Want to brush up your skills and be a great meeting participant? Here are some top tips:
We will be mainly..? If you haven’t been sent an Agenda – ask for one!
On the same page? Circulate any information that people need from you beforehand.
Why me? We all like to be invited but sometimes we need to question if this meeting is a good use of our time.
Talking of time…be prompt!
What do you think? Contribute to informed debate before decisions are taken. Great meetings are a forum for influential discussion.
How do you feel? Hold back on opinionated argument once a decision has been made. Poor meetings are a forum for personal agendas.
Are we losing focus? Support the meeting chairperson, if and when they intervene to improve the effectiveness of the meeting, by paying attention to both content and process.
Feeling put upon? If you can’t accept assigned actions, clarify why not and decline them with constructive alternatives.
In the know? After the meeting act and inform those who are affected.
How was it for you? Reflect upon the usefulness of the meeting and its outcomes.
