Page 192 - Becoming a Successful Manager

Mastering Productive Meetings Is as Easy as PIE 183

ever, audiences and employees respond to the packaging and the
delivery more than they do to the control.
If you have not already done so, do yourself and your employ-
ees a favor and sign yourself up for a presentation techniques class.
You’ll be impressed by how useful those tools are. Regardless of
the delivery medium, the basic principles are essentially the same
for every meeting you run. Simply put: plan, then execute.
The department meeting is an opportunity for you and your
staff to join together to examine and resolve issues to the benefi t
of all concerned. So:

• Plan your meetings—in writing.
• Strive for the broadest participation possible.
• Make sure everyone agrees that your objectives were met.

Discovery Lesson 3

Next time you attend a meeting as a participant, note what was good
about the meeting and what was not. Did you observe a particular
technique or action that you could implement to advantage in your own
meetings?
This change in perspective can pay dividends in your efforts to
plan and execute the meetings that are your responsibility. For most of
us, it is easier to see the shortcomings in what others do than in what
we do ourselves. If you pay close attention to how others are running
meetings, you’ll accrue a wide range of ideas about what works and
what doesn’t.