Influencing policy (training slides from Fast Track Impact)
Business Communication: Chap 3 -face to face meeting
1. INTRODUCTION
“Historically face-to-face m
,
eetings have play an im
ed
portant
role in the social, and especiallythe political life, of W
estern and
non-W
estern societies”
(Schwartzm 1989)
an,
Better compared to computer mediated
devices
Meeting is wasting time
Negative expression of associated
business meeting
3. IMPORTANTS OF FTF
BUSINESS MEETING
Allow observing verbal & non verbal
styles
Non synchronized time
Provide human contact among members
Help participants to develop
transparency & trust among each other
Allow evaluating & judging
Develop strong social relationship
Forum for members
4. BUSINESS
ADVANTAGES OF FTF
BUSINESS MEETING
Less usage of electronic communication
devices
Bond teams together
Result in people feeling more inspired
Brings out best in people
Results breakthrough thinking
Build strong business relationship
6.
Efficient & productive compared to
computer mediated devices
Develop social identities, relationship &
norms
Occurs in real time
Develop transparency & trust
Able to know expression, feelings &
ideas
7. REFERENCES
The Hilton Family, ”Why Face to Face
Business Meetings Matter” A White
Paper by Professor Richard D. A rvey,
Ph.d. Business School, National
University Of Singapore.
9. Preliminary Thoughts
Who likes a meeting…
• Without a clearly defined agenda
• That seems to drag-on forever
• That rambles from topic-to-topic
• That ends without any apparent result?
These types of meetings are
• Frustrating
• A waste of one of the most valuable resources
of any organization – time.
10. Outline
•
•
•
•
•
Meeting Management – A Leadership Responsibility
Why Effective Meetings?
Elements of an Effective Meeting
Types of Meetings
The Meeting
– Before the Meeting
Agenda
Group Dynamics
Personality Types
– During the Meeting
Parliamentary Procedures
Meeting Room Arrangements
Roles: Chair, Secretary, Members in General
How to Deal with Disruptive Members
– After the Meeting
• Additional Thoughts
11. Meeting Management –
A Leadership Responsibility
Number of Meetings
Many people are promoted, elevated, or elected
into leadership positions without receiving any
formal training or education on how to run an
effective meeting.
Seniority
12. Why Effective Meetings?
• Time: a critical resource
• Opportunity Costs
• For-profit environment, example: a one-hour meeting with 2
managers and 4 engineers:
manager: $100.00/hour – $200.00
engineers: $ 60.00/hour – $240.00
Total – $440.00
• Not-for-profit or professional society environment
• volunteers do not want their time wasted
• ineffective meetings cause discontent
13. Meetings
• Characteristics of negative meetings †:
†
83% – drift from the subject
77% – poor preparation
74% – questionable effectiveness
68% – lack of listening
62% – verbose participants
60% – length
51% – lack of participation
From Achieving Effective Meetings – Not Easy But Possible, Bradford D. Smart in a survey of 635 executives .
14. Effective Meetings
•
What people are looking for in effective
meetings‡:
‡
88% – participation
66% – define the meeting’s purpose
62% – address each item on the agenda
59% – assign follow-up action
47% – record discussion
46% – invite essential personnel
36% – publish an agenda
From GM Consultants, Pittsburgh, PA 1993
15. Elements of an Effective
Meeting
Effective meetings don’t just happen
• Require deliberate planning
• Must be conducted in an effective and
efficient manner
• Responsibility of leader
16. Types of Meetings
• Formal or Informal
With agenda, rules of procedure, minutes or
– Casual and relaxed - structure but nothing
written
–
• Planning
– To prepare or evaluate a plan
– To seek information
• Reporting
Progress to date
– Providing information or status reporting
–
18. Before the Meeting
• Define the purpose of the meeting.
• Identify the participants.
– Every invitee should have a role.
– Identify a recorder or secretary.
• Prepare an agenda in advance of the meeting.
– Communicate the intent of each agenda
item using labels such as (A) Action,
(I) Information, (V) Vote.
– Identify estimate of time allocated to the
agenda item.
19. Before the Meeting, cont’d
•
Prepare or identify background information.
•
Assign responsibilities for agenda items and
communicate to those responsible.
Publish the agenda and identify background
information to be reviewed.
Plan for breaks – lunch, coffee, etc.
