Effective Meetings

Again, inspired by my friend and colleague Lorie, I'm posting a link she passed on to me this afternoon.  It's got some great tips about running effective meetings.  I believe I've also previously referenced the term "effective humans", coined by my friend and colleague Laura.  Looks like we need some effective humans to run effective meetings.

http://www.sideroad.com/Meetings/how-to-conduct-staff-meeting.html

Updates

My friend and colleague Lorie recently posed a question about the best way to provide updates in staff meetings.  She wanted to know how best to do a program update without boring everyone else to tears.  While most of us could never imagine Lorie being boring, it was still a good question.  Another friend and colleague Katherine suggested presenting your program updates in a game format, such as Jeopardy, and reported that her co-workers loved it.  It could take a little more preparation for the meeting, but I'll bet those co-workers remembered what she wanted them to remember.

Nail Biting

Biting your fingernails in a meeting.  Really?  I believe that posture, gestures and expressions say as much about your participation in a meeting as your words.  And nail biting in a meeting is one of those things that suggests a lack of interest and respect.  So save that nail biting for later.  Geeezzzz.

Doodling

How do you perceive doodling in meetings?  I respect the need for doodling as a way to help people maintain their attention and focus.  I have a colleague who brings her colored pencils and sketchbook to longer meetings, just for this purpose.  But for me, I know when I start doodling that it either means that the meeting has become boring, or an extremely uncomfortable conversation is taking place and is not being handled well.  That's when I put my head down and start doodling.

Brainstorming

I enjoy a good brainstorm.  But I find that the art of brainstorming is often underutilized.  Either people can't get the ideas going and sit there silently, or they talk in long, drawn-out sentences.  Brainstorming is about firing off ideas.  Quickly.  Without judgment.  Open to anything.  That's what brainstorming is.  Once you're finished with your brainstorming agenda item, or you're brainstorming meeting, well, then you can sit there looking bored or refute new ideas with extended commentary.  But that's not brainstorming.

How many makes too many?

Group wordsmithing is unpleasant.  Trying to edit a document or draft a statement are tasks for one person or small groups of two to three.  This may seem obvious.  But how do we go about making decisions for what is best to decide in a large group meeting, and when it is best to send to a subcommittee?  I usually tend to believe that smaller groups who volunteer for the job, have the confidence of the larger group, and are charged with developing a recommendation can get work done in a more efficient manner than in a large meeting setting.

Eye contact

What gets said in a meeting isn't necessarily the most impactful message.  Sometimes it's the body language that speaks the loudest.  A head down, eyes on the table vs. eyes on the person who is talking.  When you choose where to lay your eyes, what a strong message you send.

Professional or personal?

I've been struggling this week with the balance between the professional and the personal in meetings.  A professional meeting, that is, one that occurs on work time or in a work capacity, requires a more professional tone.  The meeting agenda stays focused on the agenda and tasks, rather than our personal feelings and needs.  A family meeting around the kitchen table, for example, that's where the personal shows up.  But this week I've experienced some meetings where the two got blended together.  That surely is unavoidable.  And I'm still trying to figure out the right blend.

The Legislative Committee Hearing

Obviously, not all legislative committee chairs think alike. The Chairpersons, not the things on which they place their butts. Some committee meetings run like clockwork. The business gets done, everybody gets to have their say. Some committee meetings run like hell. Half the bills get delayed while some testifier or legislator is allowed to talk on an on. So here is my question: is it best to have all the discussion out in the open? My democratic mind thinks so. But my art-of-meeting mind says otherwise. While sitting in a hearing yesterday, I had so much wished that a good part of the work had been accomplished prior to the committee hearing's start. Get your ducks in order, talk to colleagues and your testifiers, and then get back to clockwork.