Meeting

Meeting

Individuals attend meetings for a wide variety of reasons, including work, personal interests and leisure activities.  Most people will have to participate in meetings at some point in their lives, be it within an organization, a sports group, a Parent Teachers Association, church group or one of a myriad of other committees.

This article examines how meetings are structured in a formal situation.  It explores how good preparation and an effective chairperson may contribute to the success of a meeting, giving a sense of direction or purpose.  Some meetings leave the participants feeling they have wasted their time as little has been achieved and this can be due to many reasons. This article examines the reasons why meetings may be less successful and steers you towards getting the most out of meetings.

What is a Meeting?

For the purposes of this article, a meeting is the coming together of three or more people who share common aims and objectives, and who through the use of verbal and written communication contribute to the objectives being achieved.

The Purpose of Meetings:- Meetings are an important organizational tool as they can be used to:

(1) Pool and develop ideas

(2) Plan

(3) Solve problems

(4) Make decisions

(5) Create understanding

(6) Encourage enthusiasm and initiative

(7) Provide a sense of direction

(8) Create a common purpose

While meetings may differ in size, content and approach, effective meetings all have the following three elements in common:

1. A distinctive purpose or aim

2. Use of effective communication

3. A controlled situation

Components of Meetings - A meeting can be divided into the following three main components:

Content is the knowledge, information, experience, expertise, opinions, ideas, attitudes and expectations that each individual brings to a meeting.

Interaction is the way in which the participants work together to deal with the content of a meeting.  This includes the feelings, attitudes and expectations of the participants which have a direct bearing on co-operation, listening, participation and trust.

Structure is the way in which both the information and the participants are organised to achieve the purpose/objectives of the meeting.