•
•
20. Before the Meeting
•
Think through the conduct of the meeting
- Use a trusted member of your staff or
deputy.
•
Consider logistics
– Room – layout, seating, distractions, etc.
– Support items – projector, white board,
pens, etc.
21. Group Dynamics
• Attempt to identify & understand interpersonal dynamics of the group.
• If you will lead this group over an extended period, consider Myers- Briggs
Type Indicator (MBTI) instrument.
– Not definitive but allows you to better understand the members of
your meeting.
– Most scientists and engineers are introverts – prefer to sit-back,
listen and think-through their response.
– Extroverts tend to develop their opinions and responses by
talking out-loud.
• 126 item Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
– Instrument publisher, Consulting Psychologists Press (CPP, Inc.)
22. Personality Types
• Based on the well-known research of Carl Jung, Katharine C. Briggs, and
Isabel Briggs Myers
•Theory of Personality Types contends that:
• An individual is either primarily Extraverted or Introverted
• An individual is either primarily Sensing or iNtuitive
• An individual is either primarily Thinking or Feeling
• An individual is either primarily Judging or Perceiving
•The possible combinations of the basic preferences form 16 different
Personality Types.
•Learning about other people's Personality Types help us understand the
most effective way to communicate with them, and how they function best.
23. MBTI Type Descriptions
• Theory is that every individual has a primary mode of operation within four
categories:
1. Our flow of energy
2. How we take in information
3. How we prefer to make decisions
4. The basic day-to-day lifestyle that we prefer
• Within each of these categories, we "prefer" to be either:
1. Extraverted or Introverted
2. Sensing or iNtuitive
3. Thinking or Feeling
4. Judging or Perceiving
24. MBTI Type Descriptions
•Flow of Energy: how we receive the
essential part of our stimulation.
•Receive it from within ourselves (Introverted)
•Receive external sources (Extraverted)
•Take in Information: how we deal with
taking in & absorbing information.
• Trust five senses (Sensing) to take in
information
• Rely on our instincts (iNtuitive)
25. MBTI Type Descriptions,
cont’d
•
Make Decisions: decide things based on
• logic and objective consideration (Thinking)
• personal, subjective value systems (Feeling)
•
Day-to-day Basis:
• Organized and purposeful. More comfortable with
scheduled, structured environments (Judging),
• Flexible and diverse, and more comfortable with
open, casual environments (Perceiving)
26. During the Meeting
• Arrive early
– Arrange the room if necessary
– Know how to control the lighting and
temperature in the room.
– Distribute handouts.
• Begin on time.
• Introduce members if not familiar;
introduce visitors.
• Establish ground rules, if necessary.
• Run the meeting.
27. During the Meeting
•
Control interruptions – ask that cell phones
and pagers be turned-off.
•
•
Identify and record results.
Assign responsibilities for follow-up –
Action Registry.
•
End on time.
•
Thank participants for their input and
reinforce the importance of outcomes on
the organization.
28. Meeting Room
Space matters!
• Members must be able to easily see one
another.
• Room should be comfortable temperature.
• Adequate space for planners, notebooks, or
laptops
• People should be able to hear the discussion
easily.
• If it is a large group, the meeting’s facilitator
should consider standing.
29. 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
30. Member Roles – The Chair
• Prepare for the meeting.
• Appoint secretary/minute taker if there is
not a regular.
• Conduct and control the meeting.
– watch timing or assign someone to this
responsibility
– ensure all have an equal opportunity to
speak
– adjudicate as and when necessary
– effect compromise on occasion
31. The Chair
•
Close each item
– Ensure action is clear
– By whom and by when
•
Check that the minutes are produced
accurately and in timely manner
32. Member Roles – The
Secretary
• Ensure agenda and relevant papers are
distributed in time with date, time and place of
meeting.
• Prepare and book the meeting space.
• Have background papers and information for the
chair.
• Carry a copy of: (1) the constitution, (2) rules of
procedure, (3) previous minutes.
• Record names of attendees and apologies for
absence - check quorum.
33. The Secretary,
•
•
Take notes of what is said and decided
Minimum necessary:
– mixture of mnemonics and full transcript
– amount of detail depends on nature and purpose
of meeting
– must be enough to enable accurate minutes
Essential to have:
– gist of discussions
– exact words of proposals
– names of those proposing and seconding
– names of those responsible for future actions
•
Write the minutes - preferably as soon as
possible
34. Members in General
• People often react to other people - not to their ideas.
