Meeting Your Meeting Expectations



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"To get something done a meeting should consist of no more than three people, two of whom are absent." ~Author unknown

One of the complaints I hear most often is about the number of meetings people attend during any given week. It isn't only the quantity, but the duration and ineffectiveness that seem to cause problems. Conducting effective meetings is part of practicing effective time management and something we cover during my workshops, so I thought a recap of some meeting guidelines would be helpful:

Before the meeting…

Create and distribute an agenda. If others are involved, get their contributions by asking them to provide 3 things: the topic, the time needed to discuss it and the purpose of the item. Create a level of expectation by explaining that without this information the you have no way of setting and reaching the Agenda items in a timely manner. Identify specific actions and outcomes for Agenda inclusion because this will determine who should be attend. Try to keep the number of participants between 4 and 7. State when the meeting will begin and end and try to honor those times.

During the meeting…

Stay on topic. Assigning a willing facilitator can help keep the group remain focused. The facilitator can also be charged with reminding participants when comments are 'repetitive' rather than 'additive' to the discussion. At the end of the meeting assign action items and deadlines—it helps staff remain attentive and reinforces accountability. "Do you know your next step?" is a great question to ask in order to give attendees the opportunity to request and receive clarification on action items.

After the meeting…

Have an "Action" follow-up sheet available by the end of the day. This shows the date of the meeting, tasks, responsible parties, deadline date and a follow-up date. Assign a meeting coordinator to follow-through with the commitments made and noted on this "Action" sheet. You can find a sample in our website's library.

The objective is to gain a reputation for having fewer, more effective and efficient meetings. Attendees will welcome the opportunity to share information and participate when they feel they have been heard and they know their time hasn't been wasted.

Copyright 2002 Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.



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Jonathan and I had a great time doing this episode with Mary Jo Foley. We did the broadcast live from TechDays Vancouver in front of a live audience as well as our usual online audience. Mary Jo was a great guest and even wrote a follow up blog post based on her experiences with us up here in the Great White North with tips for how IT mangers can keep up to date on the latest happenings in technology and at Microsoft.

In this episode, we talk with Mary Jo about her views on what’s new at Microsoft and what’s important for technology managers, strategists, leaders and architects to keep their eyes on when planning for the future.

This episode is also available as a audio podcast (download as MP3):


Subscribe to the audio podcast series (so you don't miss an episode) :

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mjfFeatured Guest: Mary Jo Foley

Mary Jo Foley has been a tech journalist for more than 25 years. She has worked for a variety of tech publications and Web sites, including PCWeek/eWeek, CRN and ZDNet. She is the editor of the "All About Microsoft" blog on ZDNet, and the author of the book "Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era" (John Wiley & Sons). She also is the co-host of the Windows Weekly show on the TWiT network and a frequent commentator and speaker on all things Microsoft-related on TV, radio, podcasts and at industry events.

About AlignIT Manager Tech Talk

The AlignIT Manager Tech Talk is a monthly live streamed video series hosted by Ruth Morton (LinkedIn) and Jonathan Rozenblit (LinkedIn). Each Tech Talk episode airs on the 2nd Thursday of the month from 12:00pm to 12:30pm ET. The show focuses on a range of topics for both infrastructure and development managers and is interactive, taking questions via a live chat and providing answers on air.

About AlignIT

The AlignIT program is dedicated to keeping IT leaders informed about what matters in business and technology. We do that through in-person events, web casts, our blog and, of course, this audio and video series. You can find more information about the Align IT program at www.alignit.ca. If you have comments, suggestions, and ideas for future topics please let us know by connecting with us via email, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

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