How To Design Spectacular Meetings

1. How To Design Spectacular Meetings Conversations That Will Transform Your Organization Mark Hawkins, President Financial Transformations, Inc.

2. Our Purposes for Today • Equip You with Powerful Methods for Conducting Meetings • Help You Design a Meeting that You Will Lead Using These Methods • Clarify Who You Are as a Leader & Speak It in a More Compelling & Powerful Way

3. Part I – How We Will Be

4. Intolerance of poor meetings. “What is a meeting I am in frequently that I would want to see redesigned to make it more exciting and more productive?”

5. 1’ - write2’ - share with partner2’ - volunteer Exercise The meeting that I would want to redesign is: ____________________ I would call this meeting “spectacular” if the following happened: _________________

6. Questions To Run On • What are some powerful methods proven to generate action & results at meetings? • What ways can I apply these methods to events I will lead? • What ways can I use these methods to create the possibility of extraordinary results?

7. Session Dynamics: Let’s Be… • Focused, Disciplined • Highly Interactive • Ready To Use Proven Methods • Working Fast • Having Some Fun • Generating Positive Energy

8. Our Agenda at a Glance • Opening: Framing • Framing: Mindset • Framing: Effective Questions • Powerful Cycle • Requests & Offers • Closing: Leaving In Action

9. Make It Real...Take A Piece of Paper, and: Name a meeting that you will lead in the coming days …and will apply methods from today’s session in designing that meeting

10. Part II – Setting the Tone

11. Framing…The first 5 minutes Setting the tone for your meetings.

12. The choices to make just before walking into a room • How Do I Want To Be In This Meeting? • What Questions Do I WantThis Meeting To Run On? • What Commitments Do I Intend To Generate?

13. Framing…the first 5 minutes Prepare Your Audience … Set the Meeting’s Tone, Don’t Just Let It Evolve

14. Framing Request That People “Be” A Certain Way Opening Exercise … Set the Group’s Mindset Express Intent Using Effective Questions

15. Framing’s Big Secret You can request that people “be” a certain wayat your event. …they will almost always oblige and be glad to do it!

16. How To Be Your request to the audience: • Choose a positive, proactive mindset • Choose a specific role to be in • Choose a special kind of listening • …

17. Example: requesting a positive mindset for the meeting Positive (+) Negative (-) Taking Responsibility …… Blame, Complain Opportunities ……………. Problems What We Can Do ……….. What We Can’t Do Acting ………………….. Waiting, Wishing Being Proactive …………. Being Reactive Good Stories ……………. Bad Stories Open …………………… Judgmental Testing ideas …………… Arguing Opinions

18. Special Kind of Listening • Listen for Possibility, Insight & Connection • Set Aside Judging, Evaluating & Critiquing

19. Opening Exercise Get everyone working on the same positive topic for a few minutes. Pull them into the meeting. Set a common mindset.

20. Opening Exercises Examples Share with a partner: “what excites me most about this project?” Write in one sentence and share with a partner: “what is the biggest result I would like to see us produce?”

21. Make It Real ...On Your Paper: What are your ideas for framing your event? • How I want people to “Be” is ____ • The simple meeting opener I will use is __________

22. Part III – Managing Energy

23. Effective Questions

24. Every meeting runs on a question. What are the questions people in your meetingare running on?

25. Every meeting runs on a question. Set the questions to produce positive, net forward energy.

26. What Is The Energy In The Room? The Energy Created By Statements The Room (-) (+) Enlightened Leadership, Doug Krug

27. What Is The Energy In The Room? What We Can Do What We Can’t Do (-) (+) Future Past

28. Net Forward Energy What We Think… and What We Say… Makes All the Difference.

29. Two Kinds of Energy from Different Thoughts, Statements… Positive (+) Negative (-) Taking Responsibility …… Blame, Complain Opportunities ……………. Problems What We Can Do ……….. What We Can’t Do Acting ………………….. Waiting, Wishing Being Proactive …………. Being Reactive Good Stories ……………. Bad Stories Open …………………… Judgmental Testing ideas …………… Arguing Opinions

30. Net Backward Energy What We Can’t Do What We Can Do - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + + More Negatives Than Positives

31. Net Forward Energy + + + + + What We Can Do + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + More Positives Than Negatives

32. Every meeting runs on a question. Design Effective Questions Avoid Ineffective Questions

33. Translate your intent into an effective question. Intent: improve productivity Effective Questions: What are steps I can take to improve the unit’s productivity? What is an action that I have seen work in the past?

34. Creating Effective Questions Use “What” or “How” Avoid “Why” Or “Which” Generate Ideas and CommitmentsAvoid Surfacing Problems, Issues Can’t be Answered “Yes” or “No” Not About Judgment

35. Some Effective Questions • What’s Working? • What Causes It to Work? • What Ways Can We Adapt & Use Their Approach? • What Excites You the Most About Her Talk? • What Can I Add to Improve the Situation?

36. Some Ineffective Questions • Why did you do that? • Why are they not cooperating? • Why don’t you try this instead? • Why are your results so low? • Is that a priority? • What are the barriers we face?

37. Questions This Meeting Is Running On • What are some powerful methods proven to generate action & results at meetings? • What ways can I apply these methods to events I will lead? • What ways can I use these methods to create the possibility of extraordinary results?

38. Make It Real ...On Your Paper: What is the effective question your meeting will run on? The effective questions I will put forward to convey my intent are: ______________ _______________________

39. Part V – Managing the Room

40. A Powerful Cycle Conversation of the Whole For Insight & Action What is the powerful cycle? How might I use it at my event?

41. What Is The Room Full Of?

42. The Room Is Full Of: Short Attention Spans Unique Controlling Concerns AwesomeInformation Processing Power

43. There are natural default settings! Short Attention Spans Unique Controlling Concerns AwesomeInformation Processing Power

44. The Room Is Full Of Short Attention Spans Unique Controlling Concerns People not present Multiple agendas in play AwesomeInformation Processing Power Critical assessment

45. A few ways to lose the audience by triggering the default settings

46. The scariest sound to hear from a presenter? “Does any one have any questions?” Why?

47. Manage the attention and mindset in the room. Create a conversation of the whole with the powerful cycle.

48. -- A Powerful Cycle -- Frame Share Processing Acknowledge Short Talk 30 minutes

49. -- A Powerful Cycle -- Frame with Effective Questions to the Audience Volunteers Share Answers Small GroupsAnswer The Question Short, Focused Presentation Reward Participation, Value Answers

50. What Makes the Powerful Cycle… Powerful?