More Productive Meetings—Business Skills

Chapter . Conducting the Meeting

Effective meetings are the by-product of excellent planning. Once you know what has to be accomplished, with whom, how, when, and where, it's time for execution.

Following are some tried-and-true prescriptions for successfully executing each phase of a meeting. These formulae assume that the person who called the meeting is responsible for both the meeting content and process. Note that some meetings are co-conducted, with one person as content leader and another as process facilitator.

Room Preparation

Start your meeting off right by having the room ready for business by the time the first participant arrives. Get in early enough to take the following preparation steps, and allow enough time to call for assistance ...