10 questions about how to improve meetings. Research included.

1. Improve
meetings

2. 1. Who will moderate the meeting?
2. How will the moderator prepare the agenda?
3. Who needs to participate in the meeting?
4. When and where will the meeting be?
5. How will the moderator start the meeting?
6. How will the moderator moderate idea sharing?
7. How will meeting participants stop meetings that don’t work?
8. How will the moderator moderate decision making?
9. How will the moderator finish the meeting?
10. How will the moderator follow up on the meeting?

3. Question # 1
Who will moderate
the meeting?

4. Moderator possibilities
# 1: A manager
# 3: An external moderator
# 2: An employee

5. A manager is intellectually so challenged, that
he/she is not capable of managing the process.
http://news.nzzexecutive.ch/arbeitsmarkt/uebersicht/tv_sprecher_sind_eigentlich_keine_moderatoren_1.8140678.html

6. 3 questions when searching for a meeting facilitator:
1. Who has little at stake in terms of meeting outcomes and therefore
can focus on managing the conversation rather than adding content?
2. Who is good at involving people that have different values?
3. Who could learn a lot by facilitating the meeting?
Adapted from
https://hbr.org/2016/12/just-because-youre-in-charge-doesnt-mean-you-should-run-every-meeting

7. Question # 2
How will the moderator
prepare the agenda?

8. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meeting-agenda-2556622

9. Question # 3
Who needs to participate
in the meeting?

10. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meeting-participants-2557939

11. Question # 4
When and where will
the meeting be?

12. Task A
Prepare meeting time

13. Sources
http://www.doodle.com/
https://www.google.com/calendar/
https://hbr.org/2015/03/the-tools-you-need-to-make-every-meeting-more-productive

14. Keep the duration of the meeting as
short and unconventional as possible.
Example: 23 minutes.
Adapted from
Pittampalli, Al: Read this before our next meeting, location 294.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/strategic_decisions_when_can_you_trust_your_gut

15. Task B
Prepare meeting place

16. Sources
https://hangouts.google.com/
http://www.skype.com/

17. Stand-up meetings help keep meetings short.
http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/31505/in-praise-of-stand-up-meetings
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/207490
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/15-secrets-running-meetings-like-the-worlds-top-innovative-companies.html

18. When everyone sits down in meetings, it helps meeting
participants become equal to one another, as they have
the same height.
https://hbr.org/2016/05/stand-up-meetings-dont-work-for-everybody

19. Jeff Bezos brought an empty chair into meetings
to encourage meeting participants to think about
the customer.
http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/leadership-lessons-from-jeff-bezos

20. Question # 5
How will the moderator
start the meeting?

21. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Meeting-start-2557961

22. Question # 6
How will the moderator
moderate idea sharing

23. Sources
http://answergarden.ch/
https://www.atizo.com/starter/
http://www.partizo.com/
http://popplet.com/

24. https://hbr.org/2015/03/meetings-when-to-present-and-when-to-converse
Take photos and/or video clips
of what participants produce

25. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brainstorming-the-disney-method-1449101
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brainstorming-the-SCAMPER-method-1452356

26. Question # 7
How will meeting participants
stop meetings that don’t work?

27. People, who work for Lenovo,
stop meetings that are wandering.
http://www.inc.com/chuck-blakeman/great-companies-are-making-all-meetings-optional.html

28. Adapted from
https://youtu.be/4QXqgbMuHcE
If someone uses his or her smartphone in a meeting,
ask, ”excuse me, is there something about what you are
doing now that you need to share with everybody?”

29. If someone talks a lot, ask, “can you please keep
your comments to a minimum to allow others to
be heard?”
https://hbr.org/2013/12/the-seven-imperatives-to-keeping-meetings-on-track/

30. Any meeting participant, who finds that a meeting is going
off course regarding topic and/or how communication is
done, can say ”I think we are having a jellyfish moment”.
This means that the moderator must moderate the
meeting better.
https://hbr.org/2016/04/the-right-way-to-cut-people-off-in-meetings

31. Question # 8
How will the moderator
moderate decision making?

32. Possibility A
The moderator summarizes
and concludes.
Everyone silently agrees.

33. The facilitator summarises what he / she has
heard to secure agreement. And concludes:
“So what I am hearing is that ....... Am I right that
you agree with this?”
http://fac-vid.squarespace.com/bedre-moeder/Ravn%20-%20Bedre%20mder%20gennem%20facilitering.pdf p. 9.
https://hbr.org/2016/02/before-a-meeting-tell-your-team-that-silence-means-agreement
http://unlessiheardifferently.com/

34. Possibility B
The moderator makes a vote
where the majority decides

35. Ideas Votes for Votes against
Idea # 1
Idea # 2
Idea # 3

36. A majority vote allows every voice to be
heard and is generally viewed as fair.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

37. Be aware that it may be difficult for some
people to declare their opinion publicly.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

38. Possibility C
The moderator uses
6 thinking hats

39. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Six-thinking-hats-1455136

40. Possibility D
The moderator asks a
manager to decide

41. Leader’s choice is usually the fastest approach,
so it is the most appropriate in a crisis.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/a-checklist-for-planning-your-next-big-meeting

42. George, I’d like to hear your opinion as
manager: What do you think we should
do? Please be concrete.

43. Further inspiration
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-make-better-decisions-2058027

44. Question # 9
How will the moderator
finish the meeting?

45. http://www.slideshare.net/frankcalberg/meeting-finish

46. Question # 10
How will the leader
follow up on the meeting?

47. Write and distribute a 1 page meeting summary
within 24 hours with information about who has
chosen to do what.
https://hbr.org/2015/11/two-things-to-do-after-every-meeting

48. Follow up with people to find out what additional
skills / competencies people need to do what
they have said they will do.
https://hbr.org/2015/11/two-things-to-do-after-every-meeting