minutes to a meeting

Stick to the agenda of the minutes to a meeting

2008-08-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

In every company, society, board, an agenda towards a minutes to a meeting must be distributes to the person invited. Agenda must be given or send at list one week in advance for them to prepare for the coming meeting or cancel the unimportant meeting or appointments they have. Agenda must stated the time of the meeting and the time that the meeting supposed to end. Venue of the meeting and the date of the meeting. The best time to have a meeting is in the morning after ten and before eleven. The meeting must not take more than two hours.

Stick to the agenda of the meeting and every agenda must have a time frame so that you can time the meeting of each agenda. Start the meeting on time even some of the participant did not turn up. The reason to start the meeting on time is to make the early bird feel not disappointed and secondly to avoid late comer for the next meeting. Get someone to minutes the meeting. Forget about food refreshment, may be coffee or tea but bottle of water must be serve before or during the meeting.

Ways of holding effecting minutes to a meeting

2008-05-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

There are many ways of holding effecting meeting as most successful business or big organization had a meeting once or twice a week to inform the staff and business associate what is going on inside the company and the company promotion attraction. All business associated are hold once a month or just a newsletter to inform them. For executive staff, meeting are most hold once a week. Things to consider when holding business meetings.

An Agenda must be present every meeting and must be distributed at list one or two days in advance and all meeting must be stick to the agenda. Try to shorten the time of the minutes to the meeting and must not be more then a hour as not to waste the time of the staff for other jobs. Stated the purpose and highlight what is going to talk. Try to arrange your meetings in the morning, as people are generally more alert. Only invite staff that are associated and who are able to make a valuable contribution to the meeting. Appreciate your staff who contributed to the meeting. Had someone to minutes the meeting and end it before the stated time.

Minutes to a meeting must had a purpose

2008-03-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a job of a executives is to attend meeting. A meeting can be productive for a company but sometimes it is a waste of time. To many meeting in a company is a waste of time as your executive can attend to their clients or do some planning instead of attending minutes to a meeting most of his time. Most company are holding meeting once a week or twice a month unless there are some emergency matters to bring up.

All minutes to a meeting must had a purpose, an agenda, a time frame and venue. An agenda had to be send out to the people who is going to attend the meeting. The purpose of the meeting must be highlight as to let the one attending know what the purpose of them attending the minutes to a meeting. An agenda is set to review the tropic that we are going to discuss and the person who is going to chair the meeting and the names of the person attending the meeting.

Venue where meeting is going to held must be stated clearly. A time frame has to be set, the start time of the meeting and the end time of the meeting. Start the meeting on time even some did not arrived yet. Always try to end the meeting ontime. Set a time duration for each of the speaker. Get a person besides you to note down what have been discussed.

A meeting is a must in every organization

2007-12-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

A meeting is a must in every organization. When I first took the post of a manager in a restaurant, I hold my first meeting with my staff to know about their welfare and their knowledge about foods and beverage and the ways they handle their custombers. I was quite surprise after two years of operation they never had a meeting and all they know is to do their daily works. I first prepare an agenda to its staff, the tropic we are going to talk, the time and date of the meeting.

The minutes to the meeting is to know how much their know about foods and beverage and how their handle a rustic and bad temper customber and besides I wanted to get closer to them and had a knowledge about their welfare and what they do daily. The minutes to the meeting takes about forty five minutes. After the meeting it is much easier to works with them as their understand what you expect from them and what they except from me. Every month I hold a meeting with them and with the meeting the service improved alots and even handle of the foods and drinks in a right ways and with less breakage. The sales goes up and even the quality and preparation of the foods changes to better.

Attended many minutes to a meeting

2007-10-03T03:43:00.000-07:00

Attending minutes to a meeting is quite very intreasting if you gain some knowledge from the meeting. I attended many meeting in my life, company meeting, polities meeting, club meeting, goodwill meeting and even our clan meeting. From my experience every meeting needs some preparation and agenda. If there is no agenda in a meeting, things might get out of ways. Some meeting make you that is a must to attended while some meeting you will find excusses to out from it.

I attended a clan meeting, it was quite intreasting as most of clans people motive is to upgrade our association and helping our clans student and the old retiared who needs help. And also trying to help other people who needs help. The meeting always talk of our finance that we spend and earn through rent. An agenda is always prepare by his clerk and a light refreshment is always given after the meeting. I attended a association meeting its has an agenda but the agenda is always on oneside. Quarrel always started half way of the meeting as most side ones to hold the ace.

Too much meeting is a waste of time

2007-07-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

My brother is working in a consultants company whose daily works are most spents in the meeting room, infacts every half days works are in the meeting room with his boss and his superior which are wasted and most of the time in the meeting room is the same words and same things to be done.

People say that holding a good meetings is a secret of preparations and the most important is having a good Agenda and to inspire your workers to works harder and also to let them know what the company expected from them and the company coming projects and the latest company news. But if people really prepare for a good meetings, would they realise that most of the meeting in unnecessary or a waste of time both with the company and the staff and sometimes a meeting can be very frighting to the staff as action has to be taken by the staff in every company new tackets and demands.

Ways of holding a good minutes to a meeting

2007-06-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

There are many ways which we can hold a good minutes to a meeting. If you are having a good minutes meeting the respond you get will be very good and people will had highly respect in you. If holing a bad minutes meeting you will not only see the same old few faces, you will also received or get all kinds of excuses for not able to turn up.

Holding a minutes to a meeting first a Agenda has to be prepare and distributed at less three to four days or a week in advance. Date, time and venue should be stated very cleary in the agenda. If there is a very important things to be discussed always highlight it in the agenda and a giving prefrence during discussion.

Start the meeting on time even if you notice that many people haven turns ups yet and always ends the meeting on time unless there is an urgent things to discussed or settled. Never go back on the agenda if there is a late comer. Let them particated in the meeting and thanks them after thery finish. Make sure that the minutes to a meeting is not out from your agenda.

Attending a politic minutes to a meeting

2007-06-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

Have you every attended a politic minutes to a meeting. I have attended three of four of such meeting but whenever there is such a meeting there bounds to be a quarrelled among themself. The one who prepare the minutes to the meeting are always favour themself or their groups. The minutes are not so important to the members, the most important is to vote for his people who stand for the vote to be next year commitee or chairman or secrertary.

Peoples like us who attended the meeting is to support our leaders and enjoy the food after the meeting. We will come in groups and claps our hands, shout and cheers whenever our leaders finish talking a tropic. We will try to sabotage the other groups from voting by sending the minutes to the meeting to them in a very last few days.

Meeting to improved business

2007-04-20T01:47:00.000-07:00

During my working time in a big restaurant in Penang, I had with me twenty serving staff, six dispenser, two cashier and about twenty working staff in the kitchen inclusive the cooks. I will call for a meeting with the outside staff every tuesday and the kitchen staff every thursday once in the beginning of every month. Before the meeting I will prepare an agenda. The time and the place of the minutes to a meeting is the same everytimes.

During the meeting I will see that no staff is late for meeting unless they can come with a very good excuse. The meeting is mostly base on the complained and compliment from the guests. How to improved the food and service. The success to the minutes to a meeting is that all staff participated in the meeting to improve and better the business.

Most of the discussion we talk how to provide our customber with better service and food. Comes out with new foods and drinks items. Sometimes during the meeting I will ask the staff working enviroments, the meals the company provided or any communication break down during working times.

Meeting can be very intersting or dull

2007-03-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

Meeting can be very intersting or dull and its all depends on the organizers or the one giving out the minutes to a meeting. Some company are talking the same old issue every weeks as i find its a waste of the time to the company and the staff as the staff can do others things for the company rather then attending the same tropic meeting because action is not taken on the first place.

When holding a good minutes to a meeting an aganda has to be prepare and should be distributes a days before the minutes to a meeting. Times the meeting to started and ends. Always try to started the minutes on time and never go back to early minutes if some one arrived late and ends on time unless there is an important things to discussed. Invited only those that can contributes to the meeting. Dont waste your time too long on one tropic.

Try to praise them when they contributed to the minutes to a meeting as an couragement for other participate to contributed to the meeting. Always see action is taken in every aganda discussed. Stick to the tropic that is only going to discussed in the aganda. Refreshment should not be given during the meeting for it might distured when someone is speaking, it should be given before or after the minutes to the meeting.

Meeting can be good or bad

2007-02-05T05:33:00.000-08:00

During my working days in a five star hotel, as a department head we had to attend once a week meeting but whenever a meeting was called we were try ourself to give excuses not to attened the meeting as we find meeting is a waste of time and beside we do not like to offend some of our excutives and more seniors staff.

One day we had a change in management as a new general manager is conducting the meeting and the meeting became very compulsary with no excuses given unless it is a urgent matters. We learned very much from his meeting. Every minutes to a meeting was discussed and every dept had to talked about their progress and problem and also to share ideals about improvement. With the new manager time was very puncture in the meeting with the starting and ending time. Every agenda was discussed and praised was given.

Perpareing yourself for a better metting

2006-11-24T00:20:00.000-08:00

Prepare yourself for a good minutes to a meeting. First send a agenda to those whom you feel it is important to attend to the minutes of the meeting. Stated the date, venue and most important the time always try to arrange ten minutes early for the meeting so that they can introduce themself during coffee time. Get yourself ready to wish your invited and always arrived before them.

Never take to long in your meeting as your participants might have other important things to attend or might feel bore and tired. Try to make your meeting 45 minutes to an hours as people work more effectively if the meeting is short and don't take their time too much. Try to plan small meetings and focus on important issue.

Prepare yourself with ideals, suggestion before the meeting and also ready with question and answers to meet some of your invited guest. If the meeting required extra time for important issue. Try to spend to long in it.

Holding a effective meetings

2006-11-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

A meeting could it be a business activity, formal or staff meeting it is all in one goal getting and selecting people to gather to perform works that requires a team effort and also to achives our target and goals. Effective meetings require sharing control and making commitments. The ultimate goals of every meeting are agreements, decisions, planning or solutions. When holding a meeting we must trust and respect others, in orders to be respect and trust shown by them.

Present your ideas from the viewpoint of how they will find them most useful.
Be original. Create your own view and humor. Treat everyone with respect.
Never damage anyone in the audience, even if this person seems to be disrupting your presentation in the meeting.

Keep it simple and understanding as people can works better if they understand your viewpoints and benefit to them. Speak to everyone and make them as one of the family in the meeting. Let them tell they story applause and thanks them. Show interest and respect by paying attention to what the other person is saying. Accept the other person's ideas as valid, even if you disagree.

Help others perform at their best. Give without expecting a return favor. Show courage during uncertainty. Speck the good of others as this will show the returns of them during the next meeting you hold.

Prepareing minutes to a meeting

2006-10-09T02:28:00.000-07:00

Meetings can be very productive. They can also be a waste of time. Here are some ways to improve your meeting management skill.

You should be able to define the purpose of the meeting, Set an agenda for the meeting . What is the meeting for? , business, sales, casual or annual reports.

Set a time frame; when the meeting to be start and end time. and also set a time frame for the participant to avoid waste of time.

When someone arrives late, don't go back and review what has already been covered. That just wastes the time of the people who showed up on time for the meeting.

Someone, other than the meeting organizer, should keep minutes of the meeting. How detailed these are depends on the nature of what is being discussed . The minutes of the meeting should be distributed to all who attended, any invitees who did not attend, and anyone else effected by the discussion.

Make your meeting a interesting one with some laughter if you had to so they won't get dull. If you had all this you won't get wrong with your minutes to the meeting.

planning a business meeting

2006-10-02T02:35:00.000-07:00

Meetings are an essential business process. Well run meetings contribute to team building and high morale; badly run meetings are at best a waste of everyone's time and at worst potentially damaging to relationships and the business as a whole.

Prepare an agenda that spends time based on the value of the expected results. Determine the results that you want, estimate their value, and then allocate appropriate amounts of time in the agenda. You want to run your meeting like a small business, which means you design the process to earn a profit on your investment.

You need planning to a meeting. The people who attened the meeting, what is the meeting you intened to achieve, the time and place of the meeting. Prepare and circulate an agenda in advance. Arrange the timings and set limits. Record discussions, actions and responsibilities. Clarify objectives for each item. Keep the meeting brief.

If you have scheduled a one hour meeting and you are finished in fifteen minutes, that is perfectly fine. Do not drag out the meeting. Sometimes there are major decisions that may require more than an hour for a meeting. These meetings should be the exception, not the rule.

Reviewing the goals of the minutes to a meeting

2006-09-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

When most people think of minutes to a meeting, what comes to mind is usually basic information that's not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there's a lot more to minutes to a meeting than just the basics.

Start the meeting on time to avoid the particitions from coming late in every meetings.

Open the meeting by reviewing the goals, outcomes, activities and describing the culture you expect during the meeting. I want you to think creatively because we need powerful solutions to this issue. This helps everyone work with you to accomplish what you want. Value all of your thier ideas. Compliment the participants during the meeting. Brief praise such as, "Thanks," "Good idea," or "Excellent," will motive the participants to work with you.

During the meeting, remind the participants how much time has been budgeted for each activity.

Present each issue in the form of a specific question After completing a major part of the meeting, summarize what the group accomplished. This celebrates the achievement, reminds everyone what they finished, and formally ends the activity.

minutes to a meeting : Net Meeting Downloads

2006-09-12T01:56:00.000-07:00

The rapid pace of Internet revolution has totally revolutionized the concept of Net Meeting. Today, Net Meeting downloads are offered by several companies which are feature rich. Multipoint data conferencing, text chat, video and audio conferencing, program sharing, remote desktop sharing, whiteboard and file transfer are some of the important features.

Microsoft Net Meeting is included in windows 2000. The users of Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows NT 4.0 need to download Net Meeting and a service pack in order to run it. Security updates are done automatically. Net Meeting download has a size of 1.6 MB and takes about 4 minutes with a dial up 56K. It is available in several languages. The other software available from different companies can run on most of the Windows platforms.

