|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Chairing A Meeting The Most Effective Way
How many times have you attended a meeting where the only thing that gets decided is the date of the next meeting? Or where one person dominates the meeting? Or the meeting is swamped with trivia or unrelated information? It is a commonly held assumption that chairing a meeting is simply a matter of reading out the agenda ? that is assuming there is an agenda and that the addenda actually covers the topics which are most pertinent to the matter in hand. Chairing an effective meeting is a skill. One that is learnable. Outlined below are some simple principles; which if followed can result in focussed efficient meetings where everyone feels their opinion is valued and the job gets done. Rule number 1 ? there is no place for ego. As the Chair Person you are the facilitator, the most effective are those who listen, who use open ended questions to tease out reasoning and to involve others. Rule 2 ?. Be very clear about what is the purpose of the meeting? Do you want lots of ideas ? to brainstorm possibilities, identify the implications of things already identified, broad-brush strokes or determining detail. Rule 3 ? Be prepared, create the agenda, have any supporting papers prepared and circulated in plenty of time so that others have time to read in advance Rule 4 ? ? At the beginning of the meeting ensure that all parties are introduced, keep it snappy. Set out clearly what sort of introduction is required: name and role, or background information. Give the time scale e.g. "Please introduce yourself give a brief outline of your experience, no more than a minute." Rule 5 ? Set explicit parameters for the meeting from the outset: "By the end of the meeting we need to have achieved ??. We are going to concentrate on principles today so save the specific detail for the moment" Rule 6 ? Have high expectations. If the meeting is due to start at 10.00am start on the dot who ever is there, they will get the message. Start late to accommodate late- comers and they will assume it is ok to come late. Be clear about end times too. If you have asked colleagues to read materials before the meeting don't read them out. The next time you ask them to read beforehand they will assume it is not worth the effort. Have high expectations and stick to them. Rule 7 -What ever decisions are agreed at the meeting MUST STAND. If you are unsure about their validity set up as a pilot with an end time agreed. Don't put the decision up for grabs if you are not happy to run with the outcome. You can give a structure for decisions which make it absolutely clear what is open to negotiation and what is up not. Rule 8 ? Involve all parties. Ask questions to specific people if they are not taking an active part in the proceedings, "What do you think about?? Fred" If others are dominating value their contribution but involve others " Thank you Bertha that's very helpful, what do the rest of you think about what Bertha has offered?" Rule 9 ? Keep the meeting on track, identify how things will be recorded, summarise the discussion, identify points for action, who will do what, the time scale for action, how things will be monitored and by whom and when Rule 10 ? model good meeting behaviour and accept nothing less from colleagues. Taking a positive part in the activity, being generous with ideas, listening to others, no aggression, bullying. A healthy professional discussion where diversity of ideas and approaches are constructively used to create the best solution and not as personal attacks is the ideal. If colleagues are going to give of their best they need to know that all contributions are valued, that they will get credit for their ideas and that the whole organisations is strengthened by the collective success rather than scoring points off one another. As Chair Person it is you who will set the tone and manage the process. Educational Consultant, writer and life-coach Gina Gardiner loves working with others supporting them to make the best of their potential. Gina was the Head Teacher (that is Principle) of a large, very successful Beacon school on the outskirts of London for over 20 years. The development of people has been central to the school's success and her passion. Gina has a huge interest in education, she has led a wide range of training and facilitation activities with individuals, schools and other organisations, In her work as coach/mentor she supports people at individual or organisational level to develop confidence, leadership and people skills and effective delegation; empowering them to see themselves as part of the solution. If you would like to know more email: gina.gardiner@ntlworld.com Gina Gardiner is also the author of "Live Well Eat Well With Celiac Disease" in this book she writes from first hand experience of being a celiac. For more information or to sign up to our free monthly ezine go to http://www.celiacliving.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Writing The Query Letter The query letter is simply a business letter that serves a dualpurpose. It is an introduction of you to an agent, and an inquiryas to whether the agent would be interested in seeing a particularpiece of your work. The query letter is the first "picture" an agentwill have of you and your work; and is perhaps your strongestselling tool. A Discussion about Facilitation Skills Interview with Julia Apple-Smith, Manager of Employee Development at Sauer-Danfoss Ames, Iowa about Facilitation Skills: Just Say No to PowerPoint: Enough is Enough! Have you ever been slideswiped? You walk into a meeting and once everyone has arrived, the lights are often dimmed and the show begins. The presenter clicks the mouse again and again, showing you slide after slide until you can take no more. Exasperated, you shut your eyes and doze off. You have just been slideswiped! How to Begin a Lesson Plan DEVELOPING LESSON PLANS: In developing lesson plan formats, two things are paramount: extraordinarily careful documentation and room left for possible changes. Sloppy accounting of the direction your class will be going is worse than none. And documentation that doesn't have leeway for change is almost instantly obsolete. The types of plan formats generally used are the: outline, sentence outline, narrative outline, narrative. The primary difference is in the amount of information and narrative in the body of the presentation. Your plan for a presentation should be at least a sentence outline or preferably a narrative outline. Choosing the