2. Concepts
• “Meetings are places where minutes are kept but hours are lost.”
• The Purpose of meetings:
• Meetings provide opportunity for stakeholders to come to a common
page.
• Meetings offer a forum for discussion.
• Meetings move things forward.
• Meetings can help create rapport.
3. Getting the best out of a meeting
• An effective way for meeting management can be summarized by
the acronym: PROOF
• Planning for a meeting
• Reaching out to the stake holders
• Organizing a meeting
• Orchestrating a meeting
• Following through after a meeting
4. P: Preparing for a meeting
• Preparing for a meeting requires getting clarity on the following
questions:
1. What is the purpose of the meeting?
- Status meeting
- Brainstorming meeting
- Negotiating meeting
2. Who should be the participants?
- Only call those who can add value to meeting and can contribute to
it.
- Carrying a meeting with more than 15 people may not be
productive.
3. What is the expectations from the meeting?
- Meeting can be unproductive because expectations not properly
formulated or communicated to participants ahead of time.
- So formulate a agenda of items and circulate in advance.
5. P: Preparing for a meeting
3. Expectations from participants (continued):
- While formulating an agenda mind the following:
- Achieve a balance between breadth and depth: do we cover all
items skimming the surface or we go into depth of some?
- Choose the most appropriate person to be assigned an agenda
item.
- Have a backup if the person is not available.
- Provide a reasonable time for discussions.
• What is the estimated time duration for the meeting?
• What are the logistics required for the conduct of the meeting?
6. R: Reaching out
• Reach out to the stakeholders, ensure they are available for the
meeting; that they come prepared.
• Make them know their roles.
• Clearly state what data and other things they need to bring to the
meeting.
• Get their buy in.
• Send them the agenda to confirm participation and role.
7. O: Organizing a meeting
• Identify the right place and time
• Get the right infrastructure ready.
• If needed, remind the participants just-in-time.
8. O: Orchestrating the meeting
• The meeting has to be conducted in an orderly way for effectiveness:
- Arrive early
- Prepare the seating arrangements
- Allow time for small talk
- Also start on time respecting people who come on time
- Make sure the scribe is ready
- Review the agenda at the beginning
- State any protocols, like for time management, etc.
- Go sequentially as per the agenda
- Handle conflicts diplomatically yet firmly.
- Allocate time for closing the meeting – recap and action items
- Cleaning up after the meeting
9. F: Following through after the meeting
• Each meeting needs follow through for it to be effective:
• Sending the Minutes of the Meeting:
- A written summary of what transpired, what was discussed and what
was agreed upon during the meeting
- It highlights any action item which may have been generated
- The MOM should be distributed within a couple of days after the
meeting.
- If there are any anomalies detected, they should be corrected a the
new one sent.
- Distinguish between decisions and actions: The decisions represent
how to move forward.
- Structuring the action items: The action items generated should
identify the three W’s – What, Who and When.
10. MOM Template
• The following items should be there:
- Project identification
- Minuted by
- Date and time of meeting
- Venue
- Attendee list
- Agenda items
- Decisions taken
- Action items: Who, when, priority.
