Managing Effective Meetings

The M Word!

MEETINGS!

Some of my clients tell me they are tired of the number of meetings they are required to attend, and that so many meetings are not well organized or run. That inspired me to create a Managing Effective Meetings Guide: Grab Your FREE Guide here.

Meeting overwhelm is a real thing. Meetings (whether they be online or in person) benefit from organization, preparation, structure, and effective leadership of the meeting. It’s important that a meeting be set up for success. This guide provides a number of proven tips and strategies to help you create a successful meeting while at the same time setting a foundation for engagement and a respectful environment. The more well-run the meeting is, the more that people are likely to commit to their action items, participate fully, and contribute in a meaningful way. The added bonus is that your team may even look forward to meeting.

Preparation is key. One strategy for meeting success is to put careful consideration into developing clarity on:

? The purpose of the meeting

? Who needs to be at meeting

? How the meeting should be set up (e.g., is the meeting virtual or an in-person

meeting?)

? How often should meetings occur (people appreciate making the best use of

their time, energy, and resources)

Preparation can also support you when you are the chair, lead, or facilitator of the meeting. As a facilitator of the meeting, it is your role to help manage the meeting and navigate the dynamics that occur.

Meetings with diverse opinions can enrich the dialogue and create innovation solutions. Sometimes, however, the differences in experience, skills, approaches, working styles, personality, and experience can create differences of opinion. Ensuring that respect is a foundation of all meetings is extremely important.

Having a clear purpose for the meeting is extremely important, especially for those who attend frequent meetings. One way to reduce engagement and attendance is to have meetings where people didn’t know:

? Why they were invited

? How they could contribute

? What the overall objectives of the meeting are A clear purpose helps frame the meeting and creates context.

TIPS: Below are a couple tips to help with the meeting purpose:

? Ensure the purpose of the meeting is clear and understood by those who are attending and to those who are invited (individuals who many not be attending, but are sending someone else in their place).

? If someone is attending the meeting for the first time, it is important that the individual be “brought up to speed” as follows: o Ensure that the new individual is aware of how the meetings are run, what is expected of them, and if the individual be will be asked to speak or not (and if yes, about what). o At the meeting, it’s important to properly introduce the guest(s) or the new person who is joining so that they feel welcome and also so that regular meeting attendees understand why the person is joining meeting.

Download your FREE Managing Effective Meetings Guide and learn about :

• Meeting Chair or Facilitator Role
• Meeting Courtesies
• Agendas & Meeting Notes
• Foster & Protect Everyone's Chance to Speak
• Manage Relevance, Agreements & Next Steps Effectively Managing the “Parking Lot”
• and Navigating Meeting Dynamics

After having facilitated meetings for parties in dispute and conflict resolution processes, team meetings, facilitated courageous dialogues, team charters, planning and committee meetings strategic planning meetings to name a few, I have pulled together the best tips here to help your meetings leave people wanting to attend the next one! Download your copy today,

About Charmaine Hammond, CSP:

Charmaine Hammond, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) is a highly sought-after business keynote and workshop speaker, entrepreneur, author, and educator who teaches and advocates the importance of developing trust, healthy relationships, and collaboration in the workplace. She has helped clients in many industries build resilient and engaged workplaces, develop high trust/high accountability relationships, and solve workplace issues and conflicts that get in the way of success and profitability. She is respected as a "no fluff" and "rich content" speaker who delivers tangible tools to step into action immediately.

Delivering her programs in person and virtually (she is a Certified Virtual Presenter through eSpeakers), she brings results and facilitates change.

This former Correctional Officer (yup! She worked in jails…) and Corporate Dispute Resolution Expert now travels the world teaching the principles of collaboration, communication/conflict resolution and resilience. She also has an extensive background facilitating processes to support collaborations and workplace/team relationships when they go sideways. As a former mediator, she has helped facilitate some of the most complex collaborations and partnership arrangements. She has also been called to several communities that have experienced disasters to help with rebuilding resilience and recovery processes.