Anatomy of... a meeting
effective and not waste time – so how can you ensure this? WORKPLACE
You want your planned meeting to be productive,
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Organising a meeting that will involve a presentation?
Go for a U-shape with seating around three sides of the room. This allows space at the top for the presenter who will be clearly visible to all participants. It’s also a good format for enabling discussions. Make sure everything your presenters need is to hand – and that their relevant technology is compatible with the room. It’s worth organising for a whiteboard or flipchart to be in the room for any impromptu discussions.
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If you’re planning a board- room-style meeting then
arrange your guests around a table – and try to ensure a table that will comfortably fit everyone with no gaps.
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Give some consideration to where to sit people too – avoid seating two people together who may have conflicting views as this could make for a heated debate. Separating them will give them space and enable others to have their say.
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Nominate someone to chair the meeting – this will help to
bring the focus back to the relevant items if other issues are being raised. Don’t be afraid to suggest a second meeting if the other issues need a sepa- rate discussion. Brief the chair before- hand on what needs to be discussed and ensure they have a copy of the agenda – and always make sure that the rest of the participants know who the chair is so there’s no confusion.
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If the aim of the meeting is that participants come
away having learnt something then set the room up as a herringbone classroom style – that is the tables angled towards the centre rather than straight on. This will mean your dele- gates are facing both the front – to hear any presenters – but also into the room to facilitate discussion.
Before the meeting make sure everyone knows the amount of time that has been allocated, this way there’s no excuse for people to nip out and check their emails. It also helps keep everyone focused on reaching successful out- comes in the time available. E
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