Making Meetings More Effective A leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University.

1. Making Meetings More EffectiveA leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University. *This powerpoint should be used in conjunction with the Effective Meetings lesson plan found at http://leadership.cas.psu.edu/Training.html

2. Effective Meetings: Overview • Introduction • Lesson Objectives • Lesson Content • Reflection Questions • References

3. Introduction • Social society and we like to meet • As organizations grow and spread, meetings become necessity and not luxury • Companies, schools, community groups, houses of worship, etc. • Important to maximize this time with team members and make meetings as effective as possible

4. Lesson Objectives • At the end of the lesson, you will be able to: • Identify some strategies you can use to make your meetings more effective

5. Meetings • Reasons for meetings • To plan an event • To make a decision • To get work done • Effectiveness from two different angles • Process stand point • Effectivemeetings.com • Providing ground rules for participants • Tool Pack

6. The Process Stand Pointfrom Effectivemeetings.com • Steps to take before, during, and after a meeting • Only hold a meeting if necessary • All meetings must have clear objectives • All meetings must have an agenda that includes topics for discussion, presenters if applicable, and order of business • Meeting information needs to be circulated to everyone prior to the meeting • Meeting objectives and agenda • Location/date/time • Any necessary background information • Assigned items for preparation

7. The Process Stand Pointfrom Effectivemeetings.com • Start meetings on time • Meeting notes must be recorded and made part of the company’s meeting information archives • The decisions made by the group must be documented • Assigned action items must be documented and someone must be appointed to follow-up on the completion of all action items • Meeting effectiveness must be reviewed at the end of each meeting and suggested improvements applied to the next meeting

8. Providing Ground Rulesfrom Tool Pack • To be followed by all who attending a meeting • Stay focused • Squash conflict • Encourage discussion during silence • Get ideas flowing • Brainstorm, use a suggestion box, or break into discussion groups • Expect some conflict • Should surround ideas and not people, and remains neutral • Spread the power around • All should have a voice in decision making power to provide buy-in • Always follow through • Every member should have some level of responsibility

9. Reflection Questions • Look at the “process” steps to making your meetings more effective. • Are you doing any of those right now? • What are some process steps you can take as a leader to make your meetings more effective? • Would some be easier than others to implement? • Look at the ground rules to making your meetings more effective. • Are you doing any of those right now? • Which of those that you are not doing could you easily complete for your next meeting?

10. References • Effective Meetings. (2004). Retrieved on October 1, 2006, fromhttp://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingbasics/training.asp • Toolpack Consultants. (2001-2005). Retrieved on October 1, 2006, from http://www.toolpack.com/meetings.html