Chapter 4
How to Prepare for a Meeting
Much of the success of a meeting depends on the preparation of the leader. Good planning includes
determining the objectives to be accomplished
selecting the participants
knowing the participants
choosing the time
selecting the place
creating the agenda
determining the physical arrangements
sending notice to participants
making the final preparations.
Determining the Objectives To Be Accomplished
In deciding on whether a meeting should be held, objectives must be considered. However, the objectives are usually not clarified at the time when the decision has been made to hold a meeting. Therefore, the leader must determine the exact objectives to be accomplished. If, for example, an information-giving meeting is planned, the objectives to be accomplished might be one or more of the following:
Participants will understand the new vacation policy.
Participants will understand the status of a project.
Participants will understand a change in methods, including
—reasons for the change
—the new method.
You will notice that all of these objectives are oriented to the participants instead of to the leader. These objectives are clearer and better than if the objectives had been stated
to describe the new vacation policy
to give a status report on the project
to discuss a methods change.
If the purpose of the meeting is to solve a problem, the objectives could be stated as:
How can scrap be reduced from 5 percent to 3 percent by December 1?
How can overtime be reduced to 3 percent of total direct costs by July 1?
How can turnover be reduced by 30 percent by September 1?
How can sales be increased by 5 percent by December 31?
How can customer complaints be reduced by 10 percent by July 1?
How can profits be increased by 3 percent by December 31?
All of these objectives are stated in specific terms so that the problem is clear. The meeting would not be productive until the specific objectives had been met. In these examples, decisions must be reached in the meeting on specifically what to do to accomplish the objectives.
If the purpose of the meeting is to brainstorm a subject, possible objectives could be
What are all the possible ways to reduce tardiness?
What are all the possible ways to reduce costs?
What are all the possible ways to recruit new technical employees?
What are all the possible ways to get new customers?
What are all the possible ways to improve service to customers?
Objectives must be determined in advance and must be clear to the leader. These objectives should be stated in terms of what should be accomplished, not what should be done. And they should always be as specific as possible.
Selecting the Participants
When the objectives have been determined, the leader must select the participants to attend the meeting. There are two basic criteria for deciding who should be at the meeting:
1. those who can benefit enough to be worth their time
2. those who can contribute enough to justify their time.
Both of these criteria require subjective judgment on the part of the leader. Sometimes the leader would determine that a particular person could benefit by getting information. But the leader might also determine that the information could be given to the person after the meeting and, thereby, save the time of the person. Likewise, the leader could determine that a person could contribute an idea or two by attending. But the leader might also realize that the idea could be obtained from the person before the meeting and eliminate the need for that person being at the meeting.
There is a third criterion that should also be considered by the leader: those who want to be at the meeting.
Some people want to be there to satisfy their egos. Others want to be there to get firsthand knowledge of what happens in the meeting. In some cases, a strong negative attitude may develop if a particular individual is not invited to the meeting. The leader must decide whether to invite individuals to the meeting just because they want to be there.
Knowing the Participants
The leader should have knowledge of the participants. As a minimum, the leader should know what departments and jobs they represent. The leader should also know their levels of knowledge of subjects to be discussed. Also, the leader would benefit from knowing their interest in the subject as well as their need to know.
If the objective of the meeting is instruction, more knowledge of participants is required by the leader. The instructor should know such things as attitudes, problems, and previous training that the participants have had.
Before each meeting, leaders should ask themselves, “What should I know about the participants to accomplish the meeting objectives?” Preparation by the leaders should include the acquiring of this knowledge.
Choosing the Time
The selection of the meeting time is very important. The first consideration should be given to the availability of the leader and enough time for adequate preparation. Just as important is the availability of the participants and their preference for a particular time. If participants have a negative attitude toward the time, the leader will have a more difficult time accomplishing the objectives. Participants with negative attitudes are not very eager to understand information that is presented or to participate in problem solving.
The best way to select the right time is to ask meeting participants for their preference. Employees of one company encouraged their boss to conduct regular staff meetings every two weeks. The boss agreed to do it and asked them, “When is the best time?” The boss surveyed the group for both availability and preference and selected Tuesday at 9 a.m. as the best time.
The selection of meeting time should include both the starting and concluding times. If the length of the meeting can be predicted and controlled (i.e., an instructional meeting), the quitting time should be determined and announced to the participants. If the length of the meeting is unpredictable (i.e., a problemsolving meeting), the approximate length of the meeting should be determined and communicated to the participants.
I was asked to conduct a series of five training meetings for the foremen and supervisors of a Racine, Wisconsin, corporation. We agreed on five sessions of three and one-half hours each. Each session would be conducted twice so that all three shifts could attend. They decided that the best schedule would be on Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Racine is about 90 minutes from my home in Elm Grove. And what do you do in Racine from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for five straight days? If they had asked me for a suggested schedule, I would have said 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. But they didn't ask me; they told me!
The reason they picked the schedule was because it was the best time for all three shift foremen and supervisors to attend. And I had to make the best of it. The schedule must fit the desire and convenience of those who will attend and their bosses, not necessarily the trainer.
