting. Pay particular attention to people that have only recently joined the organization.
That courteous formality gives you a chance to gain a quick impression about
each of the people. There are likely to be people who try to dominate,
become aggressive or are so shy that they need help to deliver their
contribution to the group.
Ask if there are any apologies for absence from the meeting.
Give a brief outline of the purpose of the meeting and read out the agenda.
Ask if there are any comments about any of the items (some may have been
settled since the agenda was prepared and circulated).
You should also ask for any other important items which anyone present
believes should be added to the agenda.
Adding Items to the Agenda
The Agenda is important, but not cast in stone but flexibility may be required at times.
The chairperson will give priority to the items which were properly submitted
in advance for inclusion in the meeting’s Agenda.
But, they have to be ready to accept new items of business which arise
between the preparation of the Agenda and the actual meeting.
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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The secretary or minute-taker should write them in a separate list. They can
sort them according to urgency and importance so that as many as time
allows can be dealt with after the main items have been discussed and
actions decided.
Items which Run over Time
If any agenda item starts to take more time than you think should be allowed
for it, suggest that the group agree to defer further discussion so that the
more important items can be given sufficient time.
Then, give it some time, if available, near the end of the meeting or defer it to the next meeting.
If it needs to be finalized before the next meeting, suggest that a sub-
committee be formed, including those with a particular interest in the matter, to deal with it.
If that is accepted by the meeting, ask the sub-committee to call on you or
other members of the group for any help which they feel they might need to
do so.
Wrap up Each Item after the Discussion
When discussion is over about an item, either the Chair or the secretary
should give a quick summary of the main points made, decisions and the
person responsible for any agreed action.
This may add maybe a minute or so to each item but it can reduce the length
of discussion when people start to repeat points which have already been
made.
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“How to Make Meetings More Productive” by Pete Harmon
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The Time Factor
Set the time of the meeting and
start on time. This is one of the
most important recommendations
and one that is most often
ignored.
Many organizers accept that
people will arrive late, sometimes
for very good reason and
sometimes just because “they always do”.
But, the organizer may believe that it is both polite and practical to delay the actual starting time by a few minutes.
That will not help to encourage prompt attendance at future meetings by the
latecomers. The problem with this approach is that everyone will assume that
future meetings will also start a little late.
Even some of those who made the effort to be on time for this meeting will
give themselves a few extra minutes to do their own work bef