Course description

Meetings are an opportunity to bring out the best in people in a collaborative, safe environment. Meetings can also be an incredible waste of time and resources if not managed effectively. Creating an effective meeting involves making a series of conscious choices, about preparing, conducting, and following through. This course concentrates on the skills and techniques to plan, facilitate, and implement actions for effective, productive face-to-face and virtual meeting management.

Who should attend

Individuals who will benefit from this course include executives, managers, leaders, supervisors, and individuals who want to improve their ability to run effective meetings and facilitate team interactions.

What you will achieve

• Demonstrate effective management of the three phases of a meeting.
• Create an action-focused agenda.
• Ensure that all meeting members participate.
• Close and follow through on actions.
• Apply best practices and tools for facilitation.

What you will learn

Key Takeaways

• The specific characteristics, qualities, and behaviors required to be an effective facilitator
• The five competencies of emotional intelligence that are important for making emotions work for us instead of against us
• Conflict management
• The ability to identify types of conflict
• Specific approaches for dealing with conflict in groups
• Elements and factors of a productive meeting environment
• Tools used to establish successful interactions and effective meetings
• Decision-making strategies and how to use the different types of decision-making strategies
• Prevention and intervention techniques
• Strategies and tools to promote and maintain focus and group productivity

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction

• Objectives
• Ineffective Meetings
• Goals, Roles, Process
• Agenda and Ground Rules
• Cost of Meetings
• Types of Meetings
• Qualities of Effective Meetings
• Exercise: Mini Meeting
• Roles
• Team Requirements
• Patterns and Themes
• Four Foundation Tools
• Company Culture
• How to Make Meetings Work

Module 2: The Three Phases of a Meeting

• Phase 1: Preparing for the Meeting
  • Identify the Purpose
  • Prepare
  • Develop and Distribute an Agenda
• Phase 2: Facilitating the Meeting
  • Beginning
  • Reinforcing Ground Rules
  • Closing the Meeting
• Phase 3: After the Meeting
  • Following Up
  • Meeting Best Practices

Module 3: Facilitation Skills and Processes

• Seven Sins of Deadly Meetings
• Meeting Roles
• Remote Meetings
• Death by Meeting
• Keeping Participants Engaged
• Decision Making
• Problem Solving
• Managing Conflict

Module 4: More Techniques and Tools

• Facilitation Skills and Behaviors
• Dreaded Behaviors and How to Overcome Them
• Exercise: Dreaded Behaviors
• Emotional Intelligence
• Prevention Techniques
• Intervention Techniques
• Meeting Challenges
• Exercise: Situation – Outcome – Solution
• Action Plan
• Meeting Evaluation Template

Module 5: Meeting Toolbox

• Context, Skills, and People
• Face-to-Face Meetings
• Videoconference
• Facilitation Skills
• Getting Group Participation
• Prevention and Intervention Techniques
• Suggested Reading