So It Is Your Turn to Lead a Meeting?
By Wayne Baughman

f you were charged with the crime of leading a meeting ineffectively, how would you plead? Would your defense have enough positive information to get you acquitted? How about the prosecution? Would they be able to produce a number of witnesses to say that you are an incompetent leader of meetings?

The meeting is one of the most effective ways to communicate, whether it is in the business world or with a volunteer organization. A meeting makes the best use of the participants' time, communicates important information, and gives everyone involved the opportunity to share and build on each other's ideas.

The basic meeting structure has five parts: preparation, opening, body, conclusion, and follow-up. The first step in producing effective meetings begins well before the meeting ever happens; it is to determine the meeting objectives. You need to get a firm understanding why the meeting is being held, what kind of meeting would be the most productive, and how the meeting should be conducted. Once this has been accomplished, the meeting leader needs to communicate the objectives to those who will attend the meeting. These objectives must answer the why, what, how, and who of the meeting. The final ingredient, the who, is to determine who possesses the information needed for a successful meeting.

The second step also is in the preparation stage, prior to the actual meeting, when the meeting leader needs to consider the details: the location of the meeting that is convenient to all the participants; the time and date of the meeting; allowance of enough time to take care of all important issues (a rule of thumb for a short meeting is no more than one hour); the roles of the participants; the necessary materials, such as flip charts, diagrams, reports and memos, tables, chairs, flip chart stands/pads, and projectors; and if the actual meeting room will be adequate for the participants and the visuals.

One of the most important facets of the effective meeting is the agenda, the "road map" of what is to be discussed. Questions to be asked when developing the agenda include: Have all issues been noted? Is each item stated clearly? Has the agenda been organized in a logical fashion? Has the agenda been organized to give the most emphasis to the most important items? The agenda needs to be given to participants several days prior to the meeting, if possible.

The next step, after successful preparation, is to formulate the opening of the meeting. An effective way is to write an opening statement, which should include: objective, background, participant's roles, time constraints, and agenda priorities so that each person will know exactly what is to happen and what is expected from each of them.

The fourth step is the body of the meeting. Ideally, the body of the meeting should contain no more than three to five items. As the leader of the meeting moves from item to item, they should be tied together with transition statements to help the group stay on target and five a logical connection of one item to another. It is extremely important to stick to the agenda and to minimize or avoid any side discussions that might get you away from your objectives for the meeting. Note taking during the body of the meeting is critical. Someone other than the meeting leader should take these notes, and the responsibility should be assigned before the meeting. These notes can be used for historical purposes, documentation, and assigning responsibilities agreed to during the meeting.

The fifth step is to conclude the meeting by summarizing agreements - re-stating, clarifying and confirming any and all understandings.

The final step is to ensure follow-up. The leader needs to ensure that there is a play of action that has been specified and agreed upon during the meeting. By asking what will be done, when will it be done, why will it be done, who will do it, where will it be done, and how it will be done, you can design your plan of action. Productive meetings are up to you. How you plan before, carry out during, and successfully follow-up afterwards, will determine if you are leading meetings effectively.

Wayne Baughman is president of Creative Presentations, a communications, leadership and management training and speaking business. He can be reached at 513-481-4428 or www.speakingskills.com.

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