146 Essential Skills for Health Careers Success
Holding a Meeting
Meetings can be very productive, but they can also be a waste of time.
Ineffective meetings not only stop normal workfl ow with little gain, but
they also affect employee morale. You need to know how to run a meeting
that will produce productive results. Here are some techniques to follow:
1. Send out a meeting request. Make sure key players can attend at
the requested time. Set up another time if the people you want to
attend cannot come due to scheduling confl icts. In your request, state
the purpose of the meeting. Also, prepare an agenda after thinking
through and preparing each topic of discussion. Your meeting request
should be accompanied with meeting material, such as an agenda, at
least two days before the meeting.
2. Make copies of relevant materials for everyone attending the meet-
ing. It is important to supply each attendee with the documents to
be discussed during the meeting.
3. Start the meeting on time. Wait no more than fi ve minutes for
latecomers.
4. Set up ground rules for the meeting. Make it clear that you will
need attendees’ full attention, and ask them to turn off all electronic
devices.
5. Get to the point! Allow a minute or two of pleasantries; make it clear
when it is time to get down to business.
6. Prioritize meeting subjects. If you have ten topics to discuss, start
with the most important items.
7. Follow your agenda. Do not allow anyone to get off topic. Be fi rm
when it is time to move on.
8. Take notes. This will assure participants that you are listening to their
points. If the meeting is complex with many topics, try to have some-
one else take minutes, or notes, for you.
9. Know when to end the meeting. If you have set a time to end the
meeting, do not go over your time limit. If topics are not discussed,
you may have to hold a follow-up meeting. Watch for signs from your
audience that you have talked long enough. If the group starts to
fi dget, look at their watches, or seem inattentive, it is time to stop. Go
over action items that may have been discussed during the meeting
and ask for questions.
10. Send out an overview after the meeting. The overview should con-
tain a record of who attended, what was discussed, any agreements
that were reached, and action items that were assigned. The overview
should be completed soon after the meeting is over.
When done correctly, meetings are a good way to make employees feel
valued and in the loop.