Guest Post: Adhivitheey Gouri Shankar

Adhivitheey is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about real-world meetings.

Did you know that most professionals who attend meetings on a regular basis admit to daydreaming (91%), bringing other work to meetings (73%) and dozing during the meeting (39%)?[1] That’s significant time wasted. So what can we do to make meetings productive and promote invitees to participate constructively rather than avoid meetings?

I have had very productive meetings where everyone had a sense of accomplishment and a few where the meeting seemed to lack purpose. I believe that this happens when the coordinator is unclear of his/her objectives and calls for a meeting more as an errand than to satisfy a requirement. To conduct productive meetings, one must document objectives clearly and invite the right set of contributors. They must inform participants of their role and the contribution expected towards reaching actionable, time-bound decisions.

Some meetings fail in spite of well-defined objectives because of inefficient mediation. The mediator must not only send out invites and arrange resources but also demonstrate credibility of participants, model behavior and bring up the right questions. I have also noticed how by endorsing of dismissing an idea, mediators sometimes severely hamper healthy discussions. They must promote the sharing of ideas while channeling discussions towards reasoned conclusions.

Finally, a meeting’s success can be measured based on the relevant action items it generates. However, agreed action items and their reasoning are of no use unless documented accurately. I have attended meetings where topics discussed and the conclusions noted were very different in the meeting minutes. Clarifying doubts, accurate note-taking and timely summarizing are essential components of a productive meeting.

One way to make sure all the above parameters are considered is to use Prof. Chris Labash’s 5P method: Purpose, People, Preparation, Participation and Point. We start with deciding the meeting’s “purpose,” which helps us determine if it is a requirement or can be substituted with a better means of communication. We then consider the number and set of “participants” who can effectively contribute to the purpose. “Preparation” involves arranging resources and sending out a draft agenda to make sure participants are prepared to contribute with ideas. Once the meeting begins, the moderator should facilitate “participation,” by encouraging thought and leading the meeting to a logical conclusion. Finally, “point” deals with action and taking away something tangible and measurable from the meeting.

[1] A network MCI Conferencing White Paper. Meetings in America: A study of trends, costs and attitudes toward business travel, teleconferencing, and their impact on productivity (Greenwich, CT: INFOCOMM, 1998), 3.