Right Work Shirts for Your Small Business Company attire says a lot about your business philosophy to your customer. Company shirts project professionalism and advertising. Too loud of a shirt turns people off and certain colors tend to washout your message. A small business which has yellow as part of it's company colors would be advised to use the bright yellow and not florescent yellow, which looks green at times. You should stay away from the florescent shirts if at all possible. Plasma Screen Hire ? What Do You Need to Know for Presentations How many people will need to see the screen? Powerful Presentations: How to Write and Deliver a Presentation to Remember If the mere thought of standing up in front of an audience makes your knees quiver, you should know that you're not alone. Public speaking is one of the top fears listed by Americans and for good reason- most of us don't do it very often. My personal theory is that the fear stems from the possibility of failure. What if I get up there and can't talk? What if they think I have no idea what I'm talking about? What if I forget my speech? Chairing A Meeting The Most Effective Way How many times have you attended a meeting where the only thing that gets decided is the date of the next meeting? Or where one person dominates the meeting? Or the meeting is swamped with trivia or unrelated information? Move Key Audiences to Actions You Want How? Story Telling As a Business Tool Long long ago, it was the time when time itself stood stillThat was the time this story of story telling beganWhen everyone listened to the story and people learnedAnd that was the time people were also very happyBecause they were listening to a story. If You Want Business - Throw a Seminar! Why is throwing a seminar good for business? How You Can Save On Conference Calling In recent years, companies have recognized the need to expand their businesses in the international arena. Breakthroughs in communications and transportation have facilitated this move and have enabled these companies to trade in various countries all over the globe. It is now easier for company representatives to travel armed with business proposals and tap or create connections in remote places. The Crucial Components of a Lesson Plan MAKING INFORMATIVE LESSON PLANS: --The performance objectives should answer this very basic question - what should the trainees be able to do at the end of the training period that they were was not able to do at the beginning of it? --For evaluation procedures, how will the trainee's accomplishment of performance objectives be demonstrated or measured (written test, skill test, skill demonstration)? Evaluation procedures should provide documentation of the achievement of all performance objectives. --For equipment and supplies needed, what is available? What must be used? What cannot be used? What unusual items will be needed? Any special student materials? Instructor materials? Handouts? Lesson plan for the students? Manuals? Visual Aids? Props? --When entering space requirements calculate room size, number of rooms, seating requirements, seating arrangement, writing surface needs, and any special training environment needs. Communication Barriers and Simplifying the Communication Process The communication process can be much more difficult than a person thinks. Unfortunately, many times a presenter does not realize that their message is being lost until it is too late and they have gone through an entire meeting/lecture talking away about something that their colleagues/audience thinks is absolutely meaningless. Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself before attempting to relay a message to a large audience. The End is the Beginning People remember best what you say last. In a presentation, what people take with them to put into action or to connect with what they already know depends to a large degree on how you end the presentations. So in one sense, the end of your presentation is the beginning for the audience. Speakers often reach their momentum in the middle of the presentation and lose contact with the audience by the end. One of the ways a speaker can ensure beginnings for an audience is by having a strong ending; this article will provide a few simple tips to achieve this concluding spark. Present for Success: Simple Strategies to Add Confidence and Credibility to Your Next Presentation Tomorrow's the day and you're dreading it. You're scheduled to give a presentation to the senior management team about the new program you're proposing. You're excited and enthusiastic about the program but nervous and anxious about the presentation. You don't know how you'll manage to sleep tonight. These thoughts keep running through your mind; What if I stumble? What if I talk too fast? What if they get bored? What if they ask questions and my mind goes blank? Choosing a Presentation Remote Control If you deliver electronic presentations using PowerPoint or other programs, you can manually move forward to the next slide with the keyboard or the mouse. One way, however, to deliver more effective presentations that improve your connection to your audience is to add a remote control to your presentation tools. What features should you look for when selecting a remote control? Polishing Your Sales Presentation Summer is here! It's time to bring out your summer attire, take a vacation and reflect upon your achievements thus far this year. Look back at the past few months of your sales production . . . are you on target for all your sales goals for 2005? Are you making the sales from all your sales presentations? Leaves Your Audience Hungry For More! -- Presentations That Get Results Regardless, if your goal is to make a sale or educate. You don't want to fall prey to the mistakes that many presenters make -- loading us down with piles and piles of information and communication hodgepodge. Excellent presentations are designed to anchor in the key points that are relevant for influencing the listeners to take some kind of action. Let Me Tell You a Little Story Once upon a time there was a businessperson who had the task of convincing an audience of the need for the business to plan better for the future. Instead of starting out with a spreadsheet and a long list of numbers he started with a story we all know, "The Three Little Pigs." He engaged his audience with the brilliance of the little pig who built his house out of brick then used that metaphor to segue into his discussion of long-term planning.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
