Conducting Effective Meetings

1. Conducting Effective Meetings The purpose of this module is to enhance participants’ knowledge and skill in observing team meetings and identifying opportunities for facilitation and training

2. At the end of this module participants will be able to: • Identify key aspects of planning, conducting, and evaluating team meetings • Develop a detailed meeting agenda • Identify communication skills needed for conducting effective meetings

3. Why Have Meetings? • Important issues are addressed • High quality decisions are made • Work gets done that could not be done by individuals working alone

4. Establish Meeting Ground Rules • Attendance • Promptness • Meeting Place And Time • Meeting Agenda • Participation

5. Establish Meeting Ground Rules • Basic courtesies • Assignments • Interruptions • Breaks, eating, drinking and smoking • Routine chores

6. First Team Meeting • Review team objectives • Determine who will be time keeper and recorder • Decide on a set of ground rules

7. Effective meetingshappen when teams • Plan their meetings • Follow steps necessary to conduct an effective meeting • Evaluate their meetings • Develop communications skills

8. Planning the Meeting • Meeting objectives • Meeting agenda

9. Meeting Objectives • Information Giving • Discussion • Decision making • Task Oriented

10. Conducting a Meeting • Open the meeting • State the purpose • Introductions, if necessary • Review the agenda • Follow the agenda

11. Benefits of Agendas • Maintain control of the meeting • Help team members to prepare • Keep team members focused • Guide the orderly progress of the meeting

12. Components of an Agenda • Logistics information • Sequence and timing of agenda items • People responsible for topics • Background materials needed

13. Sample Agenda Structure

14. Close the Meeting • Summarize results • Confirm next steps • Plan next meeting agenda

15. Evaluate the meeting • What behaviors to continue? • What behaviors to stop? • What behaviors to start?

16. Team Meeting Communication Skills • Active listening • Assertiveness

17. Active Listening • Checking: “Can I repeat what you said in order to check my understanding?” • Clarifying: “It seems to me that what you mean is ..” • Showing Support: “I hear you. Please continue.”

18. Active Listening • Building: “To your last point I would like to add the following…” • Structuring: “Shall we look at the symptoms, try to define the problem, and then discuss possible solutions?”

19. Assertiveness • Information and opinions are presented freely and clearly, with quality visual aids, if appropriate • Attempts to dominate are challenged • Dialogue and debate occurs freely