How To Conduct An Effective Meeting

Purpose:
The average executive spends 3½ hours weekly in formal meetings, so the purpose of this high energy, interactive seminar is to help you develop effective meeting skills. You will learn ways to involve others in solving problems and making decisions to get “buy-in” on your solution. You will learn to give individuals the opportunity to come together to share information, plan, criticize or praise, or find out what went wrong with previous meetings. This session will create the possibility for each group member and the entire team to experience optimum success.

Who Should Attend:
Entry-level clerks, staff employees, team leaders, team members, mid-level managers, lawyers, and office managers.

Learn To:

• Identify problem meeting situations and practice prevention techniques and solutions.
• Use logistics and notification, agenda-setting, follow-up techniques and other time-managing techniques for successful meeting preparation.
• Develop, set, and follow ground rules and run or follow the guidelines of an “issue bank.”
• Use five effective planning, solution-generating, and problem-solving techniques, including mind mapping, cubing, Benjamin Franklin Method, sticky web, and nominal group.
• Identify the various roles that people assume in meetings and how those roles support or inhibit the meeting process, including why some people check out and don't contribute while others criticize or hog the floor.
• Maintain positive involvement and deal with difficult meeting members (endless talkers, idea squelchers, complainers, quiet types, etc.).
• Identify the differences between command, consultative, and consensus decision-making approaches, the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and the circumstances under which each is appropriate.

How You Will Benefit:

• You will learn how to be a great leader, facilitator, and group member.
• You will learn how to deal with problem participants and problem situations.
• You will use two methods for diagnosing and evaluating meeting effectiveness.
• You will learn easy ways to prepare your meeting and have it run smoothly .
• You will learn to follow the rules for group negotiation and consensus, be more creative, and have more fun.  

How To Facilitate Meetings
Agenda  

1. Commonalties and Uniquenesses
2. Ground Rules/Agenda/Workbook/Purpose
3. Facilitator's Responsibility
4. Facilitation Process
5. Group Purpose
6. Tie to the Audience
7. Advertise
8. Environment
9. Arrival and Greeting
10. Attention Getters
11. Other Stuff from Process
12. Listening
13. Types of Behaviors
14. Questions
15. Bad Behavior
16. Mind Mapping
17. Looking for What Is Underneath
18. Handouts
19. Evaluations  
20. Closings