Sep 11, 2018
Most of us have been there - attending another meeting that seems to go on for hours. It was meant to finish ages ago but people keep going on about stuff which you frankly have no interest in.
The discussions seem to regularly go off on tangents and nothing is actually agreed anyway......lots of people have suggestions but no-one wants to volunteer to get it done. People turn up to meeting who obviously haven't read the Agenda......whilst others seem determined to hi-jack proceedings by repeating the same points over and over again.
You hope and pray that people keep quiet when 'Any Other Business' comes around.......only to find that this encourages more of the same plus some curved balls thrown in for good measure. You really could do with getting back to work and getting some work done, and is that guy from accounts actually asleep?
If you have experienced some of the above then you will appreciate how important it is for any meeting to be well organised, structured and succinct.
For instance, the Chair's Agenda should be distributed to attendees well in advance and include timings; each topic is provided with an allocated slot, and and if an agenda item is to be allowed to overrun, the Chair Person will consult the group who will agree which item on the Agenda will be shortened as a result. The Chair Person should also allocate the role of time keeper and note taker to someone else......otherwise how can they effectively chair the meeting?
If some of the above sounds a little draconian then fear not. Our Chairing Skills Training covers these and other issues, and helps delegates to bring structure and agreed boundaries to their meetings which will benefit all concerned.
This is one of our most popular courses and we regularly receive excellent feedback from delegates who tell us what a huge difference it has made to them when chairing meetings in the workplace.
Thanks for reading.....
Jason
