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“Over the past decade, meetings have gotten a bad rap primarily because they are not managed effectively, or they are not used for the right reasons,” explains Lyndy van den Barselaar.
To ensure that workplace meetings are effective, there are certain protocols to follow. ManpowerGroup South Africa provides seven tips on how to communicate most effectively in meetings.
When the speaker has completed their thoughts, they pass the stick to another person.
“If based on your experience, you know that an idea will not work, instead of tearing it down, tactfully say why you think it will not work, then offer an alternative,” suggests van den Barselaar.
If you are the speaker, your slides should be cues for you, and not your presentation. Expand on the points listed on your slides, and be engaging. “When others in the meeting realise that what you are saying is more important than your slides, they will pay attention to you and not your slides,” says van den Barselaar.
If you are the chair or meeting facilitator, always send out an agenda before the meeting, giving participants enough time to prepare. Allot time for each item on the agenda, placing the most important items at the top. At the start of the meeting, establish the ground rules for communicating, and any other expectations. Honour your word by starting and ending the meeting on time. At the scheduled end time, if you have not addressed all the items on the agenda, that either means that the agenda was too full, or you did not manage the meeting effectively. Get permission from participants to extend the meeting, or end the meeting and set another date. If the more important agenda items are dealt with first, and you run out of time, you may be able to deal with the other items using other communication methods.
Finally, van den Barselaar suggests that you send meeting minutes to those who participated or will be affected by what was discussed. “By following these strategies, you will be able to communicate more effectively in workplace meetings and use these to the advantage of yourself and your team,” she concludes.