To install and run Net Meeting the system needs to have certain basic requirements. A modem with speed of 28,800 bps or faster is a basic requirement. Pentium processor of 90 megahertz and above, 16 MB Ram, Microsoft internet explorer version above 4.01 and 14 MB hard disk, sound card with microphone and speakers are the other major requirements. Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 requires 24 MB RAM. To use audio and video features the system requires a Pentium 133 processor. A video capture card and 56K or faster modem are the important requirements to use video features.

Net Meeting offers business houses with a complete solution for conferencing. It saves time and money and increases productivity. It is mostly used by business houses who needs to share information and indulge in discussion with two or more people. Taking real time snaps and displaying it, and downloading of video files are some of the other features. Office live meeting, a latest offering from Microsoft, is available for download. This download is a free 30-day trial version.

By Ken Marlborough

minutes to a meeting : The Exploratory Meeting

2006-09-12T01:51:00.000-07:00

The Exploratory Meeting is a key element in the sales process. Typically the meeting will have been arranged after qualification via the telephone and a decision made by both parties that it would be mutually beneficial to meet. It is the exploratory meeting that will allow the professional salesperson to set the ground rules and get a feel for the client and their needs. As this is normally the first meeting it is also where the potential client will get his first impression of you, therefore the way you look, act and conduct the meeting will have a direct bearing on whether or not you are able to proceed to the next stage. Finally, the objective of the meeting is to gain commitment to the next stage and NOT to try and get the order.

Key Elements to a Successful Exploratory Meeting:

Pre-planning & Preparation:

• You will have confirmed your appointment in writing or e-mail. • You will have already carried out some initial investigation into the company, the ethics etc and if time has allowed, you will have probably obtained some company literature and a copy of their annual report. • You will be armed with names of clients your company has already successfully helped within their market. • You will be dressed smartly. • You will arrive in plenty of time. • You will act professionally and friendly to the receptionist,theymay be a relative of the Chairman. • Remember: Never sit down in reception areas, be psychologically prepared.

By Jonathan Farrington

minutes to a meeting : Why My Cat Refuses to Attend Meetings

2006-08-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

1) No one asks her to participate.

Olivia always comes prepared to be part of the action. She wears her best fur, fluffs up her whiskers, and sharpens her claws. But people treat her as if she's just a cute little pet. As you might expect, she feels mad when the other attendees ignore her. So she takes a nap.

2) It's difficult to nap.

Usually, the big talkers speak with loud voices. While this seems to scare the other attendees into silence, it still makes it hard to sleep. She especially dislikes jokes because they cause an outburst of laughter, and that jolts her awake. Certainly, no one likes to be awakened by a loud noise.

3) They don't take breaks.

Olivia detests lengthy marathon meetings that go on and on without a break. She wonders if any of the people in these meetings were ever shown how to care for their basic comfort. When I suggested that she ask them to set up a litter box, Olivia curtly told me that she prefers a little privacy.

4) The attendees behave like mice.

Every cat knows that if you want to catch something, you have to watch it. But people in meetings have an attention span that would embarrass a mouse. They dart and dash about nibbling on everything without focusing on anything.

5) They drop what they catch.

Cats know that once you catch something, you bring it home. After all, that's why you caught it. But people drop a decision (or useful idea) and rush off to talk about something else. They don't even play with it. Olivia wonders if they know that they caught something.

So what are your meetings like?

Would Olivia want to attend one?

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : How to Start Meetings on Time

2006-08-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

1) Make it part of the agenda.

Put the arrival time on the agenda. For example, for a meeting scheduled to start at 9:00 AM, you could put "8:50 AM - - - Arrive at the Meeting" at the top of the agenda.

An arrival time is useful because it allows everyone time to socialize, obtain coffee, or organize materials before the meeting. It also ensures everyone is present at the scheduled starting time.

2) Offer a treat.

Provide coffee, juice, or a vegetable platter before the meeting. This can be especially welcome for all-day meetings attended by people from other locations. It provides a time for socializing between visitors and it may also provide a meal for those who came from out of town.

But here's the catch: offer the treat only during the arrival time. Then put it away once the meeting starts.

And another point: serve snacks that make people more productive (such as fruit) instead of stuff that fills them up and deadens their brains (such as donuts).

3) Set an example.

Arrive at your meetings before they are scheduled to start. You can use the time to make sure that the room is set up properly. And you can greet the attendees as they arrive. This helps you appear in control of the meeting process from the beginning.

And of course, arrive at everyone else's meetings on time.

4) Make it easy.

Schedule your meetings to begin at odd times, such as 9:10 AM. This allows everyone who was in a one-hour meeting that began at 8:00 AM to travel to your meeting. Similarly, end your meetings at least ten minutes before the next hour so that the attendees have time to travel to their next meeting.

5) Sell promptness.

Send a memo or E-mail stressing the importance of arriving on time. Call key attendees to remind them about the starting time for the meeting. Give people a reason to be on time, such as ask a top executive to make an opening remark.

Bonus idea: let the executive leave after making the opening remark. These people are very busy.

6) Expect promptness.

If it is your company (or department, etc.), you can tell people that they are expected to be on time. Then enforce this by making it a performance dimension. Similarly, arrive on time to demonstrate your commitment. And when necessary, hold a private coaching session with those who need help understanding your expectations.

7) Be realistic.

Realize that some people are beyond coaching because of their attitude or relationship with you. Also, recognize that it is impossible to guarantee that everyone will always arrive on time at every meeting. There will always be emergencies, surprises, and those few who refuse to cooperate.

Bonus point: Ask that people tell you if they expect to be late. If necessary, reschedule the meeting to accommodate them.

By Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 2 Terrible Myths About Meetings

2006-08-30T03:04:00.000-07:00

People have found numerous ways to ruin a meeting. Here are two myths that make everyone uncomfortable.

1) Endurance implies strength.

Back in the days of saber tooth tigers and walking to work, physical toughness was essential for survival. Now, modern managers have found a twisted way to apply this in meetings.

It works like this: First the participants drink huge amounts of coffee. Then they lock themselves in a conference room while they carry on an unstructured discussion on unrelated topics.

The participants earn acceptance by making intelligible contributions to mind-numbing babble while under the stress of ballooning discomfort. Weaklings earn ridicule and banishment by moaning or asking to be excused for a break.

> What to do: Take a break every 50 minutes. People need the time to refresh and rest.

2) Fads are the answer.

Rather than engage in a meeting that has any of the attributes of work, some people attempt to disguise the process. That is, they wear goofy hats, wave signs, use a cryptic language, swing from ropes, or make people behave like idiots.

Sure, it's fun. Maybe.

And it does provide income for the people who sell these systems.

But otherwise, it's like pouring chocolate syrup on broccoli.

It's easier to just eat the broccoli.

Of course, few people know how to cook broccoli. And then all they have is a plate of chocolate syrup, which may taste good, but does little for their business.

> What to do: Apply common sense. Learn how to hold real business meetings. And apply this test: If you feel like a fool doing something, there's a good chance it's a bad idea.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Make Writing Meeting Minutes Easy

2006-08-24T05:05:00.000-07:00

Some people think that minutes are unnecessary.

This is true for any meeting where people wasted their time accomplishing nothing. In that case the person responsible for the mess would want to hide it.

But good leaders like minutes.

They want to publicize the work that they accomplished. They want others to know that they hold effective meetings. And they want to document the action items, decisions, and accomplishments from the meeting.

But writing minutes can be a chore.

So, how can you produce minutes - easily, quickly, and effectively?

Use these tips:

1) Ask a facilitator (or scribe) to attend your meeting. During the meeting the facilitator will write all of the key ideas, decisions, and agreements on chart paper.

This helps make your meeting more effective by letting the participants see their work as they produce it.

It keeps people focused on the issue.

It frees you to participate without having to work at recording the meeting.

And it documents the results of the meeting as it progresses.

After the meeting, ask the facilitator (or scribe) to prepare a draft of the minutes from the chart notes.

2) Put only the highlights of the meeting in the minutes. This would include action items, decisions, and agreements. Avoid creating a word-for-word documentation of everything that was said. If you need to capture every detail, use a recorder.

3) If you must write the minutes, use the notes written on the chart pages as a rough draft of your minutes. If possible, have an assistant copy them and then edit the draft.

Some organizations skip typing the notes: they just make letter-sized copies of the chart pages and distribute those as the minutes.

4) Send the minutes within a day after the meeting. This publicizes the meeting while people still remember it, and it conveys the news while it's still relevant.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 10 Tips for Better Participation in Meetings

2006-08-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

A meeting can be led (or misled) from any chair in the room. Here's how to make sure that you add value to your next meeting.

1) Focus on the issue. Avoid stories, jokes, and unrelated issues. These waste time, distract focus, and mislead others. Save the fun for social occasions where it will be appreciated.

2) Take a moment to organize your thoughts before speaking. Then express your idea simply, logically, and concisely. People are more receptive to ideas that they understand. Long, complex explanations always work against you.

3) Use positive comments in the meeting. Negative comments create defensive reactions that distract from your goals.

4) If it is your meeting, ask a facilitator to lead the group through major solution finding activities. This frees you to participate in them and gives responsibility for keeping order to an impartial party.

5) Test your comments by asking, "How does this add value to our work?" If you sense it subtracts, keep silent or jot down the idea. This frees your to think about what others are saying, and that idea may be more appropriate later.

6) Use structured activities. These process tools ensure equitable participation and systematic progress toward results.

7) Respect others. Different views force us to think. After all, if we were all the same, they would need only one of us.

8) If you notice that you are speaking more than anyone else in a meeting, take a rest. You are either dominating the meeting with monologues or conducting a conversation with a minority of the participants. In either case, you're preventing the participants from working together as a team.

9) When voting give the participants veto power over ideas they strongly oppose. This avoids sabotage or partial support from people who were forced to accept decisions that harm them.

10) Rescue wayward meetings by challenging seemingly unrelated comments. Ask, "How does that contribute to the issue?"

By Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 3 Worst Mistakes You Can Make in a Meeting

2006-08-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

Mistake #1: Do all of the talking.

Some meetings are run like a medieval court. The chairperson sits on a verbal throne while the subjects sit in respectful silence. The big talker justifies this by thinking: if the other people in the meeting knew anything worthwhile, they'd be leading the meeting.

Reality: If you're the only one talking, you're working too hard. In addition, realize that most people protect themselves from long monologues by sending their brains off on a holiday. That is, no one is paying attention to the monologue. Instead, they're busy daydreaming, doodling, or dreaming.

The Fix: Convey large amounts of information by a memo or email. If you must deliver it verbally, call the event a lecture instead of a meeting. And then be as brief as possible.

Mistake #2) Be spontaneous.

Most minutes to a meetings are held without an agenda or a clearly stated goal. The chairperson simply invites people to an endless discussion, sort of like a party that lasts until everyone is too tired to continue.

Reality: A meeting is a business activity. And it should be run like a business, with a plan.

If spontaneity were a universally sound business strategy we would build buildings without blueprints. Of course, no smart business leader works without a plan.
The Fix: Set a goal for the meeting, and then support this with an agenda that accomplishes that goal. Use structured activities that guide the group's efforts toward accomplishing the goal.

Mistake #3: Invite everyone.

Some people hold meetings as if they were free. They think that since people are already at work, their cost is zero. Thus, they invite dozens of people to attend meetings that go on for hours (or longer).

Reality: Meetings are very expensive. They use people's time, and the payroll is often the largest expense in running a business. When people hold bad meetings, they waste the most important resource in a business - the work that they were hired to perform.

The Fix: Plan meetings that earn a profit. Compare the value of the result with the cost of the meeting, and then invite only enough people to accomplish that task.

by steve kaye

minutes to a meeting : Effective Meetings Have SMART Goals

2006-08-15T02:01:00.000-07:00

The first step in planning an agenda is to identify the goals for the meeting. Properly done, goals have five S M A R T characteristics. They are:

Specific. The goal must tell exactly what will be accomplished. For example: During the next hour we will develop a strategy to increase market share by 10%. This states exactly what the group will work on. Vague goals can cause you to lose control of the meeting.

Measurable. This helps you determine if the goal has been completed. It can be stated as a number (5 ideas, 10% gain, one decision) or as an achievement (Did we write a strategy or not?).

Achievable. goals must be realistic for the resources and time available. For example, most groups could identify twenty ways to reduce the budget in a fifteen minute meeting. On the other hand, it is unlikely that a group could develop a comprehensive marketing plan in 30 minutes.

Relevant. To be meaningful, a goal has to relate to the overall mission of your business. Otherwise, you may be wasting time. Challenge each goal with the question, "What happens without it?" If your answer is "nothing," cancel the meeting.

Time. Specifying a deadline (e.g., by noon) or a rate (e.g., 3 per hour) moves activity toward completing the task and provides a criteria to measure progress. Of course, you want to select realistic times.

As a final check, make sure your goals are so clear that someone else could use them to run your meeting.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Whom Do You Invite to a Meeting?

2006-08-08T00:56:00.000-07:00

The success of your next meeting depends upon whom you invite. Here's what to consider.

1) Invite only people who can contribute to the meeting. Spectators bog down the process.

2) Avoid filling the meeting with allies as a show of force. This intimidates your "opponent," which can result in counter attacks, retaliation, or false cooperation.

3) Avoid inviting people because they would feel offended if left out. A meeting is a business activity, not a party. You can always ask the person to choose between watching others work in a meeting or being left to work on tasks that contribute to raises and promotions.

4) Be sure to invite the stakeholder (the person who owns the issue). This person is a valuable resource in finding solutions.

5) Make sure the opponents to issues attend your meetings. They can help you find equitable solutions that they will support. Without them, any results that you develop are likely to prove useless.

6) Invite key participants with minor roles to only the part of the meeting where they can contribute. Schedule these parts of the agenda at the beginning of the meeting or when you resume after a break.

7) Invite spectators for good reasons. For example, you may invite a new employee to learn about an issue; you may include members of other organizations to win empathy for your needs, you may invite an outsider to catalyze creative thinking.

