<p>For anyone who has spent even a nominal amount of time involved with business meetings, the challenge of holding effective, productive meetings seems daunting!&nbsp; This becomes even more complicated as more and more meetings are moving into the virtual world.&nbsp; The challenge is how do we make each meeting an effective tool in communication and decision making.</p> <p>Before we can take the challenge of making our meetings more effective, we must first have a clear concept of what distinguishes an effective meeting from one that is a complete waste of time.&nbsp; My experiences have taught me that there are five common factors that help ensure an effective meeting:</p> <ol> <li>Having a good reason to meet in the first place;</li> <li>Having an agenda that clearly states the purpose of the meeting and key steps to satisfying that purpose by the end of the meeting;</li> <li>Stating a timeframe at the beginning of the meeting and sticking to it, with few exceptions;</li> <li>Requiring the participants come prepared to discuss the topic on the agenda, meaning that participants have received the agenda and have been told what&rsquo;s expected from them personally;</li> <li>Having some degree of skilled facilitation &ndash; someone who can keep participants focused on the agenda items and can navigate prickly interpersonal issues so that the meeting is effective instead of dysfunctional.</li> </ol> <p>To most of us, this is old hat.&nbsp; It is information that we have been exposed to in one form or another.&nbsp; In some places it is meeting process rules that are hung on the walls of every meeting room.&nbsp; In others it is desktop instruction or policy.&nbsp; Yet, we still continue to experience ineffective meetings.&nbsp; I believe that the answer to this is wrapped up in &ldquo;having some degree of skilled facilitation.&rdquo;</p> <p>A facilitator is someone who contributes the needed structure and processes which help a group function both, efficiently and effectively.&nbsp; Often this includes building a process which provides a step-by-step description of the tools and techniques used to bring the structure to the conversation.&nbsp; Often we know the &ldquo;what of the meeting&rdquo; aka the &ldquo;content&rdquo; but we give very little consideration to &ldquo;how do we get there&rdquo; or the &ldquo;process.&rdquo;</p> <p>Those of us who have experience a good facilitator; will attest to the value that they bring to the process.&nbsp; A skilled facilitator makes the hard look and feel easy and most of us would love to put one or two on staff.&nbsp; However, there are some things that you can do from a facilitative perspective to help to reach your goal of making each meeting an effective tool in communication and decision making.</p> <p><strong>The Six P&rsquo;s of Effective Meetings</strong></p> <p><strong>Purpose</strong>:&nbsp; Set clear objectives and establish expected deliverables.&nbsp; Identify the purpose and rationale for having a meeting.&nbsp; What conflicts, problems, opportunities, concerns or time frames will the meeting address?&nbsp; What work or decisions must be completed during the meeting?&nbsp; Make sure your objectives are specific, clear and measure.&nbsp; Consider using the SMART (<strong>S</strong>pecific, <strong>M</strong>easurable, <strong>A</strong>chievable, <strong>R</strong>elevant, <strong>T</strong>ime-Phased) approach.&nbsp; Identify the decision maker(s) and the decision making process.</p> <p><strong>Planning</strong>:&nbsp; Have an agenda.&nbsp; Align each agenda item with the meeting goals and objectives. Assure the essential people are available.&nbsp; Invite only the people who need the information or whose inputs are necessary to reach decisions or solve problems.&nbsp; Insist that stand-in be empowered to address the subject matter.&nbsp; Right-size the meeting.&nbsp; Include only as many discussion items as the group can realistically cover in the allocated time.&nbsp; A good rule of thumb is no more than 5 major items for a two-hour meeting and one for a 30-minute meeting.&nbsp; Use the most effective venue for the meeting.&nbsp; While virtual meetings are cheaper than face-to-face, they may not produce a quality decision.</p> <p><strong>Process</strong>:&nbsp; Use a facilitative process.&nbsp; &nbsp;Enroll others in the process.&nbsp; Establish norms (meeting or ground rules) that clarify the decision process, ensure constructive use of time and create a safe collaborative environment.&nbsp; Invite participants to be members rather than attenders. &nbsp;Begin and end on-time.&nbsp; Use the correct facilitator tool for the process you are working with.</p> <p><strong>People</strong>:&nbsp; Break them into categories &ndash; value added, non-value added but necessary and non-value added.&nbsp; Value added are those individuals who are essential to the meeting outcome.&nbsp; They are stakeholders, individuals who are committed to or have a role in the subject matter at hand.&nbsp; Often they are presenters, contributors and decision-makers.&nbsp; Non-value added but necessary are those individuals who have relevant input or need information from the meeting.&nbsp; Non-value added are just that non-value added and they should be eliminated from the meeting.&nbsp; You can help increase participation by issuing a personal invitation and scheduling meetings to suit their schedules.&nbsp; Additionally, you can give them an active role in the meeting or placing emphases on the WIIFM (<strong>W</strong>hat&rsquo;s <strong>I</strong>n <strong>I</strong>t <strong>F</strong>or <strong>M</strong>e).</p> <p><strong>Participants</strong>: Encourage meeting attenders to be prepared, on-time, focused and respectful.&nbsp; Your facilitative process can help you with this.</p> <p><strong>Practice</strong>:&nbsp; Be self-disciplined.&nbsp; It starts with you.&nbsp; If you set a tone and pace that says I am committed to the process, it will go a long way in encouraging others to commit to the process.&nbsp; Trust your process.&nbsp; Follow your process each and every time.&nbsp; Use feedback to continuously improve.</p> <p>In the current business environment, it is imperative that we are both &ndash; efficient and effective.&nbsp; By using these simple guidelines, you can achieve your goal of making each meeting an effective tool in communicating and decision making.&nbsp;</p> 2009-07-06T23:45:15Z 2009-07-10T02:02:35Z -5.67323 109 5358 true 5 33896 better-meetings-now-tips-tools-and-techniques 2 2009-07-09T19:02:11Z 2009-07-10T02:02:35Z

For anyone who has spent even a nominal amount of time involved with business meetings, the challenge of holding effective, productive meetings seems daunting! Overcoming this challenge can be done using the Six P’s of Effective Meetings.

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