WE MEET OTHERS TO: -Give or exchange information -To create or develop ideas -To decide on goals or issues -To delegate work or authority -To share work or responsibility -To persaude, involve or co-opt -To inspire -To establish or maintain relations -To socialize and have fun -To consult
Anytime you're in a meeting, your sending a message about: -WHO YOU ARE -WHAT YOU'RE ABILITIES ARE -WHAT LEAGUE YOU BELONG IN
LIFE IS SHORT AND DECISIONS ABOUT PEOPLE MUST BE MADE
In meetings: -Look for strength of personality and leadership ability -Judge whether the person is on top of the job -whether they can understand and manage people -Are they meeting you to get something done? -Are they a time waster or a focused manager? -Can they prioritize? -Do they listen? -Can they handle responsibility?
WE ALWAYS SEND SIGNALS TO OTHERS -Signs of self-respect -Organization -Confidence -Competence -Success -Ability to execute
In essence, every meeting you attend is a prospective job interview and a current job evaluation
YOU CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER
In meetings, take a good look around you---- -Ask yourself who appears to be effective -Who's participating? -Who's in command of the material? -Who is prepared? -Which participant seems to be communicating on another level? -Who seems to be getting his way? -How does he do it? -What signals are you sending?
JUST MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT MEETING YOU'RE IN, AND IF YOU'RE RUNNING THE MEETING, KNOW WHAT MEETING YOU'RE RUNNING
AS YOU JUDGE THEM, THEY JUDGE YOU
When attending a meeting, you have made a judgement that a particular meeting is, in the long run, a more valuable use of
your time than anything else you might otherwise do.
YOUR MERE DECISION TO ATTEND A MEETING IS A WIN OR A LOSS, A STEP FORWARD OR A STEP BACKWARD IN ACHIEVING YOUR BASIC LONG TERM GOALS
Good meetings and bad meetings are contagious
Even if you're not running the meeting, it's still YOUR meeting. You have an obligation to shape it and to extent possible you must own every meeting you attend
AUTHORITY IS 20% GIVEN AND 80% TAKEN
In every meeting you attend, you ought to have your own personal agenda
WHEN YOU CALL THE MEETING, YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT
BUT....when you set out for a personal agenda, you are destroying the whole meeting and therefore your own objectives.
GROUPS are far more likely to err than the individual
"People meet because common, rational interests bring them together. However, these presumed interests, often poorly articulated, are easily overwhelmed by conflicting personal needs and interests, emotions, difficulties of communications, the tendency to abdicate responsibility and that strange dynamics of group behavior AS A RESULT, PEOPLE JUST PLAIN ACT DIFFERENTLY IN GROUPS
CLICK HERE to read the Types of Personalities at Meetings
REMEMBER: You are better off working for a few successful meetings than a list of mediorce ones
In meetings you are dealing not only with memory, but with power, ego, emotionss, ambitions, hidden motivations and a host of other factors.
Some personalities simply don't mix. Some relationships carry limitations. Personal and professional feelings will further distort communication.
TO GET THE MOST OUT OF A MEETING, YOU MUST: 1) Limit the number and kinds of tasks to be undertaken 2) Limit the number of participants 3) Spend more time in preparation than the meeting itself 4) Make sure that the meeting environment is consistent with your purpose and the tasks to be performed
DON'T CALL A UNNESSESSARY MEETING - IT MAKES YOU LOOK BAD
PREPARING A MEETING. QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU PREPARE
1) Do you have authority to get the job done?
2) Who's attending and who should attend?
3) What are the primary issues that must be discussed?
4) Where should the meeting take place?
5) Where is the appropriate time for the meeting?
6) What will be the process of the meeting?
7) How will decisions be reached?
ALWAYS DO YOUR HOMEWORK -If you or someone else doesn't do their homework, it sends a message to everyone as disrespectful
SEE YOURSELF AS OTHERS SEE YOU-Put yourself in the other guy's shoes so you can understand them well enough to communicate. -Take the time to analyze how your meeting partners perceive you
WAYS TO MAKE A MEETING EXCITING -change the tempo -say interesting things about everyone at the table to move them and think they're interesting -show your own interest - it's infectious -allow for expressions of humor -the way you dress, body language, punctuality and additude - all send messages. -a meeting environment that both conveys your message and complements your goal
AFTER THE MEETING -Access the meeting in terms of your original goal and your measurement of success. Keep moving towards the goal -Share the results with people who need to know, including those who have helped you prepare -Follow up assignments -Capitalize on gains and recoup losses by following up memos and brief encounters as necessary