8) In general, meetings that are held to make plans, seek solutions, or reach agreements work best when eight to twelve people attend.

9) Any number of people can attend parties, social meetings, lectures, or demonstrations.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : How to Lead an Effective Meeting

2006-08-08T00:52:00.000-07:00

Leaders determine the success of every event. Here's how to lead a meeting.

1) Open the meeting by reviewing the goals, outcomes, and activities. This helps everyone work with you to accomplish what you want.

2) Start the meeting by describing the culture you expect during the meeting. For example, you might say, "I value all of your ideas. I want you to think creatively because we need powerful solutions to this issue."

3) Compliment the participants during the meeting. Brief praise such as, "Thanks," "Good idea," or "Excellent," will motive the participants to work with you.

4) Maintain a safe, positive working environment. Harsh, predatory cultures inhibit creative thinking. Insist on respect.

5) During the meeting, remind the participants how much time has been budgeted for each activity.

6) Present each issue in the form of a specific question. This focuses thinking on specific solutions. For example, ask, "What could cause Unit #2 to produce 5% more defects?" This is far more effective than saying, "Let's talk about Unit #2."

7) Maintain a state of benevolent urgency. You want to push just hard enough to make the participants aware of offering high value comments. And you want to allow enough time for adequate consideration of an issue before making a decision.

8) After completing a major part of the meeting, summarize what the group accomplished. This celebrates the achievement, reminds everyone what they finished, and formally ends the activity.

9) Introduce each part of the meeting by stating the goal for that issue and describing the process you plan to use. This helps everyone focus on the same task.

10) Model the behavior that you expect from the participants because this determines how they will act during the meeting.

Note: Of course, there's more. Read about Effective Meetings at: http://www.squidoo.com/OneGreatMeeting/

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 10 Attributes of Effective Meeting

2006-08-02T01:46:00.000-07:00

Here are ten fundamental concepts that characterize an effective meeting.

Definition: A meeting is a business activity where select people gather to perform work that requires a team effort.

A meeting, like any business event, succeeds when it is preceded by planning, characterized by focus, governed by structure, and controlled by a budget.

Three things guarantee an unproductive meeting: poor planning, lack of appropriate process, and hostile culture. effective leaders attend to all of these to create an effective meeting.

effective meetings require sharing control and making commitments.

Short meetings free people to work on the essential activities that represent the core of their jobs. In contrast, long meetings prevent people from working on critical tasks such as planning, communicating, and learning.

The ultimate goals of every meeting are agreements, decisions, or solutions. Meetings held for other reasons seldom produce anything of value.

Unprepared participants will spend their time in the meeting preparing for the meeting.

It is better to spend a little time preparing for solutions than to spend a lot of time fixing problems.

Meetings are an investment of resources and time that should earn a profit.

A meeting can be led from any chair in the room. And if it's your meeting, you want it to be your chair.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 10 Actions for Effective Meetings

2006-08-02T01:44:00.000-07:00

Here are ten things that you can do to hold more effective meetings.

1) Avoid meetings. Test the importance of a meeting by asking, "What happens without it?" If your answer is, "Nothing," then don't call the meeting.

2) Prepare goals. These are the results you want to obtain by the end of the meeting. Write out your goals before the meetings. They should be so clear, complete, and specific that someone else could use them to lead your meeting. Also, make sure they can be achieved with available people, resources, and time. Specific goals help everyone make efficient toward relevant results.

3) Challenge each goal. Ask, "Is there another way to achieve this?" For example, if you want to distribute information, you may find it more efficient to phone, FAX, mail, e-mail, or visit. Realize that a meeting is a team activity. Save tasks that require a team effort for your meetings.

4) Prepare an agenda. Everyone knows an agenda leads to an effective meeting. Yet, many people "save time" by neglecting to prepare an agenda. A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map. It is guaranteed to take longer and produce fewer results. Note, without an agenda, you risk becoming someone else's helper (see tip #6 below).

5) Inform others. Send the agenda before the meeting. That helps others prepare to work with you in the meeting. Unprepared participants waste your time by preparing for the meeting during the meeting.

6) Assume control. If you find yourself in a meeting without an agenda walk out. If you must stay, prepare an agenda in the meeting. Collect a list of issues, identify the most important, and work on that. When you finish, if time remains, select the next most important issue. Note: you can use a meeting without an agenda to recruit help for your projects.

7) Focus on the issue. Avoid stories, jokes, and unrelated issues. Although entertaining, these waste time, distract focus, and mislead others. Save the fun for social occasions where it will be appreciated.

8) Be selective. Invite only those who can contribute to achieving your goals for the meeting. Crowds of observers and supporters bog down progress in a meeting.

9) Budget time. No one would spend $1000 on a 10¢ pencil, but they often spend 40 employee hours on trivia. Budget time in proportion to the value of the issue. For example, you could say, "I want a decision on this in 10 minutes. That means we'll evaluate it for the next 9 minutes, followed by a vote."

10) Use structured activities in your meetings. These process tools keep you in control while you ensure equitable participation and systematic progress toward results.

Copyright Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Running Successful Meetings

2006-07-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

We all complain about meetings which are a waste of our time and the truth of the matter is that so many are exactly that. We've also seen the "corridor" meeting that takes place afterwards where it seems the real decisions are taken, or the agreed decisions are overturned.

You'll get your chance at some point in your career to run your own meeting - is yours going to go the same way? or will you make sure it's effective and does the job it is supposed to?

Well run meetings contribute to team building and high morale; badly run meetings are at best a waste of everyone's time and at worst potentially damaging to relationships and the business as a whole.

Here's how you can get it right:

All successful meetings depend upon a number of independent factors and if you approach each one methodically you'll find that your meetings are the ones that get action.

Planning

Preparation

Information

Structure & control

Records & action

Planning

What is the meeting intended to achieve?

what will the meeting actually achieve?

what happens if you don't hold the meeting

who needs to attend and why?

is there a more effective way of communicating?

Preparation

prepare and circulate an agenda in advance;

invite agenda items before the meeting;

arrange agenda logically;

consider the important - v - the urgent issue;

arrange the timings and set limits;

clarify objectives for each item.

Information

tell those involved what's expected of them;

tell everyone time, date location etc;

circulate any required pre-reading or information.

Structure & Control

Discuss each item in turn;

seek contributions but keep people to the point;

avoid going over old ground;

be aware of thre needs of the group;

prevent splinter discussion groups;

summarise often to bring back to the point;

commend contributions;

confirm any conclusions;

stress actions and who takes it.

Records & Action

record discussions, actions and responsibilities;

produce clear simple minutes immediately.

There are a number of points to learn about the effective handling of meetings:

invite the right people;

set an agenda that's do-able;

control timings and people;

encourage members to listen to each other;

note actions;

review and record

So if you want to avoid the "let's all turn up and see what happens" approach it just means you need to take the time to think through to what you really want and need to achieve, and then get on with it. People will thank you for not wasting their, or your, time.

Peter Fisher is a Director of Career Consulting Limited and provides pragmatic career advice at all levels from junior staff to executive directors. Visit http://www.your-career-change.com/index.html for help with career change issues from self-marketing to CV writing and Interview techniques.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Fisher

minutes to a meeting : Is a Condo Right for You?

2006-07-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Condos offer an affordable alternative to buying a house, at often half the price of a single family home. Before you buy one, you should be extra cautious.

In some areas, construction-defect litigation is rampant, sale disclosures are troublesome and new and confusing laws are often enacted, and frankly, you have to be a little tough to live in such close proximity with your neighbors... and their newborn baby.

Condominiums are typically high-density housing constructed as what's known as common interest developments. You own everything on your side of the walls of your unit. You become a shareholder in the remainder of the buildings, grounds and other facilities. As a shareholder, you are a mandatory member of the common interest development's homeowner's association, who is responsible for the upkeep and care of the building and grounds.

Condo owners collectively make the decisions that many single-family owners make themselves. The decisions involve everything from homeowner budgets that consist of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the rules, regulations and other operating guidelines.

The task of running the association is usually handles by a group of inexperienced volunteer owners who make up the board of directors.

If you are looking at purchasing a condo, follow these tips:

- Hire a real estate attorney with a proven track record in condo transactions. You need someone who is familiar with condos and the laws that govern them.

-Obtain a copy of all condo documentation before you close. In many states, the seller must disclose the condo's corporate and governing documents, newsletters, association meeting minutes and more. You may find the association slow to deliver, but keep pressing them.

-Review all bylaws, rules and other documents before you make your decision. If you don't feel like you can follow them, find another community or buy a single-family home.

-Pay attention to the details. Look at the age of the community, reserves studies, outstanding litigations, home owners' dues and assessments. Your attorney will explain what they mean to you financially.

-Get to know your neighbors. This isn't a month-to-month lease. You are stuck with these people for the duration of your ownership.

-Check out the association, especially the board of directors, to see how they manage the community. Look at the minutes of the last few meeting to see what issues were addressed. If the association uses a management company, do a background check on it.

Buying a condo is often a perfect solution for many potential home owners. They are usually a little cheaper, require much less upkeep and offer a community and great facilities. If you are currently renting, and love the lifestyle, but hate that you aren't building equity, look into a condo. If you are retired and no longer want to climb on the roof to clear leaves out of the gutters, consider a condo. But check it out thoroughly before you decide.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Lukac

minutes to a meeting : Five Reasons Why Leaders Fail to Create Successful Change

2006-07-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

A bold title, don’t you think? I mean, change is a complex thing, so to define five reasons seems to oversimplify the issue.

Let me be clear. There are far more pitfalls than these and far more possible reasons change doesn’t have the desired effect. The key in this title isn’t “Five Reasons,” it is “Leaders Fail.” Yes, there are many variables that can influence the success of change – but some of them must be owned by those leading the change.

This article will identify some of those typical failures, and while it can’t in this brief format give you all the answers, it can point you in the right direction and give you some suggested courses of action.

Lack of Commitment

George knew he had to shake things up in his team. Other departments were complaining that his department wasn’t responsive or even accurate in their work at times. So he started looking for ways to improve some work processes and get the team’s attention. He held a couple of meetings to explain the situation and ask for suggestions. He even got volunteers to look at some of the work processes and got the group some help to make this happen. But deep down, George didn’t want to make these changes. He was happy with his team. He didn’t have any major problems internally and was afraid these work process reviews were going to reveal that he had people that would need to go.

George was mouthing the words of change, but he wasn’t really committed to the change himself.

Want to create successful change? Get committed!

Lack of Communication

Lisa had explained the case for change clearly, so she thought. She even talked to some of her VP’s and Department Heads and they agreed – her message was firm, strong and hopeful. Everyone should clearly understand the reasons for this change and the steps that the organization would be taking. Three months later Lisa wondered what had gone wrong. What she didn’t realize was that successful change requires more than just great initial communication – it also requires ongoing formal and informal repeating of these messages. Communicating and communicating; both for clarity and for comfort, so people really get it.

Want successful change? Communicate, communicate and communicate. Early and often, formally and informally.

Lack of Patience

Tom got it. He really understood why this change was important. Admittedly, it took him awhile to really get on board, but once he got it, he was 100% committed. Soon he was showing impatience with everyone else, asking himself things like: Why isn’t this change happening faster? Why aren’t people on board? Why is there still resistance? Unfortunately he forgot how long it took him to really get committed. Tom made the mistake of assuming that everyone “gets it” at the same rate. It takes some people longer to become comfortable with a change. It doesn’t make them bad or dumb or lazy or unmotivated. The fact is not everyone gets on board the same day.

Want successful change? Be patient and realize that lasting change will take time.

Lack of Emotion

Lois had laid out the plan. Her logic was impeccable. She had been meticulous in explaining the reasons for the change and the steps that would be taken. She described what the organization would look like when the change was complete. She has answered every question patiently and completely. And she was surprised that the change effort was falling flat. What had she done wrong? Everything she did was fine, just incomplete.

Incomplete, because Lois focused on getting people to understand the change, and this isn’t the same as accepting the change. Acceptance requires more than just the facts and figures.

Want successful change? Remember that people need more than the facts. They need to understand the change emotionally and intuitively in order to accept and embrace the change – and you want acceptance, not understanding.

Lack of Knowledge

Mike knew he had to make a change in his organization. But he had lived through so many unsuccessful change efforts that he didn’t know if it was possible to really create meaningful change. He was committed to the change, believed in it, but didn’t know how to make it happen. He didn’t even know where to start.

Want successful change? Learn what you need to do to succeed!

In Closing

The five reasons why leaders fail to create successful change:

• They aren’t committed

• They stop communicating too soon

• They aren’t patient

• They don’t present an emotional case for change

• They don’t know how

Which reasons are getting in your way?

Kevin Eikenberry is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on “Unleashing Your Potential” go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Eikenberry

minutes to a meeting : Make Time, Not Excuses

2006-07-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

There are four primary activities that successful salespeople engage in on an ongoing basis. These are Prospecting (45% of time), Presenting (20%), Product Knowledge/Malleability (20%), and Professional and Personal Development (15%)

Recently we were presenting this information in a workshop on Prospect Management, when one of the participants raised his hand and said: “That’s great. But you just don’t understand. We spend so much of our time having to service our existing clients and putting out fires, there’s no way to have that much time for prospecting and all this other stuff.”

Sound like something you face?

We understand, because we’re out there selling too. Just like you, we go out and find new prospects, show them how we can help them, deal with client service, make sure training materials show up where they’re supposed to be, etc… And, we spend a good deal of time consulting, conducting workshops, and working with clients.

Like most sales professionals, we, too, have to juggle my time to focus on actually selling and prospecting.

The key is effective time planning.

Time planning is really more than time management. You really can’t manage time at all when you think about it – no matter what we do time marches on. No matter what we do there are 52 weeks in a year, 24 hours in day, and 60 minutes in an hour. Try as we might, we just ain’t gonna change that. So, let’s not bemoan that we don’t have enough time – the time you spend complaining about not having enough time is time you could spend on something more productive and rewarding. (Ever notice that the people who complain the most about not having enough time are usually the ones getting the least amount done? Think about it and observe.)

