Fast Company Article April You Have to Start Meeting Like This by Gina Imperato Nathan Johnson

Have you ever sat in on a meeting thinking it was going to be useful and found yourself counting down the seconds until it was over? I know I have. It just happened again the other day. Buy the end of the meeting I was wondering why I had ever bothered to show up because nothing was gained during the time spent at it. I find the biggest problem I have with a meeting like this is I am less inclined to go the next time for fear of the same thing happening.

An article in the Fast Company issue addresses this topic, by sharing various techniques that enhance the productivity of a meeting. Michael Bergman is considered the leading authority on how to make the best us e of a meeting. The first step to a great meeting is to stress to all participants the need to listen. Don't try to talk over one another to convince the others your idea is the best.

Take the time to create a great meeting. Define just what exactly the purpose of the meeting is for. Different meetings require different kinds of conversation. Unless everyone understands the outcomes expected at the meeting you will have people leaving the meeting feeling left out or misunderstood.

Create what Bergman calls rules of engagement. An example of his, is that before a person can make a point of their own, they have to find merit in the point made by the previous speaker. Following this rule should help people think before speaking out of turn.

Another comment Bergman makes is to not get hung up on taking detailed notes. He emphasizes focusing in on three categories. Decisions reached, items people need to follow up on and open issues left for discussion for the future while leaving out names of who said what. . Are these new ideas? I don't think so. But the ideas are worth trying

-- Anonymous, March 24, 1999

Answers

Thanks for your summary of this article. How would you relate what you have read to your work with Extension? You mentioned that the meetings have not been productive. How can you use this information to make an impact on those meetings?

Please remember to discuss each article with others and add comments about that discussion here. Also, be sure that you are commenting on the article summaries of your peers.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 1999

Kia Harries also read this article. You may want to read her summary to see how she plans to implement this in her meetings.

-- Anonymous, May 20, 1999