• Chair must stress that effectiveness = disregard for personal or departmental
allegiances.
• Self perception - some see themselves as elder statesman, joker, 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
35. Members in General –
Supportive
Maintenance Roles
The Tension
Reliever
Uses humor or calls for a break at appropriate moments
The Compromiser
Willing to yield when necessary for progress
The Clarifier
Offers rationales, probes for meaning, restates problems
The Tester
Raises questions to test if group is ready to come to a
decision
The Summarizer
Tries to pull discussion together, reviews progress so far
The Harmonizer
Mediates differences of opinion, reconciles points of view
The Encourager
Praises and supports others in their contributions
The Gate Keeper
Keeps communications open, creates opportunities for
participation
36. Members in General – Disruptive
Group Blocking Roles
The Aggressor
Deflates status of others, disagrees and criticizes
The Blocker
Stubbornly disagrees, cites unrelated material, returns to previous
topics
The Withdrawer
Will not participate, private conversations, takes copious personal
notes
The Recognition Seeker
Boasts and talks excessively
The Topic Jumper
Continually changes the subject
The Dominator
Tries to take over, asserts authority, manipulates the group
The Special Pleader
Draws attention to own concerns
The Playboy/Girl
Shows off, tells funny stories, nonchalant, cynical
The Self-Confessor
Talks irrelevantly of own feelings and insights
The Devil's Advocate
More devil than advocate!
Based on HC Wedgewood's Fewer Camels, More Horses: Where Committees Go Wrong. Personnel, Vol 44, No 4, July-Aug
1967, pp62-87. Quoted in Pearce, Figgens & Golen. Principles of Communication. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1984, pp.
37. Member Stereotypes
Stereotypes You May Expect to Find in a Group
The Chatterbox
Talks continually, rarely on the topic, has little to
contribute
The Sleeper
Uninterested in the proceedings, some can sleep with
eyes open!
The Destroyer
Crushes any and every idea, can always find something
wrong
The Rationalist
Makes worthwhile contributions, ideas are well thoughtout
The Trapper
Waits for opportune moment to show error has been
made – likes to trap the Chair
The Know-All
Tries to monopolize, but can have good ideas
The Thinker
Shy and slow to come forward, but is a great asset
Based on Sadler and Tucker. Common Ground. South Melbourne, Macmillan, 1981.
pg. 82.
38. How to Deal with Disruptive
Members
• Make sure that all meeting participants understand
their responsibilities.
– All members were invited to the meeting for a reason
– All members should feel free to contribute
• Members who are silent
– Begin meetings by engaging every member of the group
•“Bill, haven’t you done this in your work? What was your experience?"
•"Janet, you’ve been rather quiet to this point, do you have an opinion or
an idea?"
– Consider breaking larger group into smaller groups to develop input
39. How to Deal with Disruptive
Members
•
Members who are vocally dominant
– Redirect discussion to other members
"We all recognize your expertise in this area, but let’s hear from
some others in case some new ideas emerge.“
"John has made his opinion clear; does anyone else have
something they would like to add?"
•
Members who are negative
– Probe the negativity to validate concerns
– Redirect discussion to other members
– If behavior persists, consider speaking off-line or
excluding them from future meetings
“Let’s not shoot down this idea prematurely; let’s give it some
time for evaluation."
40. After the Meeting
• Publish the minutes promptly.
• Identify responsibilities for action
items.
• Assess the meeting.
41. Parliamentary Procedures
• Robert’s Rules of Order
– Parliamentary guide for running meetings.
– First Edition February 1876
– Guiding principle, by General Henry Martyn
Robert:
“All shall be heard, but the majority shall
decide”
• For details, see “Meetings and Parliamentary
Procedures – Simplified,” by Irving Engelson.
42. Additional Thoughts
•Don’t Read to the Group
• Place more emphasis on processing information, than on giving
information
• A meeting is a place to discuss an issue to assure agreement or full
understanding.
•Everyone contributes to a meeting’s success.
• Everyone must do their part.
• When possible, make sure the right people are at the meeting.
• If the material covered is not relevant to some people, arrange to have
them excused from that portion of the meeting.
• Make sure all meeting participants understand their responsibilities
43. Additional Thoughts
•
Balance participation
• Meetings will have people who are silent, vocally
dominant, or negative.
