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How to Get Things Accomplished in a Meeting
By Chris Sier, Executive Potential Plus
June 30, 2010
(SmartPros)
Long-winded meetings are an ineffective use of valuable time. Learn how to turn unproductive meetings into 'get it done' magic.
Perhaps you had had the same experience as I when a two hour meeting I planned for turned into an unexpected three hours. I remember a particular time when we were 45 minutes into the meeting and only on Slide 3 of a 24 slide presentation; several people were talking at once trying to prove their individual points. Being a teleconference no one saw me getting fidgety. All I heard was "noise" so I stopped listening, removed my headset and took a short break. When I put my headset back on, I figured we would be at least on Slide 5. Nope, still on slide 3. Luckily my mute button was on or everyone would have heard a major groan!
Turn long-winded meetings into productive, focused, and engaging meetings by implementing the following ten tips.
Ten Effective Tips to Create Meeting Magic
- Establish rules of meeting etiquette which participants agree to follow. Whether by phone or face to face, norms are essential to keep meetings on track (one person speaks at a time, meeting times are honored, etc.). In the heat of the moment, people might forget the rules but when reminded by the facilitator, feelings aren't hurt and the meeting can move forward.
- Allot time for getting to know each other especially if participants are located in diverse places,so they can work together more effectively. One way is for everyone to share a picture, a brief description of their role, and an interesting fact about themselves.
- Publish an agenda at least two days before the meeting with clearly stated objectives, such as: What information do you want others to leave the meeting with? What do you want to ensure is covered? How much time will you allot to the meeting and each agenda item?
- Consider what you want from the participants, such as: What support do you need? What agreements do you want? Do you need additional resources?
- Make sure all materials needed by the participants are included with the agenda. Give them adequate time to review and prepare.
- Publish a consistent agenda (for example, objective(s), action item review (30 minutes), discussion item (30 minutes), round table (15 minutes) that creates an on-track environment focused on reaching decisions quickly.
- Document decisions, actions, and points for further discussion only. People will not read a transcript but are more likely to review bullet points.
- Document actions in a simple table. Succinctly describe the action, who is responsible, time-frame for completion, and updates. For each succeeding meeting, add comments in the update box, everything contained in one place.
- Ask for agreement on whether to continue working on an item if the allotted time is not enough. Consensus may be to bump another item to the next meeting, have a separate meeting, or table this item for discussion at the next meeting.
- Honor time commitments. Running over can impact everyone's day. Staying on time keeps everyone focused and energized.
Using these ten tips will turn long-winded meetings into meeting magic! Try them and see how quickly you can turn boring, ineffective meetings into productive, engaged meetings.
And now I would like to offer you free instant access to my career planning tool: "Front Pocket Plan", an easy to use template to formulate your plan to maintain your competitive edge. You can download it by going to http://www.ExecutivePotentialPlus.com Would you like to receive my no-obligation, free newsletter, "ActionLetter", for tips for top performance? Visit http://www.ExecutivePotentialPlus.com and subscribe.
2010 SmartPros Ltd. All rights reserved.
Source: Ezinearticles.com
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