So, we can’t control time itself, but what we can control is how we use our time. In fact, when you come right down to it, our use of own time is the ONLY thing in life that we really have complete control over. Every minute of every day you are making a choice, whether consciously or not, over how you use your time. The key to effective time planning is to make conscious decisions over how you spend this most valuable resource.

Here are some tips to help you plan and utilize your time more effectively:

Be obsessive about planning:

Everybody these days uses some sort of planner whether electronic or paper; that’s a personal choice and either one is fine. But, real effective planning is more than making a daily to-do list.

Plan Weekly: Look at everything you have going on for the next two weeks. First appointments, follow-up meetings, presentations, internal meetings etc… In addition to actual meetings, you need to schedule in time for:

- meeting preparation
- travel time to and from meetings
- administrative and paperwork

Schedule these things into your calendar so you know exactly when you are going to do them!

Next, schedule in time – make a firm appointment with yourself – for prospecting activities. When will you make calls? I can guarantee that if you don’t make a firm appointment with yourself, those calls won’t happen.

Taking this weekly view is vital to effective time planning; many things that we do can’t get done in one day, but if know what we want and need to accomplish in the broader space of a week, we’re more likely to be productive with our time.

Plan Daily: Look ahead to the next day. What urgent things will you need to attend to? When will you do them? What things did you not get done today that you need to do tomorrow? Do this each day at the end of the day so you can start your next day fresh with the knowledge of exactly what you’re setting out to do.

TIP: Don’t overpack your time too much. You do need to allow for the unexpected. You also need to constantly reevaluate your time in the face of changing priorities. Give yourself the cushion for this.

Analyze Regularly: Keep track of how you spend your time, and analyze its level of productivity; look at whether each activity is moving you closer to your goals or is not. Try doing this for a period of two weeks; you’ll be amazed to realize how much time we spend on non-productive things. Just the sheer act of tracking this will make you more productive, guaranteed.

Apply “Zero-Based Thinking”: Author and speaker Brian Tracy, in his book “Focal Point” talks about applying “Zero-Based Thinking” as a way to form your goals and mission. It applies at this level as well. As you get a sense of where you’re time is currently spent, ask yourself these questions:

- What things do I need to start doing?
- What am I currently doing that I need to do more of?
- What am I currently doing that I need to stop doing?

What things can you delegate? What things could you stop doing that aren’t really necessary? (Think hard on this one; there are certainly things we all do that don’t really need to be done at all.)

Take time for reflection and planning: “But wait”, you say! “I don’t have time to do stuff now, how can I take all this time for planning. Sounds nice in an ideal world, but I have to live in reality!” Taking the time for planning and thinking will actually make you more productive. You will be in more control of your time, and you will be focused on the activities that will yield you the best results. 15 minutes a day is all you’ll really need. And those 15 minute could well be the most important time you spend!

To help you, here some great tools you can download:

Daily Time Tracking Worksheet

Weekly Planning Worksheet

Mark Dembo and Thomas J. Baskind are Managing Partners in DEI/Lexien of Greater New York, a sales performance improvement and management consulting company. They invite you to visit their website, http://www.lexien.com/, and welcome your comments and inquiries.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Dembo

minutes to a meeting : How A Facilitator Helps Your Hold Effective Meetings

2006-07-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

A facilitator adds value to your meeting by preparing the agenda, conducting the meeting, and writing minutes. All of these services free you to work on other tasks while getting the job done properly.

A professional facilitator will help you save money by holding a shorter meeting. The most expensive part of a meeting is the labor cost of the participants. Estimate this cost for your last meeting by multiplying the duration of the meeting by the number of participants by their payroll cost. (I've seen groups waste over $50,000 on a single bad meeting.)

A facilitator will help you get real results. For example, years ago, a group held three full-day meetings trying to resolve a difficult issue. Each of these meetings broke down after hours of painful arguing, bickering, and complaining. Then they hired me. My meeting lasted five hours and produced a list of realistic solutions, ranked in priority of their applicability.

A facilitator does more than watch people talk. A skilled facilitator knows how to apply creative thinking, problem solving, and decision making tools within a meeting. These help the group make methodical progress toward agreements, decisions, and solutions. And they produce results that everyone will support.

A skilled facilitator is an expert on business. Thus, a facilitator knows how to take your group through the steps that produce a realistic plan that accomplishes your business goals.

A facilitator frees you to participate in your meeting. It is impossible to facilitate and participate in a meeting because facilitation is a full time job.

Steve Kaye helps leaders hold effective meetings. He is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, author, and speaker. His meeting facilitation and leadership workshops create success for everyone. Call 714-528-1300 for details. Visit http://www.stevekaye.com for a free report.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Tips for Better Meetings

2006-07-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

1) Ask everyone to arrive five to ten minutes early. This gives everyone time to socialize, obtain coffee, or organize materials before the meeting. It also ensures that everyone is present at the scheduled starting time. Make this part of the agenda.

2) Discuss sensitive issues with the key participants before the meeting. Use this as an opportunity to listen and gather information on the issues. From this you will understand the different views, needs, and histories. This information can help you prepare the agenda and conduct the meeting. In addition, you may be able to facilitate solutions or strategies for solutions before the meeting. In either case, the result will be a more efficient meeting.

3) Plan small meetings that focus on a single issue. People work more effectively over short periods of time (such as 45 minutes). This also allows you to match experts with issues for more productive meetings.

4) Send copies of the minutes to everyone who could have been invited for informational purposes. They can read the minutes in a small fraction of the time that they would have been spent in the meeting.

5) If the chairperson seems to have allowed the meeting’s intent to drift, ask: “What do you want to achieve?” or “How can we help you?” or “How will we know when we are done working on this?” These questions can help focus the meeting on a goal.

6) If a meeting seems out of control, suggest adjourning and reconvening at a later time. This will allow you to clarify goals, prepare strategies, and better understand the issues.

7) Summarize the content of key points. This ensures that everyone has the same understanding of the key point. Although this is one of the chairperson’s responsibilities, it can be filled by anyone else in the meeting.

8) Prepare a list of questions, ideas, suggestions before the meeting. Then you can focus your attention on the discussion in the meeting.

9) Watch the listeners instead of the speaker. Their faces and body language will tell you whether they agree or disagree, which can help guide you participation in the discussion.

10) Work with a sense of appropriate urgency. Life is finite, and the work in meetings should be the same. Plan a time budget and then use it to guide your meeting. Spend extra time only when an issue warrants it.

Steve Kaye helps leaders hold effective meetings. He is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, author, and speaker. His meeting facilitation and leadership workshops create success for everyone. Call 714-528-1300 for details. Visit http://www.stevekaye.com for a free report.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Note Taking

2006-07-24T01:19:00.000-07:00

Lecture note-taking influences the academic success of all high school and college students (Stahl, King, & Henk, 1991). As Spires and Stone (1989) point out, students will "increasingly have to depend on their ability to take notes in order to be successful in the classroom."

Ornstein (1994) believes that all students would benefit if teachers deliberately trained their students in note-taking techniques, especially the lower-achieving students. Bakunas and Holley (2001) suggest that note-taking skills should be taught to students in the same manner that they are taught writing or computer skills.

Studies about the effect of note-taking on achievement recognize that there are two distinct categories of note-taking (Meyer, 2001). The first category suggests that the notes themselves are valuable because 1) help the learner rehearse the lecture content and (2) can serve as a memory device that can help the student to remember parts of the content that were not included in the notes themselves.

The second category suggests that the act of taking notes is important because it 1) increases attention and concentration, 2) encourages students to process the material at a deeper level, and 3) provides a means of connecting new learning with prior knowledge (Carrier & Titus, 1981). These two categories imply that note-taking can boost achievement by acting as a product (the first category) or as a process (the second category). In this project we will investigate the impact of increased writing speed and written output on both the product of note-taking as well as the process of note-taking to enhance scholastic achievement.

Some experimental studies on student achievement have been inconclusive regarding the benefits of note-taking training. However, these studies have had serious methodological weaknesses and have not consistently involved meaningful training sessions that incorporate practice and evaluation of the note-taking skills (Boon, 1989). For example, a study by Bretzing et al (1987) involved 15 minute training sessions before the testing and provided only general note-taking tips. Another study by Peck and Hannafin (1983) showed students a videotape how to take notes more efficiently. A study by Meyer (2001) allocated one class unit for note-taking training. Research on the effects of pre-training on note-taking and information recall found that training in note-taking must involve long-term, systematic instruction and continuous practice (Dunkel,1985).

Bretzing, Kulhavy and Caterino (1987) and Peck and Hannafin (1983) conducted similar research to gain insight into this issue. In all of these studies, one or more experimental groups received special note-taking training, while one or more groups received no formal training. The results of Peck and Hannafin's study found that the uninstructed note takers actually performed better on all three tests. Peck and Hannafin suggested that the results were a product of an "interference effect" in which the process of note-taking itself interfered with the retention of information.

In our view the "interference effect" was a result of insufficient training as opposed to what Peck and Hannafin believed a negative impact of note-taking on learning. Students were inadequately trained in the product which caused an adverse effect on the note-taking process.

In addition, an evaluation of over 340 NSF project directors of 13 possible innovations in undergraduate teaching found cooperative learning was ranked highest. Collaborating on projects students must accurately capture the spoken information and share their notes efficiently with other students in their research groups. The EasyScript methodology can provide a seamless exchange of sharing information to address this issue. Importance of note-taking for students with disabilities

Boyle and Weishaar (2001) in their study of high school students with disabilities concluded that improved note-taking skills contribute to increasing students' comprehension, short-term and long-term recall. They extended the academic note-taking training in their study from 15 minutes to two 50 minute sessions. Instructed students scored significantly higher on measures of immediate recall, long-term recall and comprehension, and number of words recorded. It's reasonable to assume that if a speed note-taking is incorporated into academic note-taking and a sufficient practicing and reinforcement is provided, it will increase the number of words recorded which will have a significant impact on comprehension, immediate and long-term recall.

As evidenced by various research studies, students with disabilities are not effective note takers. Students with disabilities do not possess a sufficient writing speed to take down spoken information and, even when they do take notes, are frequently unable to read them after the lecture (Suritsky, 1992), mostly because their notes are illegible. Students with disabilities either avoid taking notes, rely on note takers or teachers to assist them with guided lecture notes after class (Beckley, 1996).

Although these accommodations are helpful, and even necessary, it is important for students with disabilities to learn how to effectively take notes from lectures. Suritsky and Hughes (1996) have found that students with disabilities are passive learners, and note-taking is one way to actively engage them in the learning process.

We believe that students with disabilities will derive an additional benefit from speed note-taking because they record fewer units of lecture information than their non-disabled peers (Hughres & Suritsky, 1996).

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minutes to a meeting : 21 Tips for Meeting and Event Success

2006-07-24T01:07:00.000-07:00

Warm sunshine, sandy beaches, golf galore are maybe some reasons for having a meeting, but when a company is planning and executing an event or meeting, the number one thing that should be on their minds is . . . Why are we getting together?
Even if you’ve matched your budget to the venue; without knowing the goal you intend to achieve at a program, you’ll have wasted your efforts, money, and the valuable time of your client or colleagues. Whether an incentive program, monthly meeting, board meeting, staff event, conference or trade show — in a world where corporate expenses are increasingly scrutinized — it all boils down to Return on Investment (ROI).

How do you maximize your ROI?
First, take a poll from prospective attendees prior to establishing the venue and program. Ask: What are your expectations? What do you want to see happen while you are there? Have subcommittees assist in creating a brief, but substantive, planning survey to disperse to that target audience. To maximize this stage of the process, review the crucial evaluations you requested at the close of your last program.

Address a short one-page document to the attendees that outlines the main points of the program, including an overall perspective and goals of the program. Even if the intent of the program is for socialization and comradery, make this clear.

A key element of ROI is making sure there is enough time for networking, and to allow your guests the opportunity to see the host city. Companies are finding that without an element of mixing and mingling, and opportunities to roam, attendees get frustrated and the success of the meeting could be jeopardized.

Know the value of your business BEFORE you meet with the hotel or facility — how many guests, how many total room nights, how many ballrooms, how many meals and if you have off-site entertainment plans.

ROI can’t always be measured immediately. But, a key toward this goal is to always record a history after each meeting, including an evaluation from the attendees. If there’s not enough time to do so at the event, today’s event planners are taking advantage of Palm Pilot and Blackberry technology to collect immediate feedback while guests are leaving the property or waiting for their flights. Develop a pattern of feedback and utilize your findings to your advantage.

Companies are no longer having meetings just to have them. They are piggy-backing on their existing programs to get more “bang for their buck” — saving money on airfare, hotels and food and beverage.

No matter the size of your company or guest list, when planning a function, you want to provide a cost-effective meeting with value-added information in your seminars and networking events. You also want attendees to walk away feeling that they are refreshed and recharged and have the tools they need to help them succeed in, and out, of their workplace.

Talk the talk, then walk the walk
Meeting and event professionals have their own language. If you do not have a professional meeting and event planner on staff to help you understand contract clauses and negotiation of pricing, and choose not to hire one, your knowledge of the terminology will reduce your risk of unexpected costs or, worse yet, an unsuccessful event. When a hotel or resort sends a contract out to be signed, they will appreciate your basic understanding of key terminology and you will likely have a more successful relationship with your hotel or meeting facility. Several websites for meeting and event planning assistance offer explanations of industry jargon.

Technology Trends:
Once you’ve established your goals and secured a location for your meeting, secure your success by turning your attention toward hot trends in meeting and event hosting:

Intelligent Badges: These extraordinary badges can indicate information about you in bulleted phrases. People can choose to speak with you, or not, based upon the criteria you input to your badge. It simplifies networking, and is increasingly appreciated by attendees. Badges are now being created that zone-in on attendees’ need to “sync” with one another; i.e.: You need 50,000 sq. ft. of office space in Miami, and an attendee has programmed his badge to indicate his Miami property availability. You can also use it to store other helpful information including mapping, golf scores and venue and program details. Look for this hot technology to be on the rise in the coming months ahead.

