Lesson9a

Senior Lecturer: Khishigjargal.G
Uranchimeg.T

Outline
• Meeting Purpose
• How to run the effective meeting
• Minutes of meeting

Good reasons for meetings include:
 To share information
 To receive information/opinions
 To solve problems
 To make decisions
 To accomplish tasks
Meeting purpose

Is a meeting necessary?
• A meeting is not always the most effective way to
communicate. Before planning, scheduling, or
accepting an invitation to a meeting, ask these
questions:
– Why are we calling people together?
– Is a meeting the most effective/efficient means?
– Would a memo/email/call suffice?
– Is there a need/desire for group interaction?
– What would happen if we didn’t meet?

Characteristics of Effective
meeting
Purpose and goals are set in advance
Appropriate people are attending
Agenda (with timeframes) is prepared and distributed
in advance
Background information is distributed in advance;
participatory assignments are made
Meeting is actively managed
Meeting ends with wrap-up, including action items and
assignments
Written minutes are distributed promptly

meeting
• Appropriate people are attending
– If not, important decisions may be deferred, and it
will take time to update key individuals on what they
missed; reschedule the meeting

meeting
• If there is no agenda circulated in advance, the
meeting is likely to be informational and you can skip it
• Ideal time to circulate agenda = 2-3 days in advance

Agenda is Critical
• Ask for agenda items in advance
• Agenda must include:
– Topic for discussion
– Presenter or discussion leader for each topic
– Time allotment for each topic
• On the agenda, put “Information Only” items and so
designate
– May include time/location of next meeting

6 Main Functions of Meetings
 #1 The meeting defines the team. Those present
belong, those absent do not.
 #2 The meeting is where the group revises, updates,
and adds to what it knows as a group.
 #3 The meeting helps each individual understand the
collective aim of the group, and the way in which
his/her own and others’ work can contribute to the
group’s success.

#4 The meeting creates in all present a
commitment to the decisions it makes and the
objectives it pursues.
- [Real opposition to a decision usually consists of 1 part
disagreement with the decision, to 9 parts resentment at not
having been consulted before the decision.]
#5 A meeting may be the only occasion where the
group actually exists and works as a group, and the
supervisor is actually perceived as the leader of the
team.

 #6A meeting is a status arena.

Meeting Room Arrangements
• Theater Style
– Leader has great power by position.
– Participation and interruption by
audience is limited.
• U-Shaped Style
– Equality of membership.
– No doubt of who the leader is.
– Good visibility for visual aids.
• Circle Style
– Democratic: equality is stressed.
– Great visibility by participants.
– Obvious body language.
– Excellent participation.
X
X

Managing the Meeting
 START ON TIME, consistently.
 Sends the message that time is valuable
 Do NOT, regardless of the status of a late member, recap
the discussion s/he missed; this rewards being late
 “On-time culture” tricks
 Differentiate those who are responsibly absent (have
indicated absence in advance) from those who have
just not shown up
 Introduce attendees, if not already known

Member Roles:The Chair
 Prepare for the meeting.
 Appoint secretary/minute taker if not
apparent.
 Conduct and control the meeting:
 Watch timing or assign someone to this
 Ensure that all have an equal
opportunity to speak
 Adjudicate when and as necessary
 Effect compromise on occasion

The Chair, cont’d
 Close each item
• Ensure action is clear
• By whom and by when
 Check that the minutes are
produced accurately and in
timely manner

Members in General
 People often react to other people - not to their ideas.
 Chair must stress that effectiveness may require
disregard for personal or departmental allegiances.
 Self perception: some see themselves as the elder
statesman, the joker, or the voice of reason.
Group Building Roles
The Initiator Suggests new/different ideas/approaches
The Opinion Giver States pertinent beliefs about the discussion or
others' suggestions
The Elaborator Builds on suggestions made by others

The Leader’s Duties
 Control the garrulous
 Draw out the silent (whether diffident or hostile)
 Protect the weak
 Encourage the clash of ideas
 Watch out for the suggestion-squashing reflex
(suggestions are easy to ridicule)
 Come to the most senior people last
 Close on a note of achievement

Ending the Meeting
 Spend 5-10 minutes summarizing key
decisions/next steps
 Invite a volunteer to fill in absent
members so they will be up to speed,
and also feel their absence was noted
and their presence/thinking is valued
 End on time
 Shows respect for attendees
 Nobody ever complains about ending on
time
 Try meeting just before lunch or before
end of day

Common Problems and Solutions
 Problem
 Nothing that we agreed
to do in the meeting
ever “gets done”.
 Solutions
 Promptly prepare and distribute the
Meeting Report (minutes) with
highlighted action items
 Be sure each action item is clearly
tasked (who, what, and by when)
 Monitor activities, progress and issue
reminders
 Re-assign incomplete tasks to “doers”

The Importance of Minutes
• How essential was the meeting if it’s not
worth recording?
• Minutes will bring non-attendees up to
speed, and remind attendees of directions
taken
• Good way to remind people of their
assignments (action items)
• Marking attendees (and those excused
and/or absent) is a gentle nudge
• Include time/location of next meeting

Minutes vs. Action Notes
• Action Notes may be more
effective than minutes (or good
supplement to same)
• Can and should be distributed
promptly
• Used to highlight future action
rather than past debate
• Don’t record all the narrative,
but record decisions and action
items/tasks

Lesson9a

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Lesson9a