Guide to Meetings

Chapter 10. Closing the Meeting

Chapter 10 Outline

1. Making decisions

   • Decision-making models

   • Decision-making techniques

2. Ending the meeting

   • Knowing when to end

   • Summarizing the meeting

   • Confirming the summary

   • Ending on a positive note

3. Following up

   • What minutes are

   • Why minutes are important

   • When to distribute

Now that you have facilitated the meeting discussion—by what you say, how you listen, and how you record comments—the last step is to close the meeting effectively. Research indicates that people tend to remember what comes first and what comes last, something we call the “primacy-recency effect.” Therefore, providing closure and follow-up at the end of a meeting will make everyone’s time together more productive. Good closing skills will send participants ...