Nine Emotional Guidelines for Conducting Effective Meetings
by www.Sedona.com
Every day 11 million business meetings are held in the United States, according to the Harvard Business Review. Of them, just 20 percent are productive.
Well-run meetings are an asset to every company, and an essential mode of communication, brainstorming and morale boosting for employees. But if not conducted properly, your meetings could very easily end up falling into the “complete waste of time” category.
So how do you ensure that every meeting you conduct is effective, exciting and beneficial for everyone involved? Here are the tips you need to know.
1. Recognize the real goal of the meeting.
“If you believe the meeting is about you as opposed to the actual goal of the meeting or organization, you will steer the meeting in a direction that does not support the goal,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of Sedona Training Associates. “So be honest with yourself about what the meeting’s real goal is and behave accordingly.”
2. Be a leader.
“A major obstacle that can prevent you from conducting a meeting effectively is being unwilling to truly lead,” Dwoskin says.
This may be due to low self-esteem, negative self-talk, fear or even a pessimistic attitude. Now imagine releasing your fears, your inhibitions, your anxiety or your need to please.
This will become a reality when you use The Sedona Method to let go of these good-for-nothing feelings. The Method shows you how to wad up all those self-limiting feelings into a ball, then throw them as you would a ball so you are free to take on the world, or in this case to lead a productive meeting.
3. Let go of your need for approval.
Everyone, even those in charge of meetings, wants to be liked by their colleagues. But if you let this need for approval get the better of you, it will stop you from delegating tasks, making objective decisions and otherwise focusing on the tasks at hand.
“If you are having a hard time being the one who is in charge, let go of wanting everyone to like you and focus on the job at hand,” Dwoskin says.
4. Make sure it’s necessary.
Before you decide to hold any meetings, ask yourself, “Do we really need this meeting?” Your answer will tell you whether to move forward. As far as meetings are concerned, quality is always preferable to quantity.
5. Invite the right people, and make sure they’re prepared.
One of the biggest time wasters at meetings is including people who do not need to be there, and excluding those who do. Only invite the essential people to the tasks at hand, and make sure you give them the necessary information ahead of time so they can participate.
6. Set a time limit.
Meetings have a tendency to take on lives of their own, and can easily absorb an entire afternoon if you’re not careful. To avoid meeting overkill, set a firm time limit, and stick to it.
7. Let go of your fear of speaking.
Many people freeze at the thought of speaking their mind in front of a group. You, however, can speak with confidence and charisma if you use The Sedona Method to release your fears. Check out How to Get Your for more details.
8. Explain your objectives and expectations.
At the outset of the meeting, tell everyone what you hope to accomplish before you depart. Also let the attendees know what you expect. Is it a brainstorming session? An announcement? Will you be asking for everyone’s opinion (if not, see number 4)?
9. Decide on the next action step.
Sometimes even the best meetings seem to fall into a black hole, and all of your great ideas go along with it. During the meeting, make sure someone is documenting the important points, and before the meeting ends come up with your next step. A specific person should be put in charge of the next phase of your goal, and a timeline should be established for its completion.
Source
Portland Business Journal October 19, 2007 | 
