Meeting style and structure

Managing effective meetings

Meetings can have many benefits.

BenefitsA group of people together can achieve a lot. They can:

discuss/develop issues

communicate effectively

make decisions

share decision-making

encourage common goals and objectives

share achievements

motivate each other

review progress.

When meetings are effectively run, people can innovate marvellous projects and enrich their communities. They enjoy participating and being part of a productive team.

Effective meetings are about maximising positive contributions and fostering productive communication between all participants.

However, sometimes a meeting can be a waste of time and money, because:

nothing gets decided
the participants don't stick to the subject
preparation has been inadequate
the chair is ineffective
nobody listens
participants are long-winded
the meeting goes too long
nobody participates.

In order to make a meeting effective you will need to:

make sure you have prepared for the meeting
choose the right venue
have competent executive support
ensure the meeting runs to time
keep accurate records of the meeting
report the outcomes to the appropriate people
ensure participants stick to the subjects
follow-up to ensure that all the tasks generated by the meeting are completed.

Now that you have some ideas for making meetings more effective, write a short response explaining how you could put these ideas into practice. Keep a record of this response.

Here's an example.

Choose the right venue for the meeting.

Our staff meetings are currently held in the board room. It's a very formal room, and we all feel a bit lost and intimidated around that big table. Our meetings are subdued. Because we need some new ideas for a project at our next meeting, I'm going to hold the meeting in the courtyard. The freer, less formal environment should allow us to relate in a more relaxed manner.

Managing an effective meeting requires creativity, courage, sound planning and a strong sense of purpose. It is also important to know what the appropriate meeting conventions and protocols are. Much of this protocol is relevant to both formal and informal meetings.

Generally, the basis for fair and democratic participation at a meeting stems from the rules of public debate. In public debating, particular conventions apply to the role of the chair, the presentation of material about previous decisions and the rights of people to participate.

Public debateIn debating, the object is to defeat your opponent's point of view. The order of debate is always opened by the person supporting the point to be debated. The opener is also called the protagonist. Then an opposer speaks. The right to speak then alternates between those who support the opening speaker and those who oppose that speaker.

Some of your meeting participants will not be familiar with these rules and protocols. When this happens, you will need to clarify the rules. You may need to distribute a summary of the rules before any meeting is convened. Because each organisation's requirements are unique, they need to develop a constitution, standing orders and protocols designed for achieving their specific goals.

Standing ordersStanding orders contain information about the role and conduct of meetings for a specific organisation. They may specify the rules of debate, how elections will be conducted, how committees will be formed and so on. If you are familiar with the standing orders for your organisation, you can confidently apply them to any meeting you chair. A reference to the standing orders can be used to prevent or terminate inappropriate behaviour in meetings.

ValleyView's standing orders and rules of debate are not known to two of the newest employees, who have had limited experience in meeting participation. Both have suffered embarrassment at meetings by arriving late and not knowing when it was appropriate to speak. As convenor of meetings you have been asked to prepare a summary of useful tips to help staff understand meeting protocol. This document is to serve in future as a general guide for newcomers to the organisation.

Construct your guide using the ValleyView Standing Orders and Rules of Debate, located on the ValleyView Intranet.

Aim to be direct, simple and flexible, leaving room for initiative and commonsense. Keep a record of your guide. Don't forget to use the ValleyView Meeting room to ask some questions and get extra ideas for the guide. The topic should be Meeting protocol.

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Meeting style and structure

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