Tips for taking control in a meeting

Everyone has been in a meeting that got out of hand at some point during the meeting. Regardless of when the meeting got out of control, out-of-control meetings rarely accomplish anything of significance and can even lead to bad attitudes and low morale among employees or volunteer participants. The main key to control a meeting is for the leader, chair or facilitator of the meeting to plan properly. An essential key to a successful participatory meeting is that everyone in the group feels entitled to express their opinions and help regain control of the meeting when necessary. Below are three tips for achieving these keys.

Tip #1 – Statement of Purpose

Start by planning the meeting, which means having a real purpose for holding the meeting and an action plan for the meeting process. Make sure all attendees understand the purpose of the meeting. To do this, send the statement of purpose to everyone when meeting invitations are sent out. Do not invite people to the meeting who cannot help you achieve your purpose. Repeat the purpose at the beginning of the meeting before the introductions. If a purpose was not provided prior to the meeting, allow anyone who does not feel the purpose affects them or the group they represent to leave if they wish. Having people in the meeting who do not feel accountable for the purpose may result in them not participating in the discussions or wanting to change the meeting agenda to suit their own needs.

Tip #2 – Journal

Once a purpose is established, it becomes easy to create an action plan. The plan of action for the meeting is called the agenda. Make sure there is an agenda that supports the purpose. Each item on the agenda should be an action that must be taken to achieve the purpose of the meeting. Once the items are listed, arrange them in a logical flow. If possible, send the agenda to the participants in the meeting invitation or as a reminder before the meeting. Review the prearranged agenda after the necessary presentations at the meeting. If an agenda was not pre-planned, take a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting to create an agenda and decide on the flow. Having set time limits on the agenda will also help the meeting start and end on time. Make sure that all participants agree to the proposed agenda at the beginning of the meeting, as this can avoid secondary problems later.

Tip #3 – List of problems

The person in charge of the meeting can move the meeting forward by using the agenda to check progress and remind the group when to continue. Anyone in the meeting can use the agenda to refocus the group if someone starts to drift off topic or tries to change the order of the process. Just remind the group that everyone agreed to the current agenda, and ask if they still feel that this is the route the group should take. Unless an emergency problem arises, the group will usually decide to continue with the original agenda. However, be sure to record any new topics as something the group wants to review later. Having a list of issues allows anyone who would like to discuss something further to know that it was heard and that the group noted the need. So people don’t feel like their issues weren’t considered important, be sure to review them at the end of the meeting by reviewing new issues to see if action should be assigned or if an item should be placed on the agenda for a future meeting. .

The keys to managing a meeting is proper planning, participants feel they have a right to participate in the meeting, and everyone should expect a plan of action for the meeting. Follow these three tips to make sure meetings don’t get out of hand by establishing the purpose of the meeting, creating and using an agenda to control the flow of the meeting, and keeping an issue list to avoid distraction from the purpose and agenda. .