Wireless Technology (Wi-Fi): With the ongoing demand for quick retreival of critical information, most resorts and hotels are going mainstream to offer wi-fi on their properties. If they don’t have it, they probably will in the near future. Nearby coffeehouses are also offering this free service to their customers. You’ll make extra points if you list them in your registration packets.

Food Trends:
Large lunches and lavish dinners are giving way to the trend of small mini-meals throughout your program. Having small platters available throughout the day might be more beneficial to your event as frequent breaks keep guests interested and refreshed. And, stay away from high-carbohydrate break food. It can put your guests to sleep in minutes.

For golf outings, the hot dog and hamburger is still a staple. Here, the old standbys aren’t being taken over by “low-carb,” “South Beach” or other trendy diet crazes. Golfers still look forward to their steak dinners and hefty award banquets — even if salmon and chicken on the grill are slowly coming into play.

Off the course, low-carbohydrate menus are a big hit at meetings and events. Substituting mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes is gaining in popularity. BUT, keep the bread out for those who still desire their starch with meals.

When selecting the popular martini or vodka and rum drinks for your event — mango, pomegranate, papaya and other exotic juices are quickly taking the place of cranberry and orange juice mixers.

The trend is for fresh exotic fruit to be served alone, as a dessert or paired with a small cake or ganache. Trendy meeting planners are also moving dessert and coffee stations outside at sunset to get out of the ballroom. “Family style” dessert platters, vs. individual desserts, is the haute couture of food fashion. This also keeps your costs down, while allowing guests to pick and choose the dessert they desire.

Another growing trend is to have coffee stations with customized coffees available, as well as liqueurs. This promotes guest networking after lunch or dinner — the number-one personal reason for attending any meeting.

To secure food venue success, ask for a taste test at the site where you are having your meeting. Most hotels are happy to provide this service.

Invitations:
More budget is going into sprucing up the invitation then ever before. This is the FIRST thing people see, and will generate interest whether they are planning to attend, or still may be persuaded to do so. Email, with glitzy graphics and a “pop-up” invitation are popular. If you use traditional mail, stay away from little confetti pieces. No executive appreciates them in their PC keyboard.

Help!
If you don’t have the time, are not at all accustomed to event planning, or do not have the resources to plan and execute a function, consider hiring an expert planner or consultant. Look for years of experience, credibility and the compatibility of programs executed.

Words to the Wise:
During holiday seasons, make sure your competition hasn’t already planned an event on your day. You should also ask your facility catering manager what companies are holding their events on the same days or nights. Or, you may lose your attendees to the ballroom next door! Be very careful to secure any confidential handouts...particularly during breaks. Your competitors may be more clever than you think.

Treat your hotel staff and contacts as you would people in your own workplace — with respect and courtesy. Remember, they are partnering with you to provide the best possible service to your guests. They can be a tremendous resource for mitigating the “faux pas” you might miss.

Know your budget and what you can and cannot do. And, be flexible. Optional dates can allow your hotel or facility to serve you better.

Roadside construction and other obstacles might prohibit your guests from getting to the location where your meeting is being held. Make sure to ask the property about this as well as inquiring about citywide events that may inconvenience your guests.

(Todd Schwartz is a certified meeting plannner (CMP) and president and founder of The Professional Planner Group; a full-service, meeting, event and conference management company. To learn more on how to "Unleash Your Meeting's Potential . . ." go to www.professionalplannergroup.com or write to Todd@ProfessionalPlannerGroup.com for more information.

Professional Planner Group LLC© 2005

minutes to a meeting : What to Ask When You're Invited to a Meeting

2006-07-18T00:27:00.000-07:00

He re a re five questions that you must ask befo re agreeing to attend a meeting.

1) Whe re is the agenda? A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map; it will always waste your time. Once you have the agenda, make su re that it consists of mo re than a list of words because this is almost useless. The agenda for an effective meeting will provide a complete description of how the meeting will proceed.

2) what is the goal? Is the chair seeking an agreement, a solution, or a plan? Knowing the goal gives you head start on participating effectively. Be cautious of meetings that a re held just "to talk about something," because this type of meeting seldom accomplishes anything.

3) what is my role? Make su re that your participation adds value to the meeting. Avoid meetings whe re you have a superficial role, such as to find out what's happening. In that case, ask for the minutes. If you' re needed to work on only part of the agenda, ask if you can attend only that part of the meeting.

4) How should I prepare? Make su re that you know about any research, readings, or surveys required to participate. ask about the expectations for the other participants because this could influence your preparation. Attend only if you can prepa re adequately or suggest another time for the meeting.

5) what should I bring? Should you bring a laptop? Will you be asked to give a presentation? Should you bring reports, data, or other information? Make su re that you have enough time to obtain the tools and materials needed for effective participation.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Ten Strategies For Getting Off To A Good Start

2006-07-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

A day in the life of every businessperson is made up of a series of meetings and greetings. Whether you are making the initial contact with a client or a colleague, you want to get off on the right foot. Doing so will make the first encounter and subsequent ones go smoothly and easily. Getting off on the wrong foot can make for a difficult recovery. Save your energy for later and use these simple strategies for a successful start.

Stand up when you meet someone. This allows you to engage the person on an equal level - eye to eye. By remaining seated, you send a message that you don't think the other person is important enough to warrant the effort it takes to stand. If you find yourself in a position where you can't stand up (such as being trapped behind a potted plant) offer an apology and an explanation. You might say something like, "Please excuse me for not getting up. I can't seem to get around the foliage."

Smile. Your facial expression says more than your words. Look as if you are pleased to meet the other person regardless of what is on your mind. Put a smile on your face for the person standing before you.

Make eye contact. Looking at the people you meet says you are focused and interested in them. If you are staring off somewhere else, you may appear to be looking for someone more to your liking to come along.

Introduce yourself immediately. As soon as you approach people you don't know or are approached by them, say who you are. Don't stand around as if someone else is in charge of introductions.

Include a statement about who you are when necessary. It is not always enough to say, "Hello, I'm Mary Jones." Give more information. "Hello, I'm Mary Jones. I work for XYZ Corporation."

Offer a firm handshake. Extend your hand as you give your greeting. The person who puts a hand out first comes across as confident and at ease. Make sure that this physical part of your greeting is professional. Don't offer bone-crushing grips or wimpy limp-wristed shakes. If you are confused about men and women shaking hands, don't be. There once was a time when women didn't shake hands with men. We are past that. Everyone in business shakes hands with everyone else.

Learn how to make smooth introductions. In business you always introduce less important people to more important people. The way to do this is to say the name of the more important person first, followed by the words "I'd like to introduce..." and then give the other person's name. Be sure to add something about each person so they will know why they are being introduced and will have some information with which to start a conversation.

Know who the more important person is. The client or the business prospect is more important than your boss. Just hope your boss agrees.

Pay attention to names when you meet people. It is all too common to be thinking about what you are going to say next and not focus on the other person. If you concentrate and repeat the name as soon as you hear it, you stand a better chance of remembering it later.

Use first names of people whom you have just met only after they give you permission. Not everyone wants to be addressed informally on the initial encounter. It is better to err on the side of formality than to offend the other person right off the bat.

Your goal within the first few minutes of meeting other people is to make them feel comfortable and to put them ease so they will want to do business with you. When you are confident of the rules for those critical initial encounters, you will have a solid start for long-term profitable relationships.

(c) 2004, lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.

minutes to a meeting : Five Radical Uses for a Meeting

2006-07-13T02:54:00.000-07:00

Meetings also provide opportunities to learn a lot about the people who attend them. Here's what to look for.

1) Determine a person's ability to plan. Does the person who called the meeting have a clear goal and a specific plan to achieve it. People who do, recognize the value of preparation and can be trusted with larger projects.

2) Measure teamwork. How are the participants working together? Are they making methodical progress toward an agreement, decision, or solution? Are the more skilled participants helping the others? Is the group working toward a result that benefits everyone? People who work as a team contribute more to productivity.

3) Demonstrate communication. How well do the participants state their ideas? Do they speak clearly? And do they pay attention when others speak? People who communicate well avoid problems such as misunderstandings and arguments.

4) Determine how people think. Are the participants offering ideas that logically follow what the last person said? How innovative, practical, or useful are the ideas? Are people focused on details or major projects? Are they focused on what happened or upon what happens next? Certainly people think differently, and this helps you observe their strengths.

5) Observe ethics. What are the participants proposing? What values are revealed by their suggestions? What type of actions do they admire? What do they support and what do they oppose? How much respect do the participants show for each other? Good ethics keep a business on the right side of good.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 3 Lessons for Leaders

2006-07-13T02:49:00.000-07:00

Here are three lessons about meetings that came from a walk through the forest.

1) Giant Sequoias

These marvelous trees are a living example that some things take time.

True, we need to work with a sense of urgency. We need to do more with less. We need to move faster than the speed of chaos.

And we also need to be appropriate.

Rushing through some issues can produce false solutions.

For example, a group slams together an annual plan, only to find that the plan ignores real market conditions, organizational limitations, and individual support. The result is a document that no one uses.

For example, a powerful group makes a decision without listening to other people's ideas. And then a bad situation becomes worse. In fact, sometimes the neglected side retaliates with such force that the original group loses status.

Better: Take time to make sure that all considerations are included in plans and decisions. If you are planning a meeting to resolve a major issues, hire a skilled facilitator to help you obtain a result that lasts.

2) A Bear Cub

This cub behaved like a goofy toddler while mama bear went about her business collecting groceries in a supermarket. The cub climbed on logs, fell off rocks, and dropped things on mama. And during all of this play, mama bear just kept working, munching plants, gathering nourishment.

That is, she kept eating until the cub ran toward me. Then mama bear looked up, growled, and chased after the cub. (I'll assume that's what she did, because I ran away when Mama Bear growled.)

What's the point?

Sometimes we need to allow an appropriate amount of disorder because it's part of growth. It's part of letting people explore. It's part of letting people be themselves. Of course, when threats appear, then we should take charge. And we may only need to growl to restore order.

3) Mustang Clover

In the spring, the Sierra Nevada mountains are covered with patches of Mustang Clover. These small flowers (typically, less than half an inch across) look like simple small pink dots as you walk past them. But if you pause and look closely, you will discover a masterpiece of complex beauty.

The point: Are you pausing to notice important details? Some may be merely enjoyable reminders of how wonderful life can be. Others may be essential indicators about the health of your business.

BY: Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Monsters in Meetings

2006-07-11T00:09:00.000-07:00

While dominant participants contribute significantly to the success of a meeting, they can also overwhelm, intimidate, and exclude others. Thus, you want to control their energy without losing their support.

Approach 1: Ask others to contribute

Asking quiet participants to contribute indirectly moderates the more dominant participants. Say:

"Before we continue, I want to hear from the rest of the group."

"This is great. And I wonder what else we could do." (Look at the quiet participants when you say this.)

Approach 2: Change the process

A balanced dialogue equalizes participation and sequential participation (a round robin) prevents anyone from dominating the discussion.

Approach 3: Include them in the process

Ask dominant participants for their support during the meeting. Meet with the person privately and say:

"I need your help with something. It's clear to me that you know a great deal about this issue and have many good ideas. I also want to hear what other people in the meeting have to say. So, I wonder if you could hold back a little, to let others contribute."

You can also retain control by giving away minor tasks. For example, dominant participants make excellent helpers. They can distribute materials, run errands, serve as scribes, deliver messages, post chart papers, run demonstration units, operate projectors, change overhead transparencies, act as greeters, and in general perform any logistical task related to the meeting.

Approach 4: Create barriers

Simply move away from the more aggressive participants and make less eye contact. If you are unable to see them, you are unable to recognize them as the next speaker.

Use this approach with moderation and support it with complimentary requests for assistance. Ignoring someone conveys disapproval, which could change a potential ally into an adversary.

Approach 5: One point at a time

Sometimes dominant participants will control a discussion by listing many points in a single statement. They cite every challenge, condition, and consideration known, which completely clogs everyone else's thinking. End this by asking participants to state only one point at a time, after which someone else speaks. It is very difficult to monopolize a discussion when this technique prevails.

Quiet participants often hope to be ignored; dominant participants want to be noticed. A quiet person may feel overbearing after making two statements in an hour. A dominant participant may feel left out after contributing only 95% of the ideas. You will be most successful moderating dominant participants by building bridges between what they want and what you need.

Approach 6: Interrupt with "excuse me"

Use the words "excuse me" as a wedge to interrupt a long monologue. It's important that you say "Excuse me" with polite sincerity. For example, you could say:

"Excuse me, this seems interesting and I wonder if you could tell me how it relates to our meeting."

"Excuse me, I'm sure this is very important and since we have only five minutes left for this issue, I wonder if you could summarize your main point."

Use these techniques to hold effective meetings by moderating contributions from the more outspoken participants.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 5 Things You Must Know About a Meeting

2006-07-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

What if someone asks to borrow your checkbook? And then the person says, "By the way, could you sign the checks before handing it over?"

Absurd, right?

And yet, people freely sign over huge chunks of their lives by agreeing to attend pointless meetings.

Here are five things to ask about before agreeing to attend.

1) Goals

What are the goals for the meeting? Why are you holding this meeting? What do you want to have when you finish?

If you receive a vague answer, such as, "to discuss business" or "just to talk about something," be warned that this meeting lacks direction.

2) Plan

What is your agenda? How do you plan to accomplish these goals? What will we do during the meeting?

You want to know the plan for the meeting before you agree to attend. A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map.

Note that a meeting without a clear goal or a complete agenda will always waste your time.

3) Me

What is my role in the meeting? Why are you asking me to attend? What do you expect of me during the meeting.

You want to attend only those meetings where you have an impact. Otherwise, ask for a copy of the minutes.

4) Them

Who else is coming to the meeting? Why have you asked them to attend? How well do they support your goals for the meeting?

This tells you how to prepare and what to expect. Otherwise, you could find yourself being invited to an ambush.

