192 / IMPROVING YOUR SKILLS
Participating in meetings
Researching well
Preparation is essential to ensure that
you make the most of your opportunity.
Read any material in advance and note
down issues you need to clarify and
points you want to make. For important
and complex discussions, you may want
to sound out other people’s opinions to
help you form your own view and get an
idea of who will support your thinking.
Making your mark
When you arrive at a meeting try to sit
near people who are likely to support
your views, and ideally in the middle
rather than at the end of the group.
During the meeting, it is very important
to find opportunities to speak. If you are
nervous about making your own points,
get used to hearing your voice by making
short remarks in support of others.
A clear, firm: “I agree with that point”
will get you noticed. Also, ask questions
for clarification, which will make you
sound interested. Try drafting some
points to make in advance, and introduce
them early in the discussion, but make
sure that you do so in the context of
the discussion. Be careful, too, that
you don’t speak too much: it’s better
to be known as someone who makes
good points than as someone who
speaks all the time.
It’s easy to forget the importance of meetings. This is where
decisions are made that could affect your work and your future,
where relationships are built, and where you have an opportunity
to make an impression on others, make your views heard, and
find out what others think.
Do I speak clearly
and loudly enough
to be heard?
Do I contribute
to the meeting
early on?
Do I look at everyone as
I make my point?
Do I listen to what
is being said?
Do I support
others?
Do I interrupt
others only when
it is necessary?
Am I participating
well in meetings?
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PARTICIPATING IN MEETINGS / 193
Recording meetings
Minutes should be produced for
all meetings, even if they are just
simple notes of who agreed to do
what. For regular meetings, such as
staff meetings or committee meetings,
it can be useful if they take a formal
style, because this helps reinforce the
importance of the meeting.
Taking minutes
If you are the minute-taker, clarify what
form the minutes should take with the
chairperson. For some meetings it is
important to know who said what. In that
case you may need to place nametags
in front of each of the attendees. For
most meetings, however, the key point
is to record actions you decide on, who
is taking them, and when they must be
completed. If the chairperson does not
summarize what has been agreed at
the end of each agenda item, ask them
for further clarification. Always aim
to produce the minutes as soon as
possible after the meeting, when the
discussion is fresh in your mind. Try
to keep the minutes as succinct as
possible without detracting from
making a full and accurate record
of everything that had been agreed.
MAKE YOURSELF
HEARD
Have the first words of what
you want to say in your mind;
wait for a pause, then say
those words clearly. Pause,
then carry on with the rest.
Tip
CHECKLIST...
YES NO
Generating formal minutes of a meeting
1 Have you stated the “title” of the meeting, where it took
place, and when? ..............................................................................
2 Have you listed the people who were present at the meeting,
and those who apologized for their absence? ................................
3 Have you agreed and noted that the minutes of the last
meeting were an accurate record of what happened? ...................
4 Have you given a description of any additional discussion
points that arose from the minutes of the last meeting? ...............
5 Have you detailed each agenda point, describing what
was discussed and what decisions were made? ............................
6 Have you highlighted the action points, and stated who
will be completing each task and by when? ....................................
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