Purpose
To show participants how to make their meetings productive, interesting and to the point.
Objective
By the end of this training, participants will be equipped to i) get the most out of the meetings they run or attend ii) make sure that other meeting-attendees do the same.
Overview
Meetings are a fact of our everyday business lives. They’re important to getting things done. The ways we run and participate in them are important to how our careers progress. But many meetings are unproductive, boring, meandering and too long. They needn’t be. Effective meetings have five ingredients: Timetables; Forethought; Superb Presentation; Control and Follow up.
Using discussion, examples, exercises and role-play, the training – typically a seminar followed by a 1:1 coaching session for each participant – addresses the five ingredients using the simple concept of Before, During and After:
Before – Preparation is Key
- What input do you need from others when planning your meeting? What do you want the meeting to achieve? Is it realistic? Do you really need a meeting to accomplish it? Who needs to be there so that you get the results you’re after? Do they have the necessary authority? What documentation should you circulate in advance?
During – If the meeting Succeeds, the plan will Succeed
- How do you set a positive, authoritative and productive tone? What about record keeping? What are the benefits of reviewing goals and outcomes? How do you keep participants focused? How do you involve everyone to the right level? How do you get the meeting to buy-in to the subject matter? What makes a good follow-up plan and how do you formulate it?
After – Scheduling the next meeting is not enough!
- How quickly should you publish the minutes? Why does it matter? Why are action-point chasing and deadline monitoring so important to YOU? Why is it vital to establish accountability for action-point progress? Why do savvy people seek feedback on how they can improve their meetings?