• The facilitator/chairperson as well as members of
the group can redirect this unproductive behavior
•
Allow time for process and group development
• Checking off agenda items in a rapid-fire process
is not always productive. It may move the meeting
along more quickly, but may leave you wondering
‘what happened?’ when it’s over.
44. Final Thoughts
• Praise! Praise! Praise!
• Praise people twice as much as you criticize.
• Never let any good deed or action go unheralded in the group.
• Say thank you publicly at every meeting.
• Recognize the value of peoples’ contributions at the beginning or within the
meeting.
• Plan. Plan. Plan.
• Meeting design is the Number 1 mechanism for effective meetings.
• For each agenda item, make sure the group is clear about the goals,
processes, and functions.
• Never, Never, Never attempt to compose, draft, or edit a report or document in
committee!
45. Summary
• The techniques described in this presentation
can be applied to any type of meeting you
encounter.
• Consider compiling your own list of successful
techniques based on specific meetings.
• Effective meetings are the result of deliberate
planning.
46. References
H. C. Wedgewood, “Fewer Camels, More Horses: Where Committees Go
Wrong,” Personnel, Vol. 44, No. 4, July-Aug 1967.
A. Jay, “How to Run a Meeting,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1976,
pp. 43-57.
Sadler and Tucker, Common Ground, South Melbourne, Macmillan, 1981.
Pearce, Figgens & Golen, Principles of Communication, New York, John Wiley
& Sons, 1984.
B. L. Shoop, “How to run an Effective Meeting,” Focal Point, Optical Society of
America, October 1996. Reprinted in IEEE CrossTalk, Vol. XXXIV, No. 8,
January 1998.
48. NOTICE
Announces an upcoming meeting & states
the type, date, & time of the meeting. It
may be written a part of an agenda /
separately.
Eg 1:
RJTE MASTER GALLERY SDN BHD
A meeting of the Creative Resources Department will be held in the main
meeting room on Friday, 4 March 2004 at 9a.m.
49. Cont…
Eg 2
ANGELIC SDN BHD (Co. No. 611786388A)
NOTICE OF 3RD ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING
Notice is hereby given that the 3 rd Annual
General Meeting (AGM) of Angelic Sdn Bhd
will be held at the Registered Ofice, No. 8588, Plaza Seri Serdang, 43300, Seri
Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan; on 27
April 2010 (Wednesday) at 2 p.m.
50. AGENDA
Is a list of topics to be discussed at a
meeting. Small & informal meetings do not
require an agenda. However, a meeting
involving a lot of people or covering lot of
issues will need an agenda in advance.
51. Purpose of an Agenda:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Facilitates the meeting
Helps participants to prepare for the
meeting
Keeps participants on track once the
meeting starts
Structures a meeting so that time is not
wasted
Provides opportunities for discussion
52. 2 Parts of Agenda: Ordinary
Business & Special Business
Ordinary Business: Items that appear on
every meeting.
At the Beginning
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of Last Meeting
3. Matters Arising
54. Cont…
Special Business: Special matters to be
discussed at specific meetings. They are
placed after the items of Ordinary Reports.
1. Chairperson’s Report
2. Open House
3. Facilities
4. Fund raising projects
55. Eg:
1. Confirmation Minutes of Meeting
2. Matters Arising
3. Academic Programs
4. Teaching Assignments
5. Examination Matters
6. External Examination Report
7. Other Matters
8. Date of next meeting
56. CHAIRMAN’S AGENDA
-contains extra notes to help the
Chairperson conduct the meeting
efficiently. Only the Chairperson receives
the agenda. The Chairperson writes his
notes on the space at the right hand side
of the agenda. These notes will be
referred to the secretary when preparing
the minutes.
57. Minutes
Provides a formal documentation that
records what happened during the meeting.
The accuracy is important for those who
attended the meeting as well as those who
were absent. It is written in Reported Speech
from the 3rd person POV.
58. Purpose of Minutes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To remind participants of what happened at
the last meeting
To inform those absent about the results of
the meeting
To provide a basis of discussion for the next
meeting
To provide a permanent record of the
meeting for future reference
To provide an objectives & adequate record
in the case of any legal significance
59. Types of Meeting
Verbatim Minutes
- Every word is recorded
- In parliaments of courts
2. Action Minutes
- Only decision are recorded
3. Narrative Minutes
- Record all information
1.
60. 3 easy ways to write
minutes:
1.
