

the organisational context (the implications and needs of the business or project or organisation).the situation (circumstances, mood, atmosphere, background, etc).Your choice of structure and style in running an effective meeting is hugely dependent on several factors: The aim and test of a well run meeting is that whatever the subject, people feel afterwards that it took care of their needs, as well as the items on the agenda.įactors Affecting How Best to Run Meetings Trying to save time and money by holding virtual meetings for serious matters is often a false economy for the organisation, and can actually be very unfair to staff if the matter significantly affects their personal futures or well-being.Ī meeting provides a special opportunity to achieve organisational outcomes, and also to help the attendees in a variety of ways, so approach all meetings keeping in mind these two different mutually supporting aims. Meaning and feelings can be lost or confused when people are not physically sitting in the same room as each other. Therefore, it is not sensible or fair to hold a virtual (phone or video-conferencing) meeting about a very serious matter. Physical face-to-face meetings are the most effective type of meetings for conveying feelings and meanings. Subject to obvious adaptations and restrictions, the main principles of running physical face-to-face meetings apply to running virtual meetings. Explore other options such as telephone conferencing and video conferencing before deciding that a physical meeting is required, and decide what sort of meeting is appropriateįor the situation. Via video conferencing, and the inability to convey body language and facial expressions by phone communications).Īccordingly, choose meeting methods that are appropriate for the situation. The efficiencies of 'virtual meetings' (phone and video-conferencing notably) and the imperfections of remote communications methods (notably the inability to convey body language effectively Of physical face-to-face communications (see the Mehrabian theory) there will always be a trade-off between These 'virtual meeting' methods save time and money, but given the advantages New technology provides several alternatives to the conventional face-to-face meeting around a table, for example phone and video-conferencing, increasingly mobile and web-based. The need to run effective meetings is more intense than ever in modern times, given ever-increasing pressures on people's time, and the fact that people are rarely now based in the same location, due to mobile working and progressively 'globalised' Badly run meetings waste time, money, resources, and are worse than having no meetings at all. Holding meetings is an increasingly expensive activity, hence the need to run meetings well. Meetings which involve people and encourage participation and responsibility are more constructive than meetings in which the leader tells, instructs and makes all the decisions, which is not a particularly productive style of leadership. Problem solving and decision-making are important in many meetings, although always consider how much of these responsibilities youĬan give to the group, which typically depends on their experience and the seriousness of the issue. In meetings, and so is a basic understanding of motivation and personality. Presentation skills and delegation abilities are helpful Techniques of goal planning and project management are
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See also how to run workshops and workshop meetings. Hold effective meetings to make people happier and more productive.īrainstorming meetings are immensely powerful for team-building, creativity, decision-making and problem-solving (see the brainstorming section).

Hold meetings to manage teamsĪnd situations, and achieve your objectives quicker, easier, at less cost. Plan, run and follow up meetings properly, and they will repay the cost many times over because there is still no substitute for physical face-to-face meetings. Hold meetings, even if it's difficult to justify the time. That's why meetingsĪre so useful (statistics from research by Dr Albert Mehrabian).

The other 55% of the meaning and feeling is carried in facial expression and non-verbal signals. Meetings are better than telephone conferences because only 38% of the meaning and feeling is carried in the way that things are said. Meetings are effective because the written word only carries 7% of Meetings diffuse conflict in a way that emails and memos cannot. Meetings prevent 'not invented here' syndrome. Meetings create new ideas and initiatives. Properly run meetings save time, increase motivation, productivity, and solve problems. Meetings are vital for management and communication.
