Managing Efficient Corporate Discussions

If communication is the livelihood of any business, then meetings are the heart, mind, and soul. The place where we communicate our thoughts, sort them out, share our obsessions for better or worse, create original understandings and fresh directions. It is where agreements can take place or collapse, where plans are articulated and debated. Basically, it is where we engage with others. Meetings are essentially, people meeting with people. Almost all companies have business meetings as a standard part of accomplishing things. Even though people can communicate with one another in a work station in various ways, meetings are incredibly effective and efficient. A majority of everyone has experienced too many meetings that took up too much time and accomplished very little. Regrettably, this has happened so many times that one may find him or she becoming deadened to the fact that meetings are not as good as they should be. Meetings are essential for management and communication. Meetings that are run properly save time, increase productivity, motivation, and solve conflicts.

Conducting meetings is like working, so just like any other work activity, the more prepared one is for them, the better the results one can expect. Meetings can serve many purposes. Meetings are used to disburse information, for training, for workshops and many other reasons. "A clear understanding of objectives to be accomplished is essential to an effective meeting. Once the purpose is apparent, questions as to who will attend, and where (and when) the meeting will take place can be dealt with".

An agenda is a list of the topics to be covered during the course of a meeting. Agendas are a vital part in the triumph of any meeting. Agendas shows members where the meeting is going, but the participants must figure out how to accomplish the items. The speaker must be sure to dispense the agenda and any pre-work in advance. By distributing the agenda and pre-work before the meeting, participants can prepare for the meeting ahead of time. As a result, they will be instantly connected in the production of the meeting, and they will waste less time throughout the meeting.

Time management is also important. The leader must begin on time and finish on time. Everyone has endured meetings that have gone way beyond the scheduled ending time. Those scenarios are fine if no one had anything else to do at work all day. "But in these days of faster and more flexible organizations, everyone always has plenty of work on the to-do list". When the length of the meeting is announced and is followed, fewer people will keep gazing at their watches, and more people will take an active role in the meetings.

The company needs to "have fewer (but better) meetings". Managers must schedule a meeting only when the time is absolutely necessary. Before a meeting is scheduled, determine whether one can attain the goals in some other way, "perhaps through a one-on-one discussion with someone in your organization, a telephone conference call, or a simple exchange of e-mail". When the number of meetings is reduced be sure to develop the value of meetings.

The leader works meticulously to make sure everyone's opinions and suggestions are "heard by guiding the meeting so that there is a free flow of debate with no individual dominating and no extensive discussions between two people". As the time diminishes for the items on the issued agenda, one may find it useful to stop the discussion, then quickly summarize the debate on that agenda item and move on the next item on the agenda.

"Instead of going around the table and asking for opinions or input, just ask a question and let people volunteer their answers. There will be times during any meeting that each person will "phase out" (especially if it is a looooong and BOW-ring meeting.) If we call on every person, it wastes time, and puts people on the spot. Other ways of encouraging participation is to just ask a question, and after someone answers, say something like, "Good, let's hear from someone else." If there are people in your meeting who rarely speak, instead of calling on them directly, you might say something like, "I value the opinion of each of you, and does anyone else have something to add." Then, just look at the person you want to hear from. If he or she has something to say, he or she will say it if encouraged in this way. If he or she doesn't, then you haven't embarrassed the person."

Good communication skills entail an elevated echelon of self-awareness. Understanding one's personal style of communicating will aid in assisting in creating superior and enduring impressions on other people. As a result of becoming more aware of how others perceive him or her, he or she can adjust more eagerly to their styles of communicating. This does not mean that he or she have to be a "chameleon, changing with every personality you meet". In its place, one can make another person more relaxed with him or her by selecting and emphasizing certain behaviors that fit within his or her personality and resonate with another. In doing this, one will prepare to become an active listener.

While only a fraction of our mind is paying attention when someone is talking, "it is easy to go into mind drift - thinking about other things while listening to someone". The treatment for this is active listening. Active listening "involves listening with a purpose". "It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc". If a person particularly complicated to concentrate on what someone is saying, "try repeating his or her words mentally as he or she say it". This will emphasize their meaning and assist manage mind flow.

Use nonverbal behaviors to elevate the guide of interpersonal communication. Nonverbal communication is facial expressions like smiles, gestures, eye contact, and even posture. This shows the person who he or she is communicating with that he or she is "indeed listening actively and will prompt further communications while keeping costly, time-consuming misunderstandings at a minimum".

The speaker must clarify, confirm, and summarize. After discussing an issue, the speaker must ensure that the information is understood. He or she needs to clarify what the speaker meant. In confirming, the speaker simply asks the group if they understand. Finally, when the issue has been discussed thoroughly, the speaker summarizes the key points on that subject.

Conflicts in business meetings are disruptive. There are various ways to resolve and avoid conflict in business meetings. The people in the meeting must maintain