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Meetings! Meetings! - Meeting Problems
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Poorly run meetings waste time - and time means money. This activity establishes some basic ground rules to make your meetings worthwhile and avoid common meeting problems.
You are one of six managers at ‘The Hotel’ attending a regular Monday morning meeting to plan for the week. Each has a Management Card listing current issues which you must first prioritise for bringing up at the meeting.
The issues are interlinked so as soon as one manager mentions an issue, at least two other managers (maybe all of them) have something to say from their perspective, which may for example be supportive or throw fresh light on the situation. Within minutes, there is total interaction and the simulated meeting becomes very real!
Typical meeting problems are: lack of agenda, mini-meetings at the table, dominant individuals, too much time on minor issues, no chairperson etc. All this makes for a great debrief and two handouts help you consolidate the learning.- main reasons why meetings go wrong
- to set an agenda and overall objective - and keep to it!
- the importance of a chairperson
- to prepare for the meeting
- to avoid mini-meetings within the main meeting
- how to handle dominant members
- to keep to time, finish on time
- to summarise the decisions reached
- everyone has a contribution (include non-assertive members)
- Introduce the exercise (PowerPoint optional).
- Divide participants into a number of meetings that will run concurrently. With 12 people you would run two meetings.
- Issue Briefing Sheets to each person and their Role Cards telling them who they represent at the meeting.
- Observe the participants during the meeting and make notes on critical incidents.
- At the end of the meetings, discuss the individual action points and identify key decisions reached at each meeting. The Trainer’s Notes identify the main points.
- Lead a discussion on how the meetings were run and whether they were effective. Summarise key lessons and issue the Checklist Handouts for participants to take away to help structure their work meetings more effectively.
Ted Hall, TBT AssociatesI use Meetings! Meetings! on training courses on effective meetings, and leadership skills. The best learning points include the need to formulate and use an agenda, the“control” of individual contributions, and listing the action points decided.
A very good activity. It was used at the start of the day, and “set up” the day to allow focus on the learning points. The delegates thoroughly enjoyed it and “grew” into the roles. As one said: “It was typical of what happens”.
G Skeens, Solomon HareA stimulating activity which made all the participants think again about their behaviour at meetings.
C Jeffries, Conoco LtdAn adaptable package, stimulating and beneficial to participants whether they hold or merely attend meetings.K Bertin, HarrodsA useful and enjoyable exercise allowing trainees to practise communication, assertiveness and leadership skills but also emphasising the importance of planned, structured and co-ordinated meetings.
- NDS Inc, USA
- Equifax Plc
- University of Herts Student Union
- Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
- Imperial Tobacco Ltd
- North Lanarkshire Council
- Wickes Building Supplies
- Cambridge Constabulary HQ
- Cheshire County Council
- Scottish & Southern Energy
- Trainer’s Notes
- Team Briefing Sheets
- Sets of Cards
- Arranging the Meeting Pad
- Participating at the Meeting Pad
- Memo Sheets