Selecting the Place
Many leaders pick the most convenient place to hold a meeting. Frequently, this is a bad choice. Several factors should be considered in selecting the right place:
availability of the room at the time of the meeting
large enough to comfortably accommodate the participants as well as any audiovisual aids
appropriate furniture, including tables and chairs (the longer the meeting, the greater the need for comfortable chairs)
adequate lights and ventilation
free from interruptions and distractions, including noise and telephones
convenience for participants
cost.
Sometimes several of these criteria are in conflict with each other. For example, it may be convenient for participants and also free of charge to hold a meeting on company premises. However, the facilities may be too small or too close to the offices of participants, which could lead to distractions (mental and physical) as well as interruptions.
The selection of a place is very important because the attitudes of participants are affected. Leaders have more difficulty accomplishing objectives if participants have such negative attitudes as, “It's too crowded,” “It's too noisy,” “It's too hot,” or “The chairs are too hard.”
Incidentally, an ad appeared in Forbes magazine, stating, “Over 90 percent of our clients report that using our conference center increases the productivity of their meetings.” I don't know how accurate the statement is, but it does emphasize the importance of good facilities.
Creating the Agenda
Some leaders confuse agenda with objectives. Objectives are subjects to be accomplished. The agenda is the order in which the subjects will be covered.
Many meetings have several objectives. For example, a staff or departmental meeting may include an item of information to be communicated to participants. It may also include information getting in which the leader wants to find out the status of a project. It may even include a problem-solving objective.
In preparing for the meeting, the leader must consider the objectives and prepare the agenda. For a typical staff meeting, the following might be included on the agenda:
introduction of Jim Tohomos, a new staff member
update on safety record
status report on Project 571
new reporting procedure on absences and tardiness
update on quality and scrap
the next meeting time and location.
In planning the meeting, the leader should determine who should be there for each item on the agenda. If one or more of the participants don't have to be there for part of the meeting, the agenda should be established so those participants don't have to attend all of the meeting. Perhaps they can leave after the fourth item has been discussed.
In some cases, a particular person is needed for only one item on the agenda. Either this can be the first item or else the person can be on a standby basis and can be called when needed.
These kinds of preparations are very useful in reducing or even eliminating time wasted by people who are not interested or involved in certain parts of a meeting.
Determining the Physical Arrangements
In preparing physical arrangements, the leader must consider objectives as well as the number of participants who will attend. If it is an information-giving meeting with many participants, then theater style (without tables) may be the best physical arrangement. However, if there are five participants in a problem-solving meeting, the best room setup is to have people sit around a table so they can all see and hear each other.
If the meeting is for training and instruction purposes, several effective approaches are possible. In fact, the physical arrangement may be varied for different meetings in a training program to best accomplish the specific objectives of that meeting.
As an example, two departments at the University of Wisconsin use seminar room setups that are quite different, as shown in figure 4-1.
Careful preparation of physical arrangements should include
table and chairs and the proper setup to accomplish the meeting objectives
decisions on smoking, such as
—Is smoking allowed? If yes, ashtrays must be provided. (Note: In nearly all meetings, smoking is not allowed.)
—Should nonsmokers be considered? If yes, a special section or nonsmokers' tables should be designated.
water for participants, if the length of the meeting warrants it
table name cards, if appropriate, so that the leader can use names of participants and participants can get acquainted with each other
audiovisual equipment as needed (A flipchart, whiteboard, or overhead projector should be standard equipment to clarify information from the leader and to record ideas from participants. Be sure that all aids are ready and in good working order.)
Figure 4-1. The University of Wisconsin Room Set-Ups.
scheduled breaks, if the length of the meeting warrants them. (If meetings last more than an hour and a half, a break should be scheduled. Coffee or soft drinks should be provided. These breaks can have a valuable effect on the attitudes of participants and the effectiveness of the meeting.)
Sending Notice to Participants
Few meeting leaders give appropriate notice to the participants. Sometimes it's because there isn't enough time between the decision to have the meeting and the time of the meeting. The most frequent reason for no or inadequate notice is because the leader neglects to do it.
Proper notice is necessary so participants can plan to be there and do whatever preparation is necessary. Also, proper advance notice creates positive attitudes on the part of the participants by making them feel important and also impressed with the planning of the meeting leader.
Here are the five main items that should be included in an advance notice to participants:
1. time (starting and quitting, unless it is a problem-solving meeting in which a quitting time is only suggested)
2. place
3. objectives
4. preparation to be done by participants
5. names of other participants.
The notice should be sent far enough in advance so that participants can reserve the time and make preparations.
Making the Final Preparations
There are always some final arrangements that can make the difference between a productive and a nonproductive meeting. Leaders sometimes do an effective job of planning and, yet, something goes wrong. To avoid this, final attention should be given to
the physical facilities (Check to be sure everything is set. The leader should be at the meeting room 30 to 60 minutes before the start of the meeting to take care of any last-minute problems.)
the audiovisual equipment (Check to be sure it works properly.)
the materials (The leader should be sure that all materials are ready, including handouts, name cards, paper, and notebooks.)
attendance of participants. (If necessary, phone calls or emails should be sent to participants to remind them of the time and place. This is especially important if the original notice was sent out a considerable time in advance of the meeting.)
For details on the many preparations that can possibly go wrong, see Appendix E. An analysis of these preparations will help leaders in their own preparations to be sure that these catastrophes do not occur.