5) Logistics

How should I prepare? What should I bring? What else do I need to know about this meeting (e.g., where is it being held)?

Attending a meeting without sufficient preparation will make you appear incompetent. If the time required to prepare exceeds what you can afford, suggest alternatives such as rescheduling the meeting.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Five Radical Uses for a Meeting

2006-07-06T01:20:00.001-07:00

minutes to a meeting : Five Radical Uses for a Meeting

2006-07-06T01:20:00.000-07:00

minutes to a meeting : Another Use for Meetings

2006-07-06T01:15:00.000-07:00

Every meeting is a laboratory where you can observe and learn important things about the people who attend. In fact, you can use meetings to identify people who merit being promoted into leadership positions. Watch for:

Is it planned?
Effective leaders always begin with clearly defined goals and then prepare plans for achieving them. They have the courage to set a direction and then make changes as new information becomes available. They communicate with candor knowing that people perform at their best when they know what is expected. Thus, did the person who called this meeting prepare an agenda? Was the agenda distributed before the meeting? Did the agenda tell you everything that you needed to know to work effectively in the meeting? If so, this serves as a positive indication of effective leadership planning.

Is it efficient?
A meeting is the culminating step in a larger process. It begins by setting goals and preparing an agenda. Then the chairperson should have contacted key participants to inform them of their roles in the meeting, told everyone how to prepare for the meeting, and alerted people who may be asked to accept responsibility for action items. All of this work before the meeting assures that the meeting will progress smoothly, efficiently, and effectively. So, how is the meeting going? Is there evidence of this attention to detail?

Is it logical?
Pay attention to what people say during a meeting. Do their ideas contribute toward achieving the goals? if so, this shows that they're working as part of a team to help find solutions. Do their ideas build upon what others just said? If so, this shows that they're paying attention to the dialogue. Do their ideas demonstrate originality, creativity, and knowledge? If so, this shows they're working hard to add value. Effective leaders possess strong analytical thinking skills.

Is it helpful?
Evaluate the comments and behavior during a meeting. Are the participants working to support each other? Are people contributing to the safe environment that is essential for open creative thinking? Are people adding high-value contributions (instead of stories or jokes that distract everyone)? Note that chronic unproductive behavior betrays either fear, a lack of effective work skills, or misunderstood expectations. People who perform poorly in meetings may need constructive coaching.

Is it controlled?
Leadership involves more than watching people talk. Thus, observe the dynamics of the meeting process. Is the chairperson leading everybody through methodical steps that take them to a result? Is the meeting being conducted in such a way that the participants feel that it is a fair process? Is the chairperson helping others perform at their best so that the group can produce an outstanding result?

Someone who excels in the above areas should be considered for leadership positions. This explains why most executives consider a person's ability to lead meetings when selecting future leaders.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Protect Your Boss From Bad Meetings

2006-07-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Most bosses spend most of their time in meetings. This happens because executives respond to problems by calling meetings to fix them. And when the meetings fail to produce results, they call more meetings. In some companies, people have even called meetings to figure out why their meetings didn't work.

Rather than watch your boss trudge off to an endless schedule of meetings, here are things you can do to protect your boss's valuable time.

1) When someone calls to schedule a meeting for your boss, ask for the agenda. If there is no agenda, check if your boss wants to attend. Lack of an agenda is the number one cause of bad meetings. Ideally, your boss would insist on having an agenda because time is money. For example, I doubt that your boss signs blank checks.

If the caller replies that your boss will receive an agenda at the meeting, state that your boss wants to see the agenda at least a day before the meeting. This gives your boss time to prepare and avoids being ambushed by surprises.

2) Ask "What are the goals for this meeting?" or "What results do you want to have by the end of the meeting?" A meeting without goals will lack direction, which can be as deadly as no agenda.

3) Ask "What is my boss's role in the meeting?" or "Why do you want my boss to attend?" Many junior employees invite executives to their meetings because it makes them seem important. They also use this as an opportunity to delegate work upwards, show off, and ask their boss to make decisions. Vague replies (such as, "Oh, we just want hear what your boss has to say") suggest lazy planning.

If your boss is being invited to "find out what everyone is doing" check if your boss would prefer to receive a copy of the minutes instead. It takes much less time to read minutes than attend a meeting.

If your boss has an important role in a minor part of a meeting, ask if your boss can attend only that part of the meeting. Suggest that they schedule your boss' participation at the beginning so your boss can be on time for this part and then leave after contributing.

4) Ask "How should my boss prepare for the meeting?" This helps your boss do well and avoids being surprised. If the preparation requires extensive work, check with your boss if the schedule makes sense. Also, check if others will be prepared. Unprepared participants always waste time. If necessary, revise the scope of the meeting or schedule it for a later date to allow adequate preparation.

5) Ask "What should my boss bring?" You want to make sure that your boss has whatever is needed for effective participation. You also want to know what is needed because you may have to help obtain it. If the resources are unavailable, suggest alternatives.

6) Ask who else will be there. This will help your boss anticipate what might happen. And in some cases you may find it useful to call some of the other participants to survey their expectations, concerns, and support for the issues on the agenda.

7) Finally, make sure that you collect details such as the starting time, duration, and location. Obtain a map and directions when needed.

As an administrative assistant you work as an important partner with your boss. Thus, you may want to share this article and use it as the basis for how you can work together, making sure that your boss attends the right meetings for the right reasons with the right preparation.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : How to Hold Effective Staff Meetings

2006-07-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Many people believe that they conduct effective meetings, when all they really do is host a party filled with official sounding chit chat. Or worse, they deliver a monologue that bores everyone. In either case, their meetings produce little.

Here's how to hold an effective staff meeting.

1) In general. Keep them short. Most staff meetings should last less than an hour. You want your staff to spend their time working on things that earn money for your business, not sitting in meetings. Keep them positive. Negative meetings contain insults, ridicule, and attacks. These activities create caution and resentment, which always costs your company money. Keep them interactive. Your staff consists of intelligent people. Put them to work in your meetings to advance the effectiveness of your organization.

2) Share news. Give the members of your group one minute to report on progress made in their area of responsibility. You'll find that this results in bullet point reports of essential information. It also prevents people from philosophizing, explaining, justifying, criticizing, and engaging in other unproductive activities. Plan a time budget: 8 to 10 minutes.

3) Teach something. Invite a guest expert to give a 10 minute presentation on some skill or technology that benefits your group. Tell the expert that you want a logical explanation of practical ideas. You can also ask members of your group to take turns delivering brief tutorials on topics that benefit the others. Plan a time budget: 10 to 15 minutes.

4) Practice skills. Create team learning activities that sharpen or teach skills needed in your business. For example, you could role play job skills (especially useful for sales teams), solve puzzles (useful for high tech groups), or take quizzes (useful for everyone). Ask group members to take turns bringing an activity that reviews or teaches a valuable skill. Follow this activity with a brief recap of key ideas. Then ask the group members to give a fifteen second report on how these ideas can be applied to improve their work. Plan a time budget: 10 to 20 minutes.

5) Solve problems. Give each group member a minute to describe a challenge that hinders work on a current project and then let everyone propose solutions. Suggestions should be brief and free of self aggrandizing explanations or motivational sermons. This process also requires a positive, supportive environment to succeed. If this is used to ridicule, insult, or criticize the individual, then people will be reluctant to reveal issues that need attention. Plan a time budget: 3 to 6 minutes per person.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 7 Myths That Make Meetings Miserable

2006-07-01T02:38:00.000-07:00

You can hold effective meetings and become a more successful leader if you avoid these seven monsters. Here's how.

Myth 1: Executives belong in meetings.
Although the demands of business cause executives to attend more meetings than other professionals, executives need to avoid meetings. Top management is responsible for vision, strategy, plans, and communication. That means executives should spend most of their time thinking, learning, planning, and communicating. Inefficient, ineffective meetings waste the time of the company's most valuable employees.

Better: Ask probing questions when invited to make sure that your presence will add value. For example, "What are your goals for the meeting?" "How will I contribute to achieving those goals?" and "How can I prepare for the meeting?" After all, you want to contribute to an effective meeting if you decide to attend.

Myth 2: Holding a large meeting is impressive.
Actually, holding a large meeting is expensive. It can also be impressive if it is conducted properly, which means that it will be as small a possible.

Better: Invite only those who can make meaningful contributions. The likelihood of holding an effective meeting diminishes with groups larger than ten or twelve.

Myth 3: Structure inhibits spontaneity.
This is true if your goal is to obtain random outcomes over infinite time. While this may occasionally produce spectacular results, such as winning a lottery, you can achieve predictable results faster by applying structured activities. These help people make methodical progress toward results. Otherwise, the group is attending a party, instead of working in a meeting.

Better: Use structured activities to keep you in control of your meeting and make progress toward results.

Myth 4: People are too busy to prepare agendas.
Since there is always time to repeat a task, fix a problem, or make an apology, there must be time to take the steps that avoid such dilemmas. Overall, preparing an agenda saves time and money.

Better: Prepare an agenda or, if you are too busy, ask someone to do it for you. Then send the agenda to the participants so that they can prepare for the meeting.

Myth 5: Minutes are unnecessary.
This is true for any meeting where people wasted time producing nothing. Effective meetings produce results that are worth documenting. Minutes serve to track action items, record decisions, and inform others. If you are planning a meeting with no results worth documenting, ask yourself why that meeting is necessary.

Better: Record key ideas, agreements, and action items during the meeting. Then convert these notes into minutes.

Myth 6: Meetings should last a long time.
While this may be true for some meetings, most meetings can be conducted in less than an hour. Long, casual meetings lull people into lethargy. In general, people are able to focus on a task for 30 to 60 minutes. Then their attention fades and they take mental holidays to think about other things.

Better: Plan meetings where you spend time and resources in proportion to the value of the results. That is, an effective meeting should be designed to earn a profit. Also, plan short breaks every 50 minutes.

Myth 7: The effectiveness of meetings is a low priority.
This is true if you seldom hold meetings. Of course, if you have more than two employees, you need meetings to make decisions, reach agreements, and develop solutions. Effective meetings are a critically essential activity in running a business. They harness the combined wisdom of your staff to invent products, increase sales, improve productivity, plan strategies, and create success.

Better: Learn how to plan and conduct meetings that make your business a success.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : 5 Hidden Traps in Meetings

2006-07-01T02:35:00.000-07:00

If you have sat through a few bad meetings, you must have experienced the following traps. Here they are and how to fix them.

1) People think they are experts.

Many people tell me that they know how to hold a meeting. Actually, all they do is host a party. They invite guests, provide treats, and preside over a conversation. People talk. People eat. And nothing happens. Or, if they somehow manage to reach an agreement, no one implements it.

> What to do: Learn how to lead a real meeting. Schedule a workshop or buy a book. When results really matter, hire a facilitator. Recognize that there are modern tools that help people make methodical progress toward results. These tools are practical and easy to use. Of course, you have to know what they are in order to use them. Call me (714-528-1300) for details.

2) People think they are inspiring.

Many people believe that long-winded announcements impress others. Actually, it's the opposite. A long lecture quickly becomes a boring (and sometimes offensive) harangue. Why? Most employees want an active role in contributing to the business, and thus listening to a speech feels like a waste of time.

> What to do: Design meetings that give the attendees opportunities to contribute. Plan questions that direct thinking toward the results that you want. Use activities that help people make decisions. Distribute announcements in letters, memos, or E-mails. Or, if you must use a meeting, keep announcements brief (less than a few minutes).

3) People think others agree with them.

Many people rely on nods, smiles, and eye contact to measure acceptance. Actually, most employees will do anything to appease a boss. And if the boss seems to be upset, the employees will become even more agreeable. Then, once the meeting ends, the employees will do one of three things: 1) forget the lecture, 2) ignore the message, or 3) sabotage the idea.

> What to do: Conduct meetings by a process that everyone considers to be fair. Use consensus to reach agreements and make decisions. People will accept decisions that they helped make.

4) People think others are clairvoyant.

Many people call meetings without an agenda expecting that everyone will arrive sharing their vision for what needs to be done. Actually, everyone brings their private hopes, fears, and vision to the meeting. Without a clear agenda, the result is something between chitchat and chaos, depending upon the complexity of the issue.

Note: A vague agenda, such as a list of topics, is almost as useless as no agenda.

> What to do: Write out your goal for the meeting. Then prepare an agenda that is so complete someone else could use it to run the meeting without you. Specify each step and provide a time budget. Send the agenda at least a day before the meeting so that the attendees can use it to prepare. Call key participants before the meeting to check if they have questions or want to talk about the agenda.

5) People think meetings are necessary.

Many people respond to every emergency, surprise, or twitch by calling a meeting. Actually, a meeting is a special (and expensive) process. It should be used only to obtain results that require the efforts of a group of people working as a team. A meeting is NOT a universal cure for everything. Meetings held for the wrong reasons, waste everyone's time.

> What to do: Challenge every meeting for its ability to earn a profit for your business. That is, make sure the value of the results is greater than the cost of holding a meeting. If any other activity can accomplish the same result, use that other activity.

by Steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : How to Hold a Teleconference

2006-06-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Even a well-planned teleconference can go poorly. Some people treat any meeting as a casual social activity instead of as a serious business project. And a teleconference brings special challenges because people attend them in the privacy of their office without being able to see or be seen by the other participants.

Use these techniques to hold a more effective meeting by phone.

1) Begin with a quick round of self introductions so that everyone can find out who is present and hear everyone else's voice.

2) Enforce the rule of "one speaker at a time." Multiple conversations ruin a teleconference.

3) Insist that people announce when they join or leave the conference.

4) If people must leave during the meeting, gain closure on any issues that they participated in before they leave. For example, "Pat agreed to prepare a cost estimate by next Monday. Is that correct, Pat?" Make adjustments in the agenda (if appropriate) based on the remaining participants.

5) Keep everyone focused on the issue being discussed. If someone introduces an idea that seems unrelated, say, "That sounds interesting. How does that relate to the issue?"

6) Record the conference. First, this will help you prepare minutes. And second, it encourages people to make meaningful comments. Of course, you should announce that you are recording the meeting before you start.

