Let's Get Together By Nancy Kamp

We're never going to escape meetings.  This article from Oklahoma City Business has some ideas to improve your next gathering.  

 

When was the last time your company made the most of its meetings? 

Does your staff doodle its way through important professional gatherings?  Have you emerged from a recent meeting with a nasty self-inflicted gouge in your thumb because pain was the only thing that could keep you awake? 

Meetings shouldn't cause fear and loathing.  Properly planned and well-run meetings are efficient ways to exchange ideas and information.  People can get to know each other, forging  stronger teams in the process. 

 

Tips from the Pros

Oklahoma City's Bob Layne, formerly of the worldwide Dale Carnegie® Training organization, has some advice.  Layne said, "Business meetings should always have an agenda, and the agenda should always be distributed 24 hours in advance."  With an agenda in hand, the staff knows what to expect and can be prepared to contribute. 

Layne suggested that meeting leadership be rotated "to develop leadership skills and to get better participation.  The person who's leading the meeting always tends to dominate."  The leader should keep the meeting focused on one idea at a time.  Rambling dissertations should be discouraged.  Evidence is more effective than emotion in supporting an issue. 

All meetings need rules and processes.  These usually include "one person talks at a time" and "silence signifies acceptance," according to John Bernard, an Oregon management consultant.  Bernard, a self-described meeting aficionado, says the old rules of parliamentary procedure are not always necessary.  Meeting rules should fit the company culture and be agreed upon in advance.     

Some company cultures support humor and storytelling at meetings.  These can be effective tools in idea generation when they are relevant to the issue of the day.

A meeting should conclude with well-defined, follow-up action steps.  Layne said, "Action steps should be documented, and accountability fixed."

This is the Information Age.  The prognosis is more meetings.  Make them worthwhile.