2.
3.
Look at the agenda
Write notes on the agenda during the
meeting
Refer to the agenda & the notes to write
your minutes after the meeting
61. 3 Section in Writing
Minutes:
1.
2.
3.
TOP: similar to the top of the notice of
meeting except for the tenses used.
MIDDLE: resembles the Agenda in the
Notice of Meeting. The Agenda & the
middle of the Minutes share the same
structures.
BOTTOM: Signature of secretary and
Chairperson & dates
Notas do Editor
Have you ever attended a meeting that did not have a clearly defined agenda, seemed to drag-on forever, rambled from topic-to-topic, and ended without any apparent result? We have all experienced this type of meeting and have come to abhor them. They can be tremendously frustrating to those who attend and can waste one of the most valuable resources of any organization – time.
Some psychologists and students of human nature believe that meetings satisfy a tribal
gathering instinct deeply ingrained in the human psyche.
Others believe they add a social dimension, giving employees and members a sense of belonging to the organization.
In any regard, meetings are a fact of life and in many cases necessary. However, ill
prepared and ineffective meetings do not need to be the norm.
Some psychologists and students of human nature believe that meetings satisfy a tribal gathering instinct deeply ingrained in the human psyche.
Others believe they add a social dimension, giving employees and members a sense of belonging to the organization.
In any regard, meetings are a fact of life and in many cases necessary. However, ill
prepared and ineffective meetings do not need to be the norm.
Much of the content of this presentation is common sense
… however …
we have all sat through meetings where we have asked:
why am I here?
what is the purpose of this meeting?
what was the outcome of that meeting?
Every time you call a meeting, you are allocating one of your most
critical resources: time.
Consider a one-hour meeting with 2 managers and 4 engineers in a for-profit
environment:
manager: $100.00/hour – $200.00
engineers: $ 60.00/hour – $240.00
Total – $440.00
In a not-for-profit or professional society environment, volunteers do not want
their time wasted – ineffective meetings account for a significant proportion of
the discontent in volunteer organizations.
Also consider Opportunity Costs.
Every day 83 million people attend 11.5 million meetings.
As a leader in our professional society, it is your responsibility to ensure that our volunteer meetings are efficient and effective.
Our Flow of Energy defines how we receive the essential part of our stimulation.
Do we receive it from within ourselves (Introverted) or from external sources (Extraverted)?
The topic of how we Take in Information deals with our preferred method of taking in and
absorbing information. Do we trust our five senses (Sensing) to take in information, or do we
rely on our instincts (iNtuitive)?
How we prefer to Make Decisions, refers to whether we are prone to decide things based on
logic and objective consideration (Thinking), or based on our personal, subjective value
systems (Feeling).
The fourth preference is concerned with how we deal with the external world on a
Day-to-day Basis. Are we organized and purposeful, and more comfortable with scheduled,
structured environments (Judging), or are we flexible and diverse, and more comfortable with
open, casual environments (Perceiving)?
Space matters. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, meeting space must be just right to provide comfort, visual focus, and interaction opportunities.
Members must be able to easily see one another.
The room should be a comfortable temperature, have adequate space for planners, notebooks, or laptops, and noise should be reduced so people can hear the discussion easily.
If it is a large group, the meeting’s facilitator should consider standing.
Don’t Read to the Group. Within your organization, place more emphasis on processing information, than on giving information at your meetings. A meeting is not the place to read a memo, but instead it’s a place to discuss an issue to assure agreement or full understanding.
Everyone contributes to a meeting’s success. It’s not just the facilitator/chairperson who is responsible for a good meeting, everyone must do their part. When possible, make sure the right people are at the meeting. If the material covered is not relevant to some people, arrange to have them excused from that portion of the meeting. Also make sure all meeting participants understand their responsibilities
Praise! Praise! Praise! Praise people twice as much as your criticize. Never let any good deed or action go unheralded in the group. Say thank you publicly at every meeting. Recognize the value of peoples contributions at the beginning or within the meeting. It’s cheap psychology, and it works wonders. One of the best ways to boost group morale and keep it high, is to notice peoples work and praise it regularly.
Plan. Plan. Plan. Meeting design is the Number 1 mechanism for effective meetings. For each agenda item, make sure the group is clear about the goals, processes, and functions.
Never, Never, Never attempt to compose, draft, or edit a report or document in committee!