How to Chair a Meeting


You don't have to be on a stage to be a public speaker. Your platform may be a meeting room. How you present yourself when chairing a meeting determines whether or not you are perceived as a leader. Here are some tips to keep in mind when it's your turn to take charge.

Know why you are holding the meeting. What outcomes are you trying to achieve? This will keep you focused and purposeful.

Clarify your role as chair. How do the participants perceive you? Did you call the meeting? Do participants report to you? If you're the boss, people may be scared to speak their minds .If you're not the boss, what do people expect from you as the chair?

Set a positive tone early in the meeting. Greet people before you sit down. Break the ice with some light humor to relax the group. People are often tentative and guarded during the first few minutes. Provide coffee if appropriate. People bond around food and drink.

Provide a written agenda on a handout or flip chart. The agenda keeps the meeting on track. Let the group know the time frame and guidelines for working together. "We have only forty minutes today. I will update you on the customer service situation, and then I'd like us to brainstorm some solutions to the challenges we face."

Start on time. Don't wait for stragglers. If you begin and end on time, you'll condition people to be prompt.

Create interest with an enticing title. Instead of a management topic about "Business Etiquette" title it "What's Rudeness Costing You?"

Appoint a person to take minutes so that you can later review discussions that took place and the decisions that were made.

Manage the group dynamics. Don't let one person dominate. Ask for other opinions. If some people are silent, draw them out by asking for their thoughts.

Handle conflicts impartially. Encourage cooperation by clarifying what people have said and then asking the participants to propose solutions. Heated arguments may require a timeout in which group members take a short break and return when they've cooled off.

Assign a timekeeper if time is a major constraint.

Give a short summary or recap before going on to the next area. Be sure people understand what the group has agreed to.

End with an action step...Meetings fail because people aren't held accountable. Summarize the action steps the group members are to take and attach a time frame to each action. The only way to get commitment is to assign a deadline.

By following these tips you'll run more effective meetings and gain respect as a confident leader.

Copyright Diane DiResta 2005. All rights reserved.

Diane DiResta, President of DiResta Communications, Inc. is an International speaker, training coach, and author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz. To subscribe to Impact Player, a free online newsletter visit www.diresta.com">http://www.diresta.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. Investor Presentation Now Available for On-demand ...
Sacramento Bee
QB: CEMI), which develops, manufactures, markets and licenses point-of-care diagnostic tests, today announced that their February 2nd RetailInvestorConferences.com presentation is now available for on-demand viewing.
Cyalume Technologies Investor Presentation Now Available for On-Demand Viewing ...MarketWatch (press release)
AxoGen, Inc. Investor Presentation Now Available for On-demand Viewing at ...PR Newswire (press release)

all 28 news articles »


Greenbrier to Webcast Presentation at the BB&T Capital Markets 27th Annual ...
MarketWatch (press release)
6, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. [NYSE:GBX] will be presenting on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, at the BB&T Capital Markets 27th Annual Transportation Services Conference at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida.

and more »


SB Nation

Super Bowl Trophy Presentations, The Georgia Dome, And A League Run By Plutocrats
SB Nation
On the two previous recent occasions that the club won the title, the trophy was presented to team captain Carles Puyol. Puyol is an iconic figure, a native Catalan who came up through the team's youth ranks and is noted both for being a great leader ...

and more »


Globe and Mail

Hasbro to Webcast Investor Presentation From Toy Fair on Friday, February 10, 2012
MarketWatch (press release)
PAWTUCKET, RI, Feb 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hasbro, Inc. /quotes/zigman/2380080/quotes/nls/has HAS +2.23% today announced it will webcast presentations from its annual Investor Event at Toy Fair on Friday, February 10, 2012 beginning at 8:30 AM ...
HASBRO, INC. : Hasbro to Webcast Investor Presentation From Toy Fair on Friday ...4-traders (press release)

all 238 news articles »


Alkermes' Corporate Presentation to be Webcast at the 14th Annual BIO CEO ...
MarketWatch (press release)
DUBLIN, Feb 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Alkermes plc /quotes/zigman/6688932/quotes/nls/alks ALKS +1.83% announced today that its corporate presentation will be webcast live at the 14th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference on Monday, February 13, 2012, ...
ALKERMES : Alkermes' Corporate Presentation to be Webcast at the 14th Annual ...4-traders (press release)

all 7 news articles »


Time for Exact Sciences Presentation at UBS Healthcare Services Conference Revised
MarketWatch (press release)
/quotes/zigman/85083/quotes/nls/exas EXAS +0.42% will make its presentation at the UBS 22nd Annual Healthcare Services Conference at 4 pm ET on Feb. 7 and not 3 pm ET, as previously announced. Exact Sciences Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company ...

and more »


Presentation of Telenor's fourth quarter results 2011
Reuters (press release)
The presentation, which will also be broadcast live over the Internet, will be held in Auditorium A, Telenor Expo Visitor Centre at Fornebu near Oslo. The figures will be published on Telenor's website at 07:00 CET. CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO ...

and more »


Forbes

Presentation Skills: Bring Statistics to Life
Forbes
When you deliver statistics in a presentation, especially if it's a big number, put the statistic into context by adding one sentence that begins with: Apple CEO, Tim Cook, uses those words or a variation of those words in nearly every presentation ...



Kitron: Presentation of fourth quarter 2011
Reuters
The presentation will be given in English by CEO Jørgen Bredesen and CFO Björn Wigström and will be distributed through webcast at the same time at the following link: http://webtv.hegnar.no/webcast.php?id=44910 Kitron is one of Scandinavia's leading ...
Kitron ASA : Presentation of fourth quarter 20114-traders (press release)

all 2 news articles »


Biodiesel Awards Presented
Hoosier Ag Today
The National Biodiesel Board has recognized the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and other biodiesel champions at the annual “Eye on Biodiesel” awards presentation. The awards were presented at the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, ...

and more »

Google News

Barbaods travel guideekspres ln- snus tobacco- snus
Eitforum.com ©