Introduction

Being able to chair meetings effectively is an essential skill for today's Managers, Senior Leaders or anyone that conducts a wide range of meetings on a regular basis. Poorly managed meetings can fail to achieve their objectives and lead to a loss of valuable time. Successful meetings provide an essential forum for planning, debate, sharing information and decision-making.  This web workshop provides attendees with the vital skills and techniques for leading concise, structured and meaningful meetings.

In addition, this session will explore the role of the chair in getting the best out of meetings. It will provide information on carrying through the role of chair and will consider some of the difficulties that can confront “the person in the chair”. The web workshop will be especially useful for those who want to ensure full participation and commitment from everyone present whilst reducing the length of a meeting that they are chairing.

By the end of the workshop delegates will be able to:

v  Recognise the importance of good planning and setting effective agendas
v  Learn how to prepare for and structure meetings to ensure that they move through the agenda effectively while encouraging debate and full participation
v  Provide you with tried and tested techniques to maximise individual input and get the best results from your meeting
v  Understand why meetings often fail and take actions to better facilitate the decision making process to achieve results
v  Develop appropriate methods, behaviour and communications for successfully managing the flow of meetings, promoting individual contributions and encouraging creativity
v  Minimise behaviours that can lead to unproductive meeting routines and time-wasting
v  Establish the best structure for conducting meetings and the tools available to achieve the meeting outcomes

Who should attend:

All professional staff who run and / or participate in meetings. This web workshop will be especially useful for those who want to ensure full participation and commitment from everyone present whilst reducing the length of the meeting.

Guidance notes and will be provided to support this workshop and certificates of attendance are awarded after the workshop.

Programme

13.00     Introduction and Welcome

13.05     The Fundamentals of Effective meetings

·        Understanding the structure of effective meetings

·         Understanding the responsibilities of the chair, and the role of others

·         Setting clear objectives and communicating these effectively

·         Gathering information, and planning and developing an effective agenda

13.45     Chairing a meeting

·         Opening for impact and commitment

·          Different tactics for different types of meetings

·         Keeping the climate right

·         Creating ground rules for success

·         Managing the flow of a meeting, and leading them more effectively by:

o   Managing time and overtime

o   Keeping a conversation focused

o   Structuring discussions to build group consensus and gain a clear decision on each specific agenda item

14.15     BREAK  

14.30     Dealing with Challenging People and Situations

·         Understanding what challenging situations you might face

·         Being calm, objective and keeping an open mind

·         Dealing with aggression and other difficult, emotional reactions

·         Tackling conflict-driven behaviour by choosing a different perspective

15.00     Bringing the Meeting to a close

·         How to turn negative situations into positive outcomes

·         Bringing the situation to a conclusion and moving on

·         Summarising and reviewing outcomes

·         Identifying and clarifying the decisions

·         Managing action points / plans following the meeting

·         Holding participants accountable 

15.45    Final Summary and Q&A

16.00     Close