7) State your name each time that you speak. This helps everyone know that you are speaking.

8) If you are speaking on your desk phone, use the handset instead of the speakerphone. A speakerphone, while useful, distorts your voice, picks up background sounds (like office equipment), and makes a poor impression on the listener. If you must have both hands free while you talk, obtain a headset. Note: It is more courteous to speak to people through the handset (instead of the speakerphone) on any phone call.

9) Speak clearly to make sure that you are understood. Take the extra effort to enunciate carefully and speak slowly. Of course, you want to sound natural.

10) When stating numbers, write them out while you speak because that defines the rate at which everyone else is capturing them.

11) Then ask the receiving party to confirm numbers (or other critical data) by repeating them. Although this may seem awkward, it prevents misunderstandings. Better yet, send written copies of all critical information.

12) When possible, plan your statements by jotting down an outline of your key ideas before speaking. This contributes to a more efficient meeting, helps you appear more thoughtful, and avoids the embarrassment of making a verbal gaff.

13) Use your best, most focused listening skills. Pay addition to content, as well as inflections, voice tone, word selection, emphasis, assumed intentions, and your intuition.

14) Avoid shuffling papers, moving about, or tapping objects. Everyone else will hear the noise. It's distracting and irritating.

15) Reinforce accomplishments by distributing copies of key ideas and agreements during the meeting. You can send these, for example, by e-mail or fax.

16) Stay fully present during the meeting. Avoid working on other tasks, such as reading mail or filing papers. These reduce your ability to participate intelligently in the meeting.

17) Avoid using the mute button to talk to someone in your office during the audioconference. First, this shows discourtesy to both parties - the person in your office and the people in the teleconference. It also takes your attention away from the meeting, causing you to miss important information. And be warned that people have found themselves in serious trouble when the mute button failed.

18) Prepare minutes soon after the meeting. Send a draft to key participants to confirm that your notes accurately describe the results of the meeting. Minutes should be released within a day or two after the meeting in order to be useful. After that, they become stale.

Properly conducted, teleconferences contribute to the efficiency of effective business. Use the above techniques to make sure your meetings do that.

by Steve Kayehttp

minutes to a meeting : How to Plan a Teleconference

2006-06-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

Teleconferences can be a boon or a bust. On the positive side, they allow people at different locations to attend meetings without having to travel. On the negative side, they can degenerate into frustrating struggles with uncontrolled babble. This occurs because people lack visual contact, which hinders effective communication and provides opportunities to misbehave.

Here's how to set up an effective meeting by phone.

1) Plan a simple meeting. Ideally, the meeting should last less than 30 to 45 minutes. People are unable to concentrate on long phone calls. They become tired. Their attention drifts. They need to take a break. Design your meeting so that it is short and to the point. That way everyone can focus on the issues and participate effectively.

2) Write out your goal for the meeting. Then make sure that this statement truly represents the result that you want to have at the end of the meeting. Lack of a clear, well-stated goal is the second biggest cause of bad meetings. Next check if a teleconference is the best way to obtain that goal. Cancel the meeting if you can achieve the goal with any other approach, such as by sending a memo, making a single phone call, or thinking through a solution by yourself.

3) Prepare an agenda. A teleconference without an agenda is like a journey without a map -- in the dark. Without an agenda, you will lose control and waste time. Your agenda should include the goal for the meeting and detailed instructions for each part of the meeting. It should be so complete and specific that someone else could use it to run your meeting.

4) Distribute the agenda at least a day before the meeting. This allows everyone to think about your issues and prepare for their participation. If appropriate (e.g., for controversial or complex issues) call key participants to confirm that they received the agenda and to check if they have comments on how the meeting could be made more effective. Use this as an opportunity to listen their ideas, instead of to work on the issues or argue with them.

5) Distribute any materials related to the issues before the meeting. This includes outlines, blueprints, schematics, product brochures, and data. Then, the participants can use these tools to participate more effectively. For example, they can follow an outline, look at diagrams, or read data during the meeting. This helps compensate for the lack of visual contact in a teleconference.

6) Invite only those who can directly contribute to the meeting. Ideally, this should be fewer than eight people. If you invite more people, it becomes very difficult to hold an effective meeting. With a larger group, some of the attendees will become lost as silent listeners, which is a waste of their time. You can always send a copy of the minutes to the people who need to know about the work accomplished during the meeting.

A teleconference is more than a phone call. It is a meeting. And a meeting is a business activity that should be driven by a well thought out goal supported by a detailed plan. With proper planning, your teleconferences will distinguish you as an effective leader.

by steve Kaye

minutes to a meeting : Advisory vote endorses school recommendations

2006-06-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

Residents seemed to agree Saturday that figures the School Committee settled on last week will be the figures put before voters.

During an advisory vote at the town meeting, residents decided that $43,500 should be spent for technology at the school, $280,000 allocated for operations and maintenance, and $387,845 raised in additional local funds.

The advisory vote happens to fall in line with the adjusted figures the School Committee members voted on during their meeting last week.

This year's school budget was up 6.1 percent from last year's, but the proposed cuts would bring the school's $4.7 million budget down to $4.6 million.

A date for the second vote on the school budget has not been set, but it can't take place until 45 days or more from the last vote.

The most discussion at the meeting came just after a motion to pass an anti-littering ordinance was put on the floor.

Resident Steve Hoad, who is blind, stated that he was not adequately informed on the ordinances to cast a vote.

"I would like to request that the town of Windsor send out the materials ahead of time so that I can properly vote," Hoad said.

Moderator Jeffrey Frankel offered a short recess so that Hoad could be read the various ordinances but said anything more than 30 minutes would not be allowed.

After Town Manager Carl Pease read one ordinance in its entirety, Hoad said reading of ordinances was not necessary.

Copyright © 2005, Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.

minutes to a meeting : Voters approve spending for street improvements

2006-06-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

About 100 residents at the town meeting Saturday approved an estimated $3.1 million municipal budget and agreed to spend $450,000 for improvements to High Street.

The budget represents an increase of roughly $230,000 from last year's budget.

The work on High Street will begin at the railroad tracks and extend to the veterans' home, and will include adding a 5-foot-wide sidewalk.

The project is being funded by a $300,000 grant from the Maine Department of Transportation.

Residents defeated the article last year, said Selectman Ray Glover, adding that the sidewalk will be built alongside South Paris Elementary School.

What made the difference this year, he said, was that supporters were more vocal.

Voters decided to waive foreclosure on three properties, including A.C. Lawrence Leather Co. Inc.

They voted to raise $187,854 for the Fire Department and $466,661 for the Police Department. They also designated the athletic fields, parks, and playgrounds as "drug-safe" zones.

In a significant change, residents rejected the Budget Committee's recommendation for $2,500 for the growth council and approved the council's request for $12,000.

Residents also voted to spend up to $300,000 to buy a new firetruck to replace a 1974 truck. Glover said the truck bid was $279,000.

Copyright © 2005, Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.

minutes to a meeting : elect new fire chief

2006-06-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Residents at the town meeting on Saturday approved an estimated $3 million municipal budget and elected Scott Hunter as fire chief. Hunter will replace Fred Knightly, who has held the post for about 26 years.

Voters approved every article as it was written. They agreed to raise $406,208 for the administrative account, $369,311 for the Police Department and $433,915 for the Highway Department.

Residents voted to spend $200,708 for the Fire Department, $168,921 for the Rescue Department and $75,750 for the fire and traffic protection account. Hunter, a nonresident, will serve as fire chief for three years.

Laurence Sanborn, a resident since 1956, said the turnout was small, with 110 residents out of around 4,100 attending, but the meeting went well.

Voters agreed to raise $413,100 for the capital-improvement projects account. The town also passed a cemetery ordinance.

In the elections, residents re-elected Floyd Thayer and Dennis Sanborn to the Board of Selectmen for three-year terms. Sanborn and Thayer also were elected as assessors for three-year terms.

John Palmer was re-elected to the board of directors for School Administrative District 17 for a three-year term. Penny Lowe was re-elected to the water district.

Copyright © 2005, Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.

minutes to a meeting : How to Take Minutes at a Business Meeting

2006-06-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Business meetings may be conducted formally or informally, depending on the company and the circumstances. The following guidelines are based on Robert's Rules of Order.

Taking Minutes

Steps:
1. Obtain the meeting agenda, minutes from the last meeting, and any background documents to be discussed. Consider using a tape recorder to ensure accuracy.

2. Sit beside the chairperson for convenient clarification or help as the meeting proceeds.

3. Write "Minutes of the meeting of (exact association name)."

4. Record the date, time and place of the meeting.

5. Circulate a sheet of paper for attendees to sign. (This sheet can also help identify speakers by seating arrangement later in the meeting.) If the meeting is an open one, write down only the names of the attendees who have voting rights.

6. Note who arrives late or leaves early so that these people can be briefed on what they missed.

7. Write down items in the order in which they are discussed. If item 8 on the agenda is discussed before item 2, keep the old item number but write item 8 in second place.

8. Record the motions made and the names of people who originate them.

9. Record whether motions are adopted or rejected, how the vote is taken (by show of hands, voice or other method) and whether the vote is unanimous. For small meetings, write the names of the attendees who approve, oppose and abstain from each motion.

10. Focus on recording actions taken by the group. Avoid writing down the details of each discussion.

Tips:
You do not need to record topics irrelevant to the business at hand. Taking minutes is not the same as taking dictation.

Consult only the chairperson or executive officer, not the attendees, if you have questions.

The person taking minutes does not participate in the meeting.

Transcribing Minutes

Steps:
1. Transcribe minutes soon after the meeting, when your memory of the event is still fresh.

2. Follow the format used in previous minutes.

3. Preface resolutions with "RESOLVED, THAT..."

4. Consider attaching long resolutions, reports or other supplementary material to the minutes as an appendix.

5. Write "Submitted by" and then sign your name and the date.

6. Place minutes chronologically in a record book.

© 1999-2006 eHow, Inc

minutes to a meeting : Meeting Management

2006-06-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

Meeting can be very productive. They can also be a waste of time. Here are some ways to improve your meeting management skill.

Stand PAT
I use a "PAT" approach to meetings. A meeting has to have: a Purpose, an Agenda, and a Timeframe or I don't do it.

You should be able to define the purpose of the meeting in 1 or 2 sentences at most. "This meeting is to plan the new marketing campaign" or "this meeting is to review shipping's new policy for handling returns." That way everyone knows why they are there, what needs to be done, and how to know if they are successful.

Set an agenda. List the items you are going to review/discuss/inspect. I like to assign a time limit to each agenda item (see below) and identify the person responsible to speak or moderate the discussion.

Set a timeframe. At the very least set a start and end time. I also recommend setting durations for each item in the agenda. These should total to the overall meeting timeframe.

Don't Wait
Meetings need to start on time. Don't wait for stragglers to show up. When someone arrives late, don't go back and review what has already been covered. That just wastes the time of the poeple who showed up on time for the meeting.

If the meeting organizer/sponsor doesn't show up on time, consider the meeting cancelled and go back to work. How log to wait for the organizer to show up varies among companies, but I wouldn't wait any longer that 5 minutes.

Keep and send minutes
Someone, other than the meeitn organizer, should keep minutes of the meeting. How detailed these are depends on the nature of what is being discussed and the skill of the available note taker. If you set an agenda in the first place, as you should have, the note taker can use that as an outline. The minutes should record who attended, what was discussed, any agreements that were reached, and any action items that were assigned.

Soon after the meeting, usually within 24 hours, the minutes of the meeting should be distributed to all who attended, any invitees who did not attend, and anyone else effected by the discussion. Email is a great vehice for distributing them. Distributing the minutes informs those not at the meeting of the progress that was made and reminds everyone of their action items.

Stay Focused
Every meeting should have a "topic keeper". I like to ask for a volunteer at the beginning of the meeting. The topic keeper's job is to interrupt whenever the discussion stray from the topic under discussion. These new topics can either be tabled until later or shceduled for their own meeting. There is a fine line between what are amplifying remarks about the topic under discussion and what is a tangential topic. The meeting organizer can decide. It never hurts to say "let's take that up off-line".

Be more productive
I believe these things will make your meetings more productive. If you have other meeting management tips to share with your peers, you can post them on our About Management Forum

©2006 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.

minutes to a meeting : Minutes

2006-06-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Minutes are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They often give an overview of the structure of the meeting, starting with a list of those present, a statement of the various issues before the participants, and each of their responses thereto. They are often created at the moment of the hearing by a typist or court recorder at the meeting, who may record the meeting in shorthand, and then type the minutes and issue them to the participants afterwards. Alternatively, the meeting may be audiorecorded and the minutes typed later. The minutes of certain entities, such as a corporate board of directors, must be kept and are important legal documents.

Most public meetings and governmental hearings follow prescribed rules. Often speakers' words are recorded verbatim, or with only minor paraphrasing, so that every speaker's comments are included.

There is considerable debate over what to include in minutes from a non-governmental meeting. Within certain limits, businesses and private organizations may follow whatever rules they choose. Minutes may be as detailed and comprehensive as a transcription, or as short and concise as a bare list of the resolutions adopted or decisions made. While most non-governmental minutes are not in practice seen by the public, many stakeholders find a bare list of decisions to be frustrating, as they want more information about which individuals supported (or didn't support) their particular pet issues.

However, in a large group that deals with many different issues, it may be very difficult to present a happy middle ground, as people are likely to have slightly different ideas about the tone of any given discussion, or the importance of a specific topic, and so on. Consequently, most organizations go to either extreme, depending primarily on their notion of privacy (speakers may want to ask questions without fear of being perceived as ignorant) and accountability (members may want to know who to blame).

Generally, minutes begin with the organization name, place, date, list of people present, and the time that the chair called the meeting to order. Minutes then record what actually happens at a meeting, in the order that it actually happens, regardless of whether the meeting follows (or ignores) any written agenda.

Since the primary function of minutes is to record the decisions made, any and all official decisions must be included. If a formal motion is made, seconded, passed, or not, then this action and the vote tally must be included. The part of the minutes dealing with a routine motion might note merely that a particular motion was "moved by Ann, seconded by Bob, and passed unanimously." Usually it is sufficient to record the number of people voting for and against a motion (or abstaining), but requests by participants to note their votes by name are always allowed. If a decision is made by roll call vote, then all of the individual votes must be recorded by name. If it is made by consensus without a formal vote, then this fact is recorded.

It is also often common for adherents to the "less is more" approach to include certain facts: for example, that financial reports were presented, or that a legal issue (such as a potential conflict of interest) was discussed, or that a particular aspect of an issue was duly considered, or that a person arrived late (or left early) at a particular time. The minutes end with a note of the time that the meeting was adjourned.

Minutes in businesses and other private organizations are normally submitted by and over the name of an officer of the organization (usually the Secretary, and never the typist, even if the typist actually drafted the document) at a subsequent meeting for review. The traditional closing phrase is "Respectfully submitted," (although that phrase is slowly falling out of use) followed by the officer's signature, his or her typed (or printed) name, and his or her title.

If the members of the committee or group agree that the written minutes reflect what happened at the meeting, then they are approved, and the fact of their approval is recorded in the minutes of the current meeting. If there are errors or omissions, then the minutes will be re-drafted and submitted again at a later date. Minor changes may be made immediately, and the amended minutes may be approved "as amended." It is normally appropriate to give a draft copy of the minutes to the other members in advance of the meeting so that the meeting need not be delayed while everyone reads and corrects the draft. It is not usually considered appropriate to vote to approve minutes for a meeting which one did not attend. It is also not wise to approve minutes which one has not read.

Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc

minutes to a meeting : Writing Minutes and Meeting Notes

2006-06-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

This one-day workshop is designed to improve your note-taking skills. Those who read meeting notes complain that minutes hide nuggets of action and decision inside pages full of wordy, often useless text. In this workshop, you'll learn how to condense meeting hours to minutes - minutes that meet the needs of today's reader-in-a-rush.

Topics will include:

preparing to take notes

gathering and organizing the raw material

writing clearly and concisely

formatting the final draft

indexing minutes for quick recovery.

With guidance from the instructor, you will think through and create your own unique tools for these tasks. This will be a workshop - so bring a sharp pencil and a writing pad.

Performance Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

Identify what information your readers will need
Take notes efficiently
Decide what does and does not belong in the final draft
Arrange material in an inviting format
Word the final draft clearly and concisely
Index notes for easy access to any subject

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.

minutes to a meeting : The Perfect Meeting Guide

2006-06-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

So you've never been in charge of a conference or seminar before? Are you nervous yet?

If you've started working on the paperwork, I bet you've noticed the enormous task that is ahead of you. And if when I say the word "paperwork," if you ask "what paperwork...?"

...then you've got an even bigger challenge ahead of you. Knowing all the small and often overlooked details involved with running a successful conference or seminar is near impossible.

Near impossible if you don't have experience on your side. The best way to alert yourself to the coming situations, problems, and conflicts that are bound to happen in only a short time...

...is to track down some solid information that will warn you of impending disasters before they happen. When you're the one they'll hold responsible, it's best not to hold back when getting prepared!

My name is Peter Penny, and I have been producing sales meetings for corporations big and small for over 25 years . These meetings have taken place literally around the world, from most major North American cities, to corporate events in tropical destinations such as St. Thomas, Nassau, Cancun, and many other exotic destinations as well.

I have produced meeting for groups as small as 25 attendees, and for corporations with attendance topping 3,000 people! These meetings range from a single evening, for an awards banquet, or special dinner, to an AGM (Annual General Meeting), to a full week, usually for a National Sales Meeting. Regardless of the size or length of the event, the basic planning structure is the same.

One of the first items of business I take care of when a new project begins is to prepare a document for my client outlining the steps necessary, and timeline that must be followed to ensue the event will proceed as expected. It is the accumulation of all this information I have gathered over the years that I have compiled into a comprehensive report for you...

by Peter Penny

minutes to a meeting ; Taking Meeting Minutes

2006-06-05T03:07:00.000-07:00

At some point your boss may ask you to take minutes at a meeting. This task isn't reserved for secretaries only. Any person who attends a meeting may be asked to do this. Since the minutes will serve as an official record of what took place during the meeting, you must be very accurate. Here are some pointers to help you master this skill.
Before the Meeting
Choose your tool: Decide how you will take notes, i.e. pen and paper, laptop computer, or tape recorder.
Make sure your tool of choice is in working order and have a backup just in case.
Use the meeting agenda to formulate an outline.
During the Meeting
Pass around an attendance sheet.
Get a list of committee members and make sure you know who is who.
Note the time the meeting begins.
Don't try to write down every single comment -- just the main ideas.
Write down motions, who made them, and the results of votes, if any; no need to write down who seconded a motion.
Make note of any motions to be voted on at future meetings.
Note the ending time of the meeting.
After the Meeting
Type up the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting, while everything is still fresh in your mind.
Include the name of organization, name of committe, type of meeting (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or special), and purpose of meeting.
Include the time the meeting began and ended.
Proofread the minutes before submitting them.

©2006 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.

minutes to a meeting : ComputerScript Meeting Minutes Taking

2006-06-05T03:05:00.000-07:00

It is estimated that up to 70% of small and medium size corporations in the United States are not in compliance with their State or Federal Requirements. They do not document their corporation meetings with minutes, have them recorded, signed, and installed in their corporation record's book. One of the main reasons is that their meeting minutes incomplete and improperly recorded due to the lack of appropriate systems and tools to accurately record meeting minutes.

Introducing EasyScript/ComputerScript to write and type faster, easier, and more efficiently than any method you have ever used. This revolutionary way to learn speed writing and typing will enable you to take meeting minutes quickly and accurately. It doesn't take long to learn, just a few hours, and you can become effective taking meeting minutes and more comfortable with this work assignment.

Real Time Speech-To-Text Processing, Transcription & Captioning

Real-time captioning and speech-to-text systems provide an accurate transcription of words as they are spoken into text. These systems are mainly used in the courtrooms and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to provide real time translation from speech to text and a written record that can be reviewed later. Currently, two major options are available to provide real-time captioning and speech-to-text processing:

Steno-based systems. They use a 24-key machine to encode phonetically spoken words and to enter them into a computer where they are converted into readable text and can be displayed on a computer screen or television monitor in real time. These systems are also called CART (computer-aided real-time transcription) because they are often transported from one location to another on wheels. Due to the high cost of equipment and steno typist training steno-based systems are mainly used in courtrooms when verbatim is required.

Computer-aided note taking systems (CAN). A standard keyboard is used to input words in an abbreviated form as they are being spoken and transcription software translates the abbreviations into readable format.

For non-verbatim applications such as meeting minutes, tape and message transcription, and order/message processing computer-aided note taking systems are more cost effective. The method of abbreviating words is a major factor how efficiently you can process and enter verbal information in an abbreviated form.

Existing typing abbreviation systems (Instant Text, Productivity Plus, ShortCut Windows and Abbreviate) assign a unique code to each word. You will need to memorize tens of thousands of abbreviations to type efficiently. If you don't remember the codes you will not able to retrieve a corresponding full word. In addition, these systems do not provide codes for all words and the user has to create additional abbreviations.

In contrast, ComputerScript assigns all words to five basic categories and you only need to learn one rule per specific category. As a result, learning curve and memorization volume are drastically reduced and attaining proficiency can be achieved in a short period of time.

Copyright ©2004-2006 Legend Co. All Rights Reserved.

minutes to a meeting : Taking Meeting Minutes

2006-06-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

An Important Skill
At some point your boss may ask you to take minutes at a meeting. This task isn't reserved for secretaries only. Any person who attends a meeting may be asked to do this. Since the minutes will serve as an official record of what took place during the meeting, you must be very accurate. Here are some pointers to help you master this skill.
Before the Meeting
Choose your tool: Decide how you will take notes, i.e. pen and paper, laptop computer, or tape recorder.
Make sure your tool of choice is in working order and have a backup just in case.
Use the meeting agenda to formulate an outline.
During the Meeting
Pass around an attendance sheet.
Get a list of committee members and make sure you know who is who.
Note the time the meeting begins.
Don't try to write down every single comment -- just the main ideas.
Write down motions, who made them, and the results of votes, if any; no need to write down who seconded a motion.
Make note of any motions to be voted on at future meetings.
Note the ending time of the meeting.
After the Meeting
Type up the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting, while everything is still fresh in your mind.
Include the name of organization, name of committe, type of meeting (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or special), and purpose of meeting.
Include the time the meeting began and ended.
Proofread the minutes before submitting them.

©2006 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.

minutes to a meeting : How to take minutes meeting effectively

2006-05-31T02:38:00.000-07:00

Karen Hainsworth discovers the secret to keeping a record of meetings is all in the preparation If you've never taken minutes in a meeting before, you're bound to be a bit nervous. But minute-taking can cause anxiety even in the most experienced of individuals, says Nandi Roos, a trainer on Pitman Training's Meetings and Minutes course.

"The most difficult thing for any minute-taker is knowing what to write down," she says. "The main problem that all my students have is writing too much because they're worried."

If you want to avoid writing a novel rather than notes, do a bit of research beforehand. "Any kind of preparation is going to make you more relaxed and more able to pick up on the important points," explains Roos. And familiarising yourself with what's on the agenda will help.

"Research what kind of topics they'll be discussing by reading the last minutes and speaking to the last minute-taker."

It's also helpful to understand the nature of the meeting. Basically there are two types, says Roos: informal, such as managerial briefings and progress updates; and formal, such as board meetings, annual general meetings and shareholder meetings.

With all formal meetings you need to know what rules and, in the case of shareholder meetings, which laws, govern that assembly.

Problems can arise if the gathering involves people who don't get on. "One of the hardest parts is knowing if there are any hidden agendas," says Roos, "but if you know what the aims are then you can weed out all the rubbish in between."

As a start, she suggests cutting out anything that does not involve the company or the people involved. And if you're not sure whether you should write up the juicy bit about the chief executive, she adds: "You can make a note of it and ask the chairperson if he or she think it is relevant."

A key part of meetings is the final resolutions that are made. These, says Roos, need to be recorded in detail, particularly if someone raises a point of order, such as when the constitution is to be changed.

But any topic should detail the names of individuals who have spoken.

"It's also very important to write in a point form," says Roos. "If you try and get it down verbatim, you are going to struggle."

Though she doesn't believe it is necessary to use shorthand, she says, "It's a very good tool to have, particularly when you are going into six-hour board meetings."

If you're in the unfortunate position of being dropped in the minute-taker's role at the last moment, you may not understand a word of the jargon that is being bandied about. That's difficult to deal with but not impossible. Roos advises that you write down as much as you can. If you miss a point, speak to the chairperson at the end.

He or she should also be making notes and, ultimately, the chairperson needs to sign off the minutes as being a correct account of what took place.

It is up to him or her to ensure they are right.

"It's not the most sought-after job in the world," says Roos. But there are some benefits to the minute-taker's role. "You learn a lot about the business, meet different people in different departments and you get to know what's going on."

And, as we all know, that can be a very interesting (and powerful) position to be in.
For details of Pitman Training's Minute and Meeting Seminar, call: 020 7256 6668.
Copyright 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
Evening Standard (London), Aug 12, 2002 by KAREN HAINSWORTH

minutes to a meeting : minutes to a meeting

2006-05-31T02:30:00.000-07:00

GETTING YOUR entrepreneurial tasks done in a reasonable amount of time is what time management is all about. We know it's not easy, so we asked James Clark, time-management expert and co-founder of Room 214, a marketing and communications company in Boulder, Colorado, for some tips on how to fit your everyday business tasks, both large and small, into your tight schedule.

1. GET A SYSTEM. Everyone works in a different way, says Clark. Whether you live by your Franklin planner, Outlook calendar, Palm Pilot or whatever, make sure you have a system for organizing your to-do lists. "The hardest part is to dedicate yourself to a system and stick to it," he says. Clark recommends looking to Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen for a possible system of guidelines.

2. SCHEDULE "DO NOT DISTURB" TIME. To get any system to succeed, you'll have to make an effort--whether it's organizing your incoming e-mails and voice mails or clearing out your inbox into to-do files. All that takes undivided attention, notes Clark. He suggests using a bulk of time in the beginning of your day (say from 9:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.) to organize and plan your schedule. Let everyone in your office know you're unavailable during that time. "After a while, when [people] see you're really efficient, they'll start respecting that [unavailable time window]."

3. TAKE ACTION. Divide your list into action items by order of importance and the time it'll take to complete each task, says Clark. If you look at something in your e-mail inbox, ask yourself, "Can I complete this task in two minutes?" If so, do it, because it will take you longer than two minutes to file it. If not, take that time to file it and put it on your calendar.

4. CREATE A PROJECT CALENDAR. If a task takes more than one step, file it as a project. Divide the project into smaller tasks, and plot those on your calendar. If you want to add a blog to your web site, for example, you'll need to procure a blog server, designate an employee or employees to update the blog, meet with them, beta test, review for problems, set a start date, etc. All those smaller tasks can be plotted on your calendar. Clark also finds it helpful to work backward from a desired result to divide it up. Ask yourself, "One year into the future, what would success look like?" says Clark. "Defining the outcome will start driving the next action items."

5. MAKE YOUR MEETINGS EFFICIENT. Meetings are often a huge waste of time, notes Clark. As the leader, you must run them smoothly--starting with defining what will be discussed. Also, have set start and end times, and stick to them. Organize what you want to discuss, keep the meeting moving, and let everyone know what needs to be accomplished by the meeting's end. Finally, notes Clark, "The worst thing about some meetings is sometimes you get out of [one] and no one understands what's happening next." Make sure there is a defined action or set of actions at the end of the meeting for you and your employees to follow.
For more tips on staying ahead of the competition in your business, go to www.entrepreneur.com/fasttracktips.
Entrepreneur, Dec, 2005 by Nichole L. Torres