This document provides guidance on running effective meetings. It notes that 37% of employee time is spent in meetings and lists common meeting problems like lack of agendas and participant disengagement. The key aspects of effective meetings are ensuring the meeting is necessary, having a prepared facilitator, establishing rules, creating agendas, addressing issues like tardiness, using engagement tools, and regularly reviewing meeting effectiveness. The facilitator's role is to manage the agenda, objectives, participation, and follow-ups to make meetings worthwhile.

1. Running Effective Meetings
“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the
human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its
full potential, that word would be meetings.” – Dave Barry

2. Facts about meetings
Statistics show …
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37% - Of employee time is spent in meetings
60 – Number of meetings per month attended by business professionals
11 Million – Number of business meetings every day in the U.S.
31 hours – Number of hours spent in unproductive meetings each month
73% – Of professionals admit to doing unrelated work in meetings
39% - Of professionals admitted dozing off in meetings
63% - Of meetings do not have prepared agendas
49% - Of meeting participants considered unfocused meetings as the biggest
workplace time waster
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3. To meet or not too meet, that is the question
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What are the objectives?
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What’s the purpose of the meeting?
What do we hope to accomplish?
What information will be shared?
What decisions will be made?
Who would be attending?
Is there a better or more efficient way to satisfy the above
objectives?

4. Reasons for meetings
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Provide information
Solicit information
Answer questions
Group decision making
Brainstorming ideas
Problem resolution
Networking
Sell ideas, products, services

5. Meeting Facilitation
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Facilitation – n. making easy, the act of assisting or making
easier the progress or improvement of something
Facilitators
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Manage the agenda
Ensure objectives are met
Ensure participation
Ensure meeting was worthwhile
Ensure follow up on action items

6. What makes a good facilitator?
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Open minded, not too emotionally connected
High energy and attention to detail
Good understanding of the meeting tasks and long term
goals of the team
Good listening skills
Good insight into attendees personalities, motivation
High degree of confidence
Assertive, but not aggressive
Good team work skills
Good observation skills

7. Facilitator Responsibilities
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Prepare a meeting agenda and send out prior to the meeting
Provide all necessary handouts
Start on time
Listen carefully
Prevent digressing
Control conflict and hostility
Go through the agenda item by item
Seek contribution from all attendees
Monitor nonverbal communication
Seek clarification and elaboration
Conclude by summarizing meeting accomplishments and “to do” items
Send out meeting summary within one day of meeting

8. Meeting Rules
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Start and end on time
All participants come prepared
Arrive 5-minutes early
Bring something to write with and on
Share all relevant information
Stay on topic
Silence will equal agreement
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Be brief, be concise when speaking
Disagree without being disagreeable
Challenge ideas, not people
No side conversations
No side comments
No interrupting
No cellphones, smartphones

9. What makes a good agenda?
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Specify date, place, starting and ending time
Provide statement of the purpose of the meeting
Identify the attendees
List the topics to be covered in the sequence they will be
covered
Identify approximate time to be spent on each topic
Identify/provide pre-meeting reading/assignments
Distribute agenda at least one week prior to the meeting
Follow up two days before the meeting to ensure attendance
and assignment completion
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10. How to stop tardiness
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Schedule meetings at odd times
Start on time
Close the door when the meeting starts
Put the most important agenda items first
Put items applicable to chronic latecomers on the top of the
agenda
Solicit help from other attendees
Speak privately to chronic latecomers
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11. Keeping meetings lively
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Hold morning meetings
Serve light lunches or snacks if meetings run into afternoons
Keep rooms cool and bright
Facilitate more than dominate
Ask questions of quiet attendees
Give attendees responsibilities for parts of the meeting
Arrange seating for maximum eye contact
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12. Facilitator Tools
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Brainstorming
Go-rounds
Talking stick
Silent Generation
Nominal Group Technique
Brain writing Pool

13. What about your staff meetings?
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Do attendees freely voice their opinions?
Are all ideas thoroughly reviewed prior to acceptance or
rejection?
Are you making the best use of this meeting time?
Are differences of opinion resolved productively?
Do all attendees attentively listen and build on other’s ideas?
Is there a true climate of trust apparent?
Does everyone offer input when important items are discussed?
Do attendees leave with clear direction on next steps?
Do you periodically solicit input on whether attendees agree
with how the meetings are being run?
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14. Summary
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Make sure you really need to meet.
Pick a good facilitator.
Establish meeting rules and enforce them.
Create an agenda and follow it.
Address meeting problems (i.e. tardiness, rule
enforcement.
Utilize facilitator tools for idea generation.
Review and improve meetings.

15. Questions?
Before I refuse to take your questions, I have
an opening statement. – Ronald Reagan
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16. Specializing in Infrastructure/Operations Assessment & Improvement
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Five Point Business Health Checkup
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You concentrate on running your business, we’ll concentrate on
keeping your business running.
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