The following is one of a series of articles that I have published recently on solutions to help students, business people and others improve the ways they organise their life an do things. An organised person is much more likely to be a successful person. To see other articles visit my English language website at ITS Tutorial School Hong Kong. http://www.tuition.com.hk/english/ English language education in Hong Kong

I am sure that many/most of you reading this article have sat in a meeting thinking to yourself ‘what is the purpose of this meeting?’ or ‘ how can this meeting achieve anything when it is so poorly run?’. This article considers why meetings are important and also gives some basic tips on some important points in running a meeting.

One eminent psychologist, Dr David Lewis, estimated that people can spend up to two years of their working lives in meetings. Other studies have shown managers spend up to 65 per cent of their working week at meetings. Why are meetings held at all and why so many?
Meetings are held for several purposes. Their main one is face-to-face communication between people who need to:
• give out or exchange information
• obtain the views and opinions of others
• decide on action to be taken solve problems
• generate ideas and suggestions coordinate activities to be undertaken by different people
• report on an event or activity discuss issues of mutual concern
• broaden involvement in a project obtain assistance
• organise special events or occasions.

Only when a meeting has a particular purpose - or aim - is it likely to be effective. The meeting must also be well organised. This means that:

• the time, date and venue must be fixed in advance
• the time and date should be convenient for those whose attendance is vital
• the venue must be large enough for everyone and in a convenient location to minimise travel time and cost
• those attending must know what they need to do to prepare for the meeting
• one person must be nominated to chair (run) the meeting and another to take notes
• paperwork must be prepared in advance and either circulated to members beforehand or handed out on the day
• the chairperson must be capable of running the meeting properly - so that everyone is encouraged to contribute, and no-one is allowed to distract or 'take-over' the meeting
• minutes, or action notes, which summarise what was discussed and the action people promised to take, must be circulated afterwards.

Two major roles are chairperson and minutes secretary. A good chairperson can make the difference between an efficient, well-run meeting and a chaotic free-for-all. The minutes secretary is usually responsible for the administrative arrangements before, during and after the meeting.

If the above are ignored than a meeting can be a major time waster for business.

Remember the famous quote of Sir Barnett Cocks ‘A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.’

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Source: ArticleTrader.com