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Find out what is needed to make a great meeting.
Unfortunately, productivity wanes (and morale drops) when meetings are not set up properly. What if you designed memorable meetings (so that people remember to be there, remember what happened, and remember what their tasks & responsibilities are)? Imagine the difference that would make in the higher education setting?!
Consider these ideas:
- Use drama. No kidding. Do something interesting and dramatic--not to distract, but to engage and make the meeting memorable. Just because it's a higher education setting doesn't mean it needs to be serious and staid. Just by doing one small things to be somewhat dramatic will set you apart. I promise.
- Start and end on time. This all by itself makes a meeting memorable, sad to say. Set yourself apart as a memorable meeting planner by doing this one--seemingly small--change.
- Avoid weekly/daily/monthly meetings (unless they're needed). Meetings should have a driving purpose (and the fact that it is Tuesday isn't exactly driving). Calling off a regular meeting by saying, we don't really need to meet this week makes the next one more memorable.
- Have the meeting involve some conflict. If you haven't already read it, read Patrick Lencioni's book, Death by Meeting. Of all of his great books, I think this is the best one.
- Make sure people are clear on the intent of the meeting. Announce it, post it, reiterate it, get everyone focused on the intent...and then make the rest of the meeting directed toward that intent. Memorable.
- Ensure that people leave the meeting with something that they didn't come in with (idea, passion, task, useful handout, etc.) You want people talking about the meeting afterwards because they engaged with the ideas, concepts, purpose, etc.
- Design the meeting so that people know what their responsibilities are at the meeting. So often, professors and other university folks come to a meeting and they don't even know why they are there or what their responsibilities are. If they are then called upon to make a report, offer an idea, share a plan, they are caught off guard and then sort of fumble around. Not too memorable.
- Order the agenda so that the most important items are first. Get and keep attendees energy 'up' right from the start of the meeting. Going over dribs and drabs of unimportant information starts sapping the energy from the people at the meeting, plus, you run the risk of having the meeting end, and you've barely gotten to the most important items.
- Learn how to use visual aides. Do not bore others with a 500-item Power Point slide show. Numerous ways are available to either use Power Point in a POWERFUL way or to use flip charts, white boards, 3-dimensional aides, etc. Especially with the younger and younger employees who are becoming part of higher education, if you don't make it visual, you'll lose them.
- Plan for the meeting. Never wing it.
The statistics on the amount of time faculty members spend in meetings is staggering. The saddest part is people believe that 1/2 the time they spend in meetings is wasted. Argh!
Make your meetings memorable! Boost your own and others' productivity. This is just one way you can...
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(c) 2008 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., "The Ph.D. of Productivity"(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!
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