Meeting Guru

Dear Meeting Guru,

I am a training specialist developing a one hour PowerPoint presentation called 'Effective Meetings'. This presentation will be given to Branch Managers in my company throughout the country. I was thinking of devising a role-play meeting also, to help the participants understand some of the things they will experience when they hold their meetings. What I do not wish to do is have this hour be a waste of the managers' time. It's added into a one week class, so I want my 'hour' to stand out. Any ideas you have would be helpful.

Anonymous

If you want people to remember and use the information in your presentation, make sure you keep it practical. Everyone knows why they need effective meetings, so concentrate on how they can deliver them.

At EffectiveMeetings.com, we have devised six practical ways you can make your meetings more effective. Check out the following article and consider using the tips described as the basis for you presentation.

Once you’ve reviewed these tips, consider a bit of group participation. Include the following slide in your presentation, and ask participants to copy these questions and fill in the blanks, outlining their commitment to improving meeting effectiveness. Suggest that all of your branch managers present their ideas to their team, and have group members evaluate their efforts in a month’s time.

One thing I want to change about my meetings:

Strategies I’ll use to achieve this change:

Start date:

Evaluation date:

If you want to integrate a role play into your session, check out the following articles that contain strategies for being both an effective team member and an effective team leader:

Then use these ideas to create a role-play session. Your first meeting scenario could highlight strategies for being a more effective team leader, and the second, strategies for being a more effective team member. After all, you can only be an effective leader if you understand the frustrations behind your team members’ actions.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your presentation. Remember, teaching people new skills is never a waste of time!

As the wise philosopher Confucius once said, "Those who are born with knowledge are the highest. Next come those who attain knowledge through study. Next again come those who turn to study after having been vexed by difficulties. The common people, insofar as they make no effort to study even after having been vexed by difficulties, are the lowest." In other words, ineffective meetings can be eliminated, as long as you have people who are committed to learning new tricks!

Until next time… may good